Guinness owner Diageo launches fund to prop up pub staff wages March 17, 2020 Guinness owner Diageo has launched a £1m fund to support bar staff wages as pubs across the UK teeter on the brink of collapse due to coronavirus. The community fund will help some pubs and bars to pay a proportion of staff wages if they are forced to close as customers are urged to stay [...]
Major UK retailers urge chancellor for immediate business rates suspension March 17, 2020 Major British retailers have called on the chancellor to go further with measures to protect the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors from the dramatic economic impact of coronavirus. Primark, Arcadia and New Look are among the firms to sign a letter this afternoon urging Rishi Sunak to immediately suspend business rates bills until normal trading [...]
Coronavirus: All Trafalgar Square events cancelled March 17, 2020 All events set to take place at Trafalgar Square have been cancelled by City Hall until further notice. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan took the step today to shut down events at the public square, after further social distancing measures were advised by the government yesterday to combat the spread of Covid-19. This means the [...]
Coronavirus: Major cinema chains close all sites March 17, 2020 The UK’s major cinema chains have announced they will close immediately after the government yesterday ramped up the fight back against coronavirus. Odeon, Vue, Picturehouse and Cineworld have all announced the closure of all their sites across the UK, while London’s BFI Southbank has also temporarily shut after the public were told to avoid public [...]
Coronavirus: Selfridges and Harrods cut opening hours March 17, 2020 Luxury department stores Harrods and Selfridges have scaled back their opening hours in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus. Selfridges said it will be open between 11am and 7pm Monday to Saturday at its London, Birmingham and Manchester stores. Sunday trading hours will remain the same. Meanwhile Harrods announced that from today it [...]
Coronavirus: Sadiq Khan urges government to extend business relief March 17, 2020 Sadiq Khan has asked Boris Johnson for vastly increased financial relief for London businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The mayor of London wrote to Johnson today to ask that “greater levels of assistance to businesses, large and small” is given through through tax breaks and cash handouts during the outbreak. Khan has specifically called [...]
Primark owner shares halted after virus sales warning March 16, 2020 Shares in Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) were suspended for an hour this morning after the firm warned store closures would hit sales. The retail conglomerate’s shares were halted after falling sharply, which the London Stock Exchange said was due to an erroneous trade. Shares were down roughly 12.5 per cent when trading was [...]
Retail footfall jumps as UK coronavirus cases rise March 16, 2020 Retail footfall spiked at the end of last month as consumers rushed to the shops to stock up due to the spread of coronavirus in the UK. Retail footfall in February was down two per cent year on year due to several storms during the month. However, the final week of the month saw a [...]
New builds: Homes on the market in London this week, from flats for West Ham fans to a Bromley mansion March 13, 2020 Hanworth Apartments, Hounslow From £339,000 for a one-bed Jet setters will want to take a look at Hanworth Apartments, the new phase of homes at Barratt London’s High Street Quarter in Hounslow. Its 38 one, two and three-bed apartments are just ten minutes from Heathrow Airport, with prices starting at £339,000 for a one-bed. A [...]
FTSE 100 crashes 10.9 per cent in worst one-day fall since 1987 March 12, 2020 The FTSE 100 suffered its second biggest one day fall in the history of the index, and the worst day since 1987, as it closed down 10.87 per cent. London’s blue-chip index plunged 639 points to close at 5,237 points, as global stocks suffered yet another meltdown after Donald Trump imposed a travel ban on [...]