London’s shopping destinations seeing ‘first sign’ of hit from plan B measures December 13, 2021 Retail destinations have started to see the impact of the government’s latest Covid messaging, after a drop in central London footfall last week. Footfall fell three per cent in central London shopping destinations and 5.3 per cent in the capital’s office hubs last week. Last week, the Prime Minister outlined fresh measures to tackle the [...]
West End ‘extremely concerned about long-term survival’ as new guidance comes into force December 13, 2021 Central London retailers are hopeful eager Christmas shoppers will offset the absence of office workers in the capital this month while warning businesses are running out of cash. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands, restaurants and businesses in the West End, said footfall for the week of 6 December was up three per [...]
Spam mania: sales of canned meat hit another record high December 10, 2021 Sales of the iconic canned cooked meat Spam hit a record high for the seventh year straight thanks to a growing popularity across the world.
Plan B: Central London footfall to plummet with businesses in the lurch December 9, 2021 Central London footfall is anticipated to shrink to 50 per cent below 2019 levels following the government’s move to plan B Covid restrictions this winter. Areas like the West End are currently 20 per cent less busy than pre-pandemic levels, with retail experts at Springboard predicting the gap to widen further. Office workers were told [...]
Square Mile braces for Plan B as businesses say work from home guidance will ‘destroy’ trade December 8, 2021 Businesses in the City of London have said they are preparing for the worst ahead of a reported announcement on a work-from-home message. Multiple media outlets have reported that the Prime Minister is to usher in vaccine passports for large venues and instruct office employees to work from home once more. There will be a press [...]
Outlook 2022: Global economy December 7, 2021 2022 is set to be another good year for growth, albeit the recovery is likely to remain unbalanced. Anticipated withdrawal of emergency levels of support will play important role in shaping outlook. Risks include higher-than-expected inflation and weaker growth. The emergence of the Omicron Covid variant has reminded us of the uncertainties which remain around [...]
West End laments government Covid messaging as footfall falls flat December 7, 2021 The West End has bemoaned government messaging on Covid as it reported no uptick in footfall last week. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands in the area, said yesterday footfall was still down 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. Flat footfall was blamed on “the impact of Government messaging around Omicron,” and tube [...]
TfL: Khan hits out at Shapps for refusing to meet him as funding talks go down to wire December 6, 2021 City Hall and Whitehall have continued their row over urgent Transport for London (TfL) funding talks tonight, with each side blaming the other for slow progress. With just four days to go until TfL’s latest government bailout runs out, its fourth in the past 19 months, transport secretary Grant Shapps has still not met with [...]
West End landlord points to new signings as proof of post-lockdown recovery December 6, 2021 West End landlord Shaftesbury has signed over 60 new retail and leisure brands since October 2020, in a vote of confidence for central London’s post-lockdown recovery Bosses said this interest highlights the speed of the West End’s recovery following the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Some 33 retail brands including American Eagle and Aerie have set [...]
Daily Mail agree the largest office letting in West London in a commitment to its ‘talented people’ December 6, 2021 Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), the owner of the Daily Mail and Metro newspapers, has agreed a 103,000 sq ft lease to create a new HQ at Barkers Building in Kensington from 2024.