This Week: PMIs, Morrisons, Next, US unemployment, Fed, M&S January 4, 2021 City A.M. looks at the first business week of 2021 with Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Monday: UK PMIs for December Flash numbers in the middle of December were surprisingly encouraging, with manufacturing rising to 57.3. “No doubt due to some pre-Brexit stockpiling. services also managed to rebound a touch, coming [...]
Jamie Oliver takes payday hit as restaurant collapse eats into profits January 3, 2021 Jamie Oliver has suffered a decline in profit from his business ventures as the collapse of his restaurant chain continues to take its toll. Pre-tax profits at the celebrity chef’s group of companies dropped to £7.1m in 2019, down nine per cent on the previous year. Turnover dropped just over five per cent to £38.8m, [...]
15 incredible Londoners in the New Year’s Honours List January 2, 2021 In a list that was largely dominated by health staff and civil servants this year, Christopher Woolard, who served as interim Chief Exec of the FCA in 2020, became a Commander of the British Empire, while Kate Nicholls, a vocal advocate for the hospitality industry throughout this terrible year for bars, pubs and restaurants, received [...]
Boris Johnson: UK ‘rediscovered a spirit of togetherness’ in ‘grim’ 2020 December 31, 2020 Boris Johnson has used his New Year’s Eve message to say the UK has “rediscovered a spirit of togetherness” in 2020, but that there “will be plenty of people who will be only too happy to say goodbye to the grimness of 2020”. The Prime Minister also said the UK approval of two Covid vaccines [...]
Soho House founder sells $20m of stake after pandemic hit December 28, 2020 The founder and chief executive of Soho House has cashed in $20m (£14.8m) of his stake after the private members’ club was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nick Jones, who established the exclusive club in 1995, has sold a one per cent stake to Ron Burkle, the US billionaire businessman who already owns roughly 60 [...]
Offices share half-a-billion business rates write-off December 22, 2020 The Valuation Office Agency has agreed to write off almost £500m-worth of offices’ business rates after weeks of negotiations. Business rates discounts were announced for firms directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, including pubs and restaurants. Read more: UK borrowing in November the third-highest on record Offices that lay empty however [...]
Wanted: A minister for hospitality December 22, 2020 The hospitality industry — which provided work to more than 3.2m people before the pandemic struck — has been hit harder than virtually any other sector by Covid-19. But while the latest ONS figures show that a staggering 78 per cent of businesses in the accommodation and food services industry have been impacted, there is [...]
D&D owner: Tax supermarkets to bail out bars and restaurants December 21, 2020 In his second City A.M. column, D&D London CEO and cofounder Des Gunewardena reflects on the “horror show” of the last week, asks the government to consider a Covid-tax to help struggling restaurants, and offers his empty venues up as Covid vaccination stations. We have had some bad weeks during this pandemic, but last week [...]
Coronavirus helps Deliveroo take home profits in 2020 December 21, 2020 Deliveroo has recorded profits for six months in 2020, with coronavirus helping the business turn the tide on last year’s losses. The last 12 months have marked a year of growth for the food delivery app, following a couple of years of investment that saw losses at the business run into the hundreds of millions. [...]
Save Christmas and beat Tier 4 with these at-home dining options December 19, 2020 The announcement of Tier 4 has sent Christmas plans into chaos, with families up and down the country now unsure where and with whom they will be able to spend the big day. If you’ve now found yourself at a loss in the run-up to 25 December, here are some amazing home delivery options, many [...]