Fresh restrictions blanket new Covid epicentre – Europe November 18, 2021 Ireland has become the latest European country to impose fresh Covid-19 restrictions, as the continent becomes the epicentre of the pandemic. From today, the country’s population will work from home where possible, though universities will not sink back into online teaching. Hospitality has also been impacted, with bars and restaurants having been ordered to [...]
House of Fraser flagship Oxford St store to shut as firm warns of ‘inevitable’ further closures November 17, 2021 The House of Fraser flagship store on Oxford St is set to permanently close, in another blow to the capital’s shopping district. Frasers Group said it had been served notice by the landlord to close the site, after an application for planning permission to redevelop the site was given the green light. A spokesperson for [...]
Coronavirus around us: After Netherlands and Scotland, new Covid restrictions announced in Ireland November 17, 2021 Micheal Martin, Ireland’s Taoiseach, last night announced a range of fresh measures to address a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases, which has left Ireland’s health system under severe pressure heading into the winter. Yet he also said that he could not be sure the measures will be enough to curb the spread of the virus. [...]
The City View podcast: Today’s evening digest of all the news from the Square Mile November 16, 2021 City A.M.’s daily podcast is back, with all the news and views from the Square Mile as you head on your commute home – or from the kitchen table to the sofa, if you haven’t quite made it back. Today’s there’s news from Vodafone, the Restaurant Group, Netflix and new job figures, and we hear [...]
Wagamama owner hikes full-year estimates after sales surge November 16, 2021 Wagamama’s owner has upgraded its estimates for the financial year, forecasting adjusted EBITDA of up to £79m. In a trading update published on Tuesday morning, The Restaurant Group said its venues had traded well with like-for-like sales outperforming the market. There had been strong sales across the Wagamama brand, as well as its pubs and [...]
On board the first post-Covid BA flight to the US November 15, 2021 What is the collective noun for a group of journalists? Google suggests “pack”, “herd”, “scoop”, and “crowd”. But the word that sprung to my mind while on the BA 001 flight to JFK, fourth glass of champagne in hand, was frenzy. A palpable excitement swelled inside our cabin as the Airbus A350 took to the [...]
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 [...]