Ex-Greene King boss buys 42 pubs including London venues from Stonegate March 30, 2021 Redcat Pub Company, the firm led by former Greene King boss Rooney Anand, has bought 42 venues from Stonegate. The company announced today that 50 per cent of the managed pubs are in prime London areas, in a vote of confidence in the capital’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. It said the estate consists of [...]
Biotech firm Oxford Nanopore plots London listing March 30, 2021 The Oxfordshire-based scale-up helping to track coronavirus mutations has announced plans to list in London later this year. Oxford Nanopore, which specialises in DNA sequencing technology, today said it had started preparing for a London float but disclosed no further details. “Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited has today informed its shareholders that it has started the [...]
Wetherspoon to invest £145m in new pubs and upgrades March 30, 2021 Wetherspoon is set to invest £145 million opening new pubs and upgrading existing ones, creating 2,000 new jobs, the pub chain announced this morning. The ambitious plans will start within weeks of its pubs reopening fully as the lockdown eases. A total of 18 new pubs will open and “significant extensions and upgrades” will be [...]
FTSE 100 falls as fresh lockdowns across Europe dampen economic outlook March 19, 2021 The FTSE 100 fell this morning as fresh Covid-19 lockdowns across Europe dampened hopes of a swift recovery in demand for industrial stocks including energy. London’s blue-chip index sank 1.2 per cent, before recovering slightly to sit 0.6 per cent down at 8.30am. Oil heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell 3.2 per cent and [...]
Halfords snaps up motoring services provider Universal Tyre for £15m March 19, 2021 British bike and car products retailer Halfords has agreed to buy motoring services provider Universal Tyre and Autocentres for £15m. Universal Tyre, based in South East England, operates from 20 sites and 89 commercial vans, specialising in tyre services and car maintenance. Halfords is targeting having over 550 garages in the UK, with the Universal [...]
Wetherspoons in the red as Tim Martin calls for end to lockdown ‘mayhem’ March 19, 2021 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon today reported a half-year pre-tax loss of £46.2m as Covid restrictions forced hundreds of its pubs to close through key holiday seasons. Wetherspoon’s operating loss hit £20.7m, while revenue sunk by more than 53 per cent to £431.1m Like-for-like sales were also down by almost 54 per cent for the six [...]
Pubs without beer gardens to serve pints in car parks from April March 4, 2021 Pubs without beer gardens will be able to serve takeaway pints in car parks when restrictions are eased in April, the government has confirmed. Licensing rules for pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants were simplified last summer to make it easier for businesses to reopen in line with Covid guidelines after England’s first nationwide lockdown. The Ministry of Housing, [...]
Revolution Bars expects boom in demand as it prepares to reopen 20 sites next month March 4, 2021 Revolution Bars announced this morning that it expects a boom in demand when it is able to resume trading, as it revealed plans to reopen 20 branches when hospitality firms can begin outdoor service next month. The bar chain will reopen 20 sites from 12 April and it is planning to open the rest of [...]
Vaccine rollout sees UK equity funds break 8-month run of outflows March 4, 2021 UK equity funds enjoyed their first inflows since last May with investors boosted by the success of the vaccine rollout. It brings an end to a difficult eight months which saw funds shed £2.2bn of capital, according to global fund network Calastone. Last month investors cautiously dipped their toes into equity funds with £145m in [...]
Schroders’ assets under management hit record high March 4, 2021 Schroders’ assets under management reached a record high despite net inflows dipping over the year. AUM jumped 15 per cent to £574.4bn after strong demand in its private assets and solutions divisions pushed net inflows to £42.5bn. Profit before tax and exceptional items increased marginally to £702.3m beating a consensus of £649.2m. Schroders declared an [...]