Coronavirus bar and restaurant closures hit Britvic’s income for the year November 26, 2020 Britvic posted a near 22% slide in adjusted operating income for the year as coronavirus restrictions hurt demand at bars, restaurants, cinemas and other public places. The soft drink company’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell to £165.8m for the 12 months ended September 30, down from £214.1m a year earlier. Britvic’s shares, which [...]
All Bar One and Toby Carvery owner cuts 1,300 jobs as Covid-19 pushes it to annual loss November 26, 2020 Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers has cut 1,300 jobs this year having made a £123m loss in the last year. The group, which owns cocktail bar All Bar One and Toby Carvery, said it could no longer support the employees due to store closures and reduced levels of activity because of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier [...]
Hoxton hotel chain Ennismore to merge with Ibis owner Accor November 25, 2020 Ennismore, the owner of London hotel chain Hoxton, is planning to merge with Accor, the parent company of Ibis, Novotel and Mercure, in further consolidation for the struggling travel and tourism industry. The companies announced an all-share merger which is expected to create cost synergies of €15m a year, while the deconsolidation of existing leases [...]
Sadiq Khan: ‘Right and sensible’ to put London in Tier 2 after lockdown November 24, 2020 London is set to be placed under Tier 2 restrictions after the national lockdown ends next week, Sadiq Khan has said. The mayor said placing the capital back in Tier 2 would be the “right and sensible decision”, but added the final verdict would be made on Thursday based on the latest Covid-19 figures. Prime [...]
Editorial: London, like Josef K, awaits its sentence November 24, 2020 On Thursday, we will find out whether the death warrant for thousands of London’s businesses, mainly in hospitality, will be signed. But, like Josef K in Kafka’s Trial, those businesses are left clueless of what their future depends upon. London will enter Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the new restrictions next week. [...]
New Covid rules are a ‘disaster’ for hospitality, based on non-existent data, says D&D London boss November 24, 2020 The head of restaurant group D&D London has slammed the new government Covid restrictions, calling them a “disaster” and a “kick in the teeth” for the hospitality sector. Des Gunewardena writes in an exclusive column for City A.M. that the government is failing to back up its new regulations, which place tough restrictions on bars [...]
The government is ignoring Covid science and hospitality is paying the price, says D&D boss November 24, 2020 Des Gunewardena is Chairman and CEO of D&D London, the restaurant group behind brands including Bluebird, Angler, 14 Hills and Coq d’Argent. Here he lays out where the government has failed the hospitality sector and gives a plan for how it could still salvage something from the most important month of the year. So we’ve finally [...]
This ‘backdated’ Porsche 911 looks a million dollars – but costs rather less November 24, 2020 This Porsche 911 imitates the iconic Carrera 2.7 RS for a fraction of the price. Tim Pitt gets behind the wheel.
England’s 28 day lockdown will actually only last 27 days as restrictions lift next Wednesday November 24, 2020 England’s national lockdown will last one day shorter than expected, with restrictions set to lift at 0.01am next Wednesday. Announcing the nationwide measures last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the restrictions would last 28 days starting 4 November, as the government scrambled to curb a spike in infections across the country. However, the restrictions [...]
Majority of vulnerable Brits to receive Covid vaccine by Easter, says Johnson November 23, 2020 The majority of vulnerable Brits should have received a vaccine against coronavirus by Easter, Boris Johnson tonight said. Speaking in a press conference after today’s announcement of a new, tougher system of restrictions for the winter, the Prime Minister hailed the prospect of a number of working vaccines. “With a favourable wind we should be [...]