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. [...]
Khan: ‘Pingdemic’ places business recovery ‘in jeopardy’ July 24, 2021 Sadiq Khan has today written to Boris Johnson to urge him allow fully vaccinated people to return to work immediately after a negative Covid-19 test if they are ‘pinged’ by the NHS’ app. From 16 August, double jabbed people will no longer have to isolate if they have been in close contact with someone who [...]
UK’s first fossil-fuel-free development to be built on London’s South Bank July 23, 2021 The UK’s first fossil-fuel-free major property development is set to be built in London and will be worth some £2.5bn. The new South Bank neighbourhood, by property developer Native Land, will see the 1.4m sq ft space known as Bankside Yards be built with zero emissions in operation. It includes more than 350,000 sq ft [...]
Indian food delivery app Zomato surges 80 per cent on IPO July 23, 2021 Indian food delivery startup Zomato skyrocketed as much as 80 per cent on its stock market debut today, setting the pace for a string of upcoming listings in the country. Shares in Zomato, which is backed by Ant Group, surged as high as 138.9 rupees each, giving the company a market capitalisation of $12bn. It [...]
London dominates hiring hotspots in the UK July 23, 2021 Six of the UK’s top ten hiring hotspots are in London showing that the capital’s jobs market is roaring back to life, according to new research published today. Figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows Brent has the fastest rate of job posting growth in the UK, rising 3.7 per cent to 4,616 over [...]
Charity, dating and pet spending rises as restrictions relax July 22, 2021 As Covid restrictions continue to ease, Britons spend more on charity, dating and their pets. Building society Nationwide said today that spending also surged on holidays, among many other activities, between April to June, as well as eating and drinking, leisure, gardening and clothing. Nationwide analysed millions of transactions by its customers from April to [...]