Pubs lament ‘dreadfully disappointing December’ but toast rebounding January sales January 13, 2022 Pubs and restaurants were knocked back by low trade over the Christmas period, although rebounding sales in recent days have offered a ray of hope for the beleaguered sector. Sales in pubs, restaurants and bars were down 60 per cent on Christmas Day on pre-Covid levels, according to data from UKHospitality and CGA. Transactions were [...]
Tencent leads $96m funding round into Dublin restaurant tech firm Flipdish January 13, 2022 Tencent has led a $96m funding round into Dublin-based restaurant tech firm Flipdish which values the firm at $1.25bn.
Bolt drives shared mobility model with £524m investment January 11, 2022 Ride-hailing app Bolt has announced a new funding round of €628m (£524m) to further scale its existing products and accelerate the transition from owned cars to shared mobility in cities.
We discover the perfect family-friendly ski retreat in Austria’s Arlberg January 10, 2022 “So glad you’re here”: the oft repeated words from hotel and restaurant owners who have just emerged from a strict lockdown and are, for the first time in months, welcoming tourists. We had chosen the Arlberg region (specifically St. Anton and St. Christoph) for a pre-Christmas ski when all things Covid were looking up. As [...]
Elephant and Castle redevelopment to progress to second phase after loan win January 10, 2022 The redevelopment of the former Elephant and Castle shopping centre has been given a boost after the securing of a development loan. Build-to-rent developer Get Living has acquired £365m from Starwood Capital, The Times reported. This will enable the second phase of the redevelopment, which is set to create 485 homes and a new campus [...]
Delivery boom: Tortilla wraps up a successful year with 79 per cent revenue surge January 10, 2022 Tortilla, the largest and most successful fast-casual Mexican restaurant group in the UK, wraps up the year with a group revenue surge of 79 per cent to £48.1m.
Restaurant groups suffer £673m in losses as bosses call for tax relief January 10, 2022 The country’s top restaurant groups saw losses skyrocket in a year, hitting £673m, as bosses have called for more cash to help ailing venues. The top 100 groups saw losses increase 174 per cent in the year to the end of September 2021, according to an analysis of company accounts by accountancy firm UHY Hacker [...]
Shoppers opted for premium products this Christmas as grocery inflation hit 3.5 per cent January 5, 2022 Grocery sales hit £11.7bn over the Christmas period, as shoppers were keen to make the most of the festive period after Covid restrictions hampered celebrations last year. Shoppers spent record amounts on supermarkets’ premium own brand products, with £627m spent on pricier items over the four weeks to 26 December. This was an increase of [...]
Half of all UK small businesses to raise prices this year while a third plan redundancies now furlough has ended January 1, 2022 Half of small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK plan to raise their prices this year, with supply chain disruption being the key driver. Moreover, one in three owner-managed businesses plan to make redundancies now the safety net of furlough has been removed, according to new research shared with City A.M. this morning. Those businesses [...]
Best of 2021: Bob Bob Ricard City reopens December 30, 2021 The more things change, the more they remain the same. In June of 2019 I was at the opening of Bob Bob Cité, the sister restaurant to Soho’s Bob Bob Ricard, which I wrote, with no little hyperbole, was the best place to eat in the City of London. It was a wildly expensive venture, [...]