Big screen bonanza: Londoners set for film fest with free Trafalgar Square screenings August 12, 2021 Trafalgar Square will play host to a string of free film screenings later this month as part of a major campaign to bring people back into London and boost the UK film industry. Over the Bank Holiday weekend Londoners and visitors will be able to enjoy the red carpet experience with six free matinee and [...]
Deliveroo shares slip despite revenue soaring and lockdown orders doubling August 11, 2021 Lockdown favourite Deliveroo revenue jumped 82 per cent to £922m in the first half of the year, results out this morning showed. The number of orders doubled to shy of 150m in the first half of 2021 compared with 75m during the same period last year when the first national lockdown was introduced. Deliveroo said [...]
Burger chain Wendy’s to launch ‘ghost kitchens’ in UK August 11, 2021 U.S. burger chain Wendy’s has announced plans for 700 delivery kitchens including in locations across the UK. The company announced a development commitment by REEF to launch 700 ‘ghost kitchens’ over the next five years across the U.S., Canada and UK. The delivery kitchen concept will target consumers keen to maintain at-home leisure habits beyond [...]
Gino D’Acampo chain rescued in £12.9m pre-pandemic bailout August 10, 2021 Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant chain received a £12.9m bailout before venues were struck by Covid closures. The money was lent by D’Acampo’s co-investors and Iceland bosses, Sir Malcom Walker and Tarsem Dhaliwal, who run the linked company Individual Restaurants. Gino D’Acampo Worldwide Restaurants owes the Piccolinos owner £12.9m, including a £7.125m bank loan taken [...]
The future of film: Big screen’s make or break moment August 9, 2021 As blockbuster season explodes into action and Cannes finally reconvenes, it may seem like business as usual for cinema. But peek behind the scenes and there are still huge challenges to overcome. Three CAs in the sector tell Christian Koch about the big screen’s make-or-break moment. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Hollywood and [...]
PE firm TriSpan acquires Pho restaurants after Gresham House Ventures exit August 3, 2021 TriSpan has acquired a significant majority stake in UK Vietnamese restaurant group Pho, after Gresham House Ventures exited its investment in the chain on Monday. The global PE firm has invested in Pho through its dedicated restaurant fund Rising Stars. It represents the fund’s third investment in the UK, following Rosa’s Thai Café and Thunderbird [...]
EU eyes pandemic exit with 70 per cent of population administered first dose August 3, 2021 Despite protests against coronavirus restrictions rocking the streets of Paris and Berlin last weekend, the EU’s quiet move towards an exit from the pandemic continues apace. The European Union surpassed its target of injecting at least one jab into the arms of 70 per cent of its population by the end of July. And according [...]
Countryside creep: London homeowners flee capital at record rate August 2, 2021 London homeowners are fleeing the capital at record levels as city slickers pursue newfound housing needs triggered by the Covid crisis, according to new figures released today. Research by estate agent Hamptons shows 61,830 Londoners purchased homes outside the capital in the first six months of this year, the highest number since they started recording [...]
Number of workers on furlough reaches pandemic-low as nearly 600k exit scheme July 29, 2021 The number of people on furlough has reached the lowest level since the scheme was launched in response to the Covid crisis in March last year after nearly 600k workers exited the scheme, new figures released today show. 1.9m people were on furlough at the end of June, down from 2.4m in May, driven by [...]
Rush to beat stamp duty deadline drives mortgage borrowing to record high July 29, 2021 A rush to complete house purchases before the tapering of the stamp duty holiday at the end of June drove mortgage borrowing to a record monthly high, reveal new figures published today. The Bank of England said mortgage borrowing hit £17.9bn in June, surging 163 per cent in just a month from £6.8bn in May. [...]