Exclusive: London workers flood back to the office ahead of freedom day July 15, 2021 Workers in London are already returning to the office in their droves ahead of the lifting of all Covid restrictions on 19 July. Research shared exclusively with City A.M. by Land Sec shows 70 per cent of London office workers are already coming into the office at least one day a week. Read more: So [...]
Ultimate Products to take over Salter and Heston Blumenthal partnership July 15, 2021 Britain’s oldest houseware brand Salter is set to be snapped up by London-listed Ultimate Products as consumers fell back in love with home cooking over lockdown. The deal is expected to be completed by 19 July and will cost Ultimate Products (UP) some £32m in cash. UP, which turned over £115.7m last year, will take [...]
Exclusive: Soho Street Cocktails raises fresh funds with two supermarket chains running trials July 15, 2021 Pre-mixed drinks maker Soho Street Cocktails is raising a new round of funding through private equity firm Growthdeck, City A.M. can reveal. The funds raised through Growthdeck will be used for Soho Street Cocktails’ core strategy of growing sales through retailers and in bars and restaurants, as well as continuing to increase its production. Soho Street Cocktails sells pre-mixed, bar-quality cocktail pouches to [...]
Food strategy review calls for £3bn sugar and salt tax July 15, 2021 The UK could introduce a new £3bn tax on sugar and salt as part of a string of reforms aimed at improving the health of the nation and helping to tackle climate change. A government review by Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby published today said Covid had provided a “painful reality check” and warned that poor [...]
Pizza Express toasts ‘strong’ reopening as it seals £335m refinancing July 8, 2021 Pizza Express today hailed “strong” trading after reopening its restaurants following lockdown as it sealed a £335m refinancing deal. The pizza chain today confirmed it had concluded its long-term financing plan, consisting of five-year bonds, and was now a “fitter” company after emerging from Covid lockdowns. It comes after a challenging year for the restaurant [...]
I’ll take two: London UK’s leading no-show hotspot for restaurant bookings July 7, 2021 London has been revealed to be the flakiest city in the UK for ghosting bookings, according to restaurant booking platform TheFork. Under the current restrictions in the hospitality sector, a pandemic-provoked ‘spread booking’ phenomenon has been reported by an increasing number of bars and restaurants. Some customers have been booking a table at more than [...]
Wetherspoons slams government for ‘behaving like Monty Python’s Dennis Moore’ over VAT rates July 7, 2021 Wetherspoons has hit out at the government for what is believes are unfair VAT rates on hospitality businesses, which could make the sector less competitive post-Covid. The pub chain has accused the government of “unfairness” and of ‘robbing the poor to help the rich’ by levying a higher VAT rate on food bought in pub [...]
Mulberry to close Paris store as slashed tourism hits another capital July 6, 2021 Mulberry will close the doors to its Paris store until international tourism returns, the luxury brand said today. Exiting the lease early at its 275 Rue Saint Honoré store, slashed tourism numbers due to pandemic restrictions has seemingly hit Paris much like it has hit London. The brand will bag net proceeds after tax of [...]
New £350m Barking development to see 1,089 riverside homes built July 5, 2021 Weston Homes is building a £350m riverside development in Barking that will see 1,089 new one, two and three bedroom apartments built in the area. Alongside residential space, the new Abbey Quay development will feature 22,281 square feet of commercial and leisure space, which will include a restaurant, local shops, cafes, a gym and a [...]
Behind the scenes at the Decanter World Wine Awards July 2, 2021 There you are, browsing bottles and trying to decide what to buy next, when you notice a sticker telling you that this is a “Decanter World Wine Awards Winner”. Well, we all love a winner, but what does that really mean? And should we care? I went behind the scenes at the Decanter Awards to [...]