Burger chain Five Guys eyes accelerated expansion after seeing opportunity in pandemic November 15, 2021 “We’re just really early days still,” explains Five Guys’ UK CEO John Eckbert. The US-founded burger chain expects to ramp up its UK expansion plans after the pandemic has opened up real estate opportunities – but dark kitchens would only ever be “temporary.” Alongside Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone, Eckbert was responsible for launching [...]
Not going out: sales down 4.5 per cent for pubs, bars and restaurants November 15, 2021 The hospitality sector is struggling to bounce back from Covid-19 as Brits take a cautious attitude to spending post-lockdown. Rolling sales for managed pubs, bars and restaurants are down 4.5 per cent over the past 12 months as the sector continues to be hit hard by supply chain pressures, high energy prices and recruitment issues. [...]
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas: London switches on world’s largest lights November 13, 2021 More than one million LED lights will deck London’s most well-known Christmas hotspots, including Leicester Square, Mayfair and Piccadilly Circus. A total of 20 streets across the city’s West End all had their lights switched on at the same time by the Lord Mayor of Westminster to mark the beginning of the festive season. Shoppers [...]
Focus On: Get yourself into a Pickle in booming Bermondsey November 12, 2021 Located in the south-easterly London Borough of Southwark, Bermondsey has a fascinating past. Back in the 1800s it was known for its industrial plants for processing animal hides (hence some road names such as Tanner Street and Leathermarket), as well as slums for local workers and the notorious docks that inspired scenes in Dickensian novels [...]
Uber Eats adds pub grub to app including Toby Carvery and Miller & Carter November 11, 2021 Uber Eats has added pub giant Mitchells & Butlers to its app offering The partnership means 1,000 bars, restaurants and pubs – including Miller & Carter and Toby Carvery – will join the app by the end of the year. What’s more, to celebrate the addition, Uber Eats is offering free delivery on pub dishes from [...]
You Meta believe it: we need to figure out how to regulate the metaverse before we’re inside it November 10, 2021 The metaverse has been on everyone’s lips after Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook, now made fresh into Meta. “All of our products, including our apps, now share a new vision: to help bring the metaverse to life”, said Zuckerberg in his melodramatic Founder’s letter. Almost two weeks have gone by since the announcement, [...]
PA Awards 2021 November 8, 2021 Behind every great business person is an exceptional PA, EA or VA. City A.M. is once again celebrating those Personal, Executive and Virtual Assistants in a unique ceremony at Bob Bob Ricard in the heart of the Square Mile on Tuesday 7th December. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with more [...]
Focus On: Islington – An area that has all a savvy buyer needs November 5, 2021 One of those neighbourhoods that has it all, Islington combines lively restaurants and bars, inviting pubs and attractive residential areas with Georgian townhouses, garden squares and quaint terraces. Less bourgeois than west London, it attracts a mix of high-earning middle class millennials and boomers, families, and hipster house sharers with a liking for arts and [...]
Fulham Shore shares rise as pizza chain plots Greek expansion November 4, 2021 Franco Manca’s owner saw shares jump after it declared the pizza chain was eying Greece in its expansion plans. Fulham Shore’s share price shot up more than seven per cent on Thursday morning, following an update from the group. Franco Manca will launch in Greece with a local franchisee planning to open at least six [...]
Publicans loaned £138m to own businesses in battle for survival November 1, 2021 Pub owners injected £138m in loans to their own businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Private equity investment firm Growthdeck found that some 1,730 UK pubs and bar companies ran so short of cash last year that their directors had to make loans to them from their own personal resources. As hospitality venues [...]