England could face two-week ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown after Christmas December 18, 2021 Dark clouds are looming over the festive season with ministers planning a circuit breaker lockdown after Christmas to tackle the Omicron variant.
City of London calls on Rishi Sunak to support businesses in the Covid-emptied Square Mile December 17, 2021 The City of London’s local authority has called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to provide “much needed” financial support for shops, restaurants and pubs in the Square Mile after the government reintroduced its ‘work from home’ advice. In a letter to the Chancellor, The City of London Corporation policy chair Catherine McGuiness warned that small businesses [...]
Asian food-focused delivery startup HungryPanda raises $130m December 17, 2021 London-headquartered HungryPanda, a food delivery startup that caters for Asian restaurants and populations overseas, has today announced it’s closed a $130m Series D funding round – just over a year after its $70m Series C. Its latest round was led by the family-backed private equity and growth investor Perwyn, alongside investors Kinnevik, Felix Capital, 83North, [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile today? December 17, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Carzam Online used car business Carzam’s has appointed Paddy Power’s former boss as a new executive chairman. Andy McCue, who spent a decade with the gaming and betting giant, was also CEO of The Restaurant Group during [...]
Hospitality pleads Chancellor for support amid ‘deja vu’ of mass cancellations reminiscent of March 2020 December 16, 2021 Pubs and restaurants have condemned the Chancellor’s “silence” over support measures for businesses after mass cancellations amid a surge in Omicron Covid cases. England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said the public should be considering “de-prioritising” certain social events in order to ensure they can visit family at Christmas. Fears of the highly transmissible Omicron [...]
Things between Zurich and Greggs heat up as insurer insists on slicing bakery’s £100m covid claim to £2.5m December 14, 2021 Zurich Insurance has retaliated in a London court against a claim by bakery chain Greggs for between £50m to £100m in payouts for Covid-19 related losses, according to reports. The insurance giant told the court that its business interruption cover went up to £2.5m for a single event, according to Legal 360, which first reported [...]
Could we be nearing the end of Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1? December 14, 2021 He may be due to be knighted later on today, but Lewis Hamilton was denied his coronation as an eight-time world champion Formula 1 driver on Sunday. In the immediate aftermath of that controversial final lap in Abu Dhabi, the 36-year-old declined to commit to continuing racing: “I’ve felt great in the car in the [...]
Bill’s closes 14 restaurants after pandemic pressure December 13, 2021 Restaurant chain Bill’s has shut 14 loss-making venues in its financial year after the pandemic hammered sales. In accounts filed to Companies House, the firm stated it made a £62m turnover for the 53 weeks to 3 January 2021. This was down on the £127m for the 52 weeks to 29 December 2019. The restaurant [...]
GDP growth falls short of expectations, inching 0.1 per cent higher in October December 10, 2021 The UK’s economic growth inched just 0.1 per cent in October, according to the latest figures. The figure remains 0.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic level, the Officer for National Statistic found, falling short of economist and analyst expectations after experts had forecast a 0.4 per cent increase. Construction and hospitality were among the hardest [...]
All Hale: why this Tottenham area is a new residential superstar December 8, 2021 Tottenham Hale in North London’s borough of Haringey is part of one of the largest “opportunity areas” in the capital, receiving £1bn worth of new development and a £30m upgrade to Tottenham Hale station. “This is a really exciting time for Tottenham Hale,” says Tom Goodall, head of residential at property developer and investor Argent [...]