The English wine industry uncorked another bumper year in 2015 May 30, 2016 The English wine industry gained more fizz last year as 37 new wine producers and vineyards opened over 2015, research from national accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young has found. A total of 170 wine producers have entered the domestic industry over the past five years, UHY Hacker Young said, while the popularity of boutique alcohol and locally-made products [...]
Food is the megatrend of the future and investing in meat, pork, health foods and grains is making investors money May 26, 2016 Doom-mongers often talk of the impending explosion in the human population. There will be 9bn people on the planet by 2050, and one of the big problems will be how to feed so many mouths. “Global supply and demand is out of balance, and in a state of flux,” says Hugo Rogers of the Liontrust [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Maike Currie talks to Hermes Investment Management’s Harriet Steel about success, failure and building things May 26, 2016 Most people detest building. Whether it’s a new build, extension or renovation, chances are it will feature somewhere on the list of life’s more stressful events, perhaps only a few notches below death, divorce, starting a new job and moving home. Harriet Steel, global head of business development at Hermes Investment Management, however, relishes it. [...]
If businesses in the leisure and hospitality industry listened to their customers it could add £3.2bn to the sector May 24, 2016 The hospitality and leisure industry could get a £3.2bn boost if it responds better to reviews, research published today suggested. Improving how the sector manages and responds to customer feedback could add an extra £2bn to the UK economy with the impact on the sector’s large supply chain contributing a further £1.2bn, according to a report [...]
Ferrari California T Handling Speciale review with price and specs: a £150,000 delight, but better suited to the Tuscan Hills than the Tooting school run May 23, 2016 Everyone should have a ‘bucket list’ – a checklist of things to do before kicking the bucket. Yours might include a meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant, a bungee jump or running a marathon dressed as a rhino. Mine was driving a Ferrari. Now, I should explain that, in eight years as a journalist, I’ve been [...]
Pinkster gin the tipple of choice for crowdfunders at Growthdeck May 20, 2016 Premium gin brand Pinkster has ridden high on the "gin-aissance" sweeping the UK and smashed through an equity fundraising target of £600,000 in six weeks. Pinkster, a fast-growing, Cambridge-based gin produced with fresh raspberries, raised £758,000 in 47 days since it placed its listing on the relatively new crowdfundraising platform Growthdeck on 31 March. Unlike most crowdfunding platforms, Growthdeck does [...]
Coffee nation: The UK’s caffeine addiction revealed as coffee chains take over May 19, 2016 Over-caffeinated Brits are fuelling a boom in coffee shops, according to new data from CBRE. Over the past 17 years, there has been a massive 20-fold increase in coffee chain outlets, from just 215 in 1998 to 4,234 in 2015. And the coffee shop trend shows no sign of abating, with an increase of six per [...]
Marston’s raises a glass to growth from posh pub food and its beer business in its half-year results May 18, 2016 Premium pub owner and brewer Marston's raised a glass to strong growth across the board in its half-year results today, with extra boosts from its beer segment and posh pub food. The figures Marston's, which has an estate of around 1,600 pubs in the UK, posted growth of 11.5 per cent in group underlying revenue in the [...]
Has craft beer lost its flavour to globalisation? May 17, 2016 It's 2001, it’s a Friday night, and I’m enjoying a well-earned sip or two of a raspberry-flavoured wheat beer after a hard week of college. The pub in question was the Greenwich Union, in southeast London. Only just opened in 2001, it housed some of the finest offerings from the local Meantime Brewing Company. These beers [...]
Fast food chain Wendy’s warns over forthcoming sales growth May 11, 2016 US fast food chain Wendy’s has posted better-than-expected results for its first quarter, though it warned that sales growth will struggle in the coming three months. For the quarter, Wendy’s posted a profit of $25.4m (£17.5m), down from a year-earlier profit of $27.5m. Revenue slipped 16 per cent to $378.8m, mostly down to the sale [...]