New Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch says there’s nothing fishy about Brexit, is hungry for global tourists October 11, 2016 The team behind the upcoming Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch hope to capitalise on Britain’s tumbling pound by luring wealthy foreign visitors. The five-storey, 150-room hotel on Willow Street in Hackney – originally slated to launch in 2014 but delayed by “construction issues” – will finally open its doors in spring 2017, just in time for [...]
National living wage pushes tens of thousands of companies into financial distress October 11, 2016 Nearly 100,000 businesses have been pushed into financial distress due to the introduction of the national living wage six months ago. According to data from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, 97,342 firms impacted by the introduction of the national living wage are now struggling financially, an increase of 23 per cent since the legislation came into [...]
Lobster roll craze drives wholesale prices of the crustacean to an 11-year high October 11, 2016 Wholesale lobster prices have hit an 11-year high following a burst in popularity in lobster rolls and the now-affordable luxury gracing the menus of more and more casual dining chains. Lobster is now worth $6 (£4.80) a pound, according to US data group Urner Barry. Read more: Lobster and burgers folks… That's it Groups such as B.O.B [...]
Expert for select committee slams Bernard Matthews’ sale and takes aim at insolvency laws October 10, 2016 Evidence submitted to an influential committee of MPs has highlighted concerns over the fate of the Bernard Matthews' pension scheme which has been a casualty the turkey company's pre-pack administration. According evidence submitted by Professor Prem Sikka, Bernard Matthew's administrator Deloitte "carefully crafted" a strategy to "dump" the pension scheme. He has reported his findings to the Work [...]
Fast sell-off could be on the cards for 1950s-style casual restaurant chain Ed’s Easy Diner October 8, 2016 Casual dining chain Ed's Easy Diner could imminently be sold off in a quickie sale for as little as £15m, according to reports. The hard-and-fast sale will probably take the form of a pre-pack administration could be announced in the coming days after the group suffered a trading slump over the summer, sources told The [...]
Focus On Earl’s Court: Around 7,500 new homes and a brand new high street coming to west London by 2033 October 7, 2016 Best known for its (closed) Exhibition Centre, Earl’s Court is not the sort of place you’d expect to attract million-pound investment. But it’s currently undergoing its biggest upheaval in over a century and this west London outpost is set to be a very different place in a couple of decades. The last huge change in [...]
M Restaurants hits its £1.35m crowdfunding target in 60 hours October 5, 2016 City favourite M Restaurants has raised £1.4m on crowdfunding platform Seedrs, beating its £1.35m target within 60 hours of launching its campaign. The award-winning group, which currently has restaurants M Threadneedle and M Victoria, hit its target last night and is now overfunding to £1.5m, raising the money to aid expansion. It plans to build M Social, a [...]
Sadiq Khan’s plan for one new East London road crossing just isn’t enough October 4, 2016 After years of lobbying for more fixed river crossings east of Tower Bridge, Sadiq Khan’s announcement yesterday that the Silvertown tunnel, along with a DLR extension from Gallions Reach towards Thamesmead and a cycle bridge between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, will get the go-ahead is hugely welcome news for London. But he must not stop [...]
Facebook and trend for fewer but bigger nights out lift profits at Revolution Bars Group October 4, 2016 A large Facebook following and people opting for fewer but bigger nights out have revolutionised profits at Revolution Bars Group over the last year. The figures Revenue at the premium bar firm, which operates the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands, was up 6.9 per cent to £119.5m in the year ended 30 June. Like-for-like [...]
Massive business rate hikes will be a disaster for growth and investment in London September 29, 2016 Hundreds of thousands of companies across the UK are nervously awaiting today’s release of new property valuation data that will determine how much they will have to pay in business rates. As if the prospect of having their rateable values reassessed after a seven-year gap wasn’t scary enough, government announcements this week create a toxic [...]