Foxtons will take ‘all necessary steps’ to stay in business amid coronavirus outbreak March 20, 2020 Foxtons issued a trading update this morning advising that it will take “all necessary steps” ahead of the “inevitable material disruption to trading in the coming months.” The estate agent reassured investors that the first 11 weeks of the financial year had been in line with expectations but warned that the “significantly weakened economic outlook” [...]
Coronavirus: Wetherspoon scraps dividend and warns on profit March 20, 2020 Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has scrapped the pub chain’s dividend and issued a profit warning after Boris Johnson urged Brits not to visit pubs and restaurants amid the UK coronavirus outbreak. A rapid escalation in UK coronavirus cases has already seen a 4.5 per cent decline in Wetherspoon pub sales in the week to 15 [...]
Coronavirus: Pub stocks plunge on ‘stay home’ advice March 17, 2020 Pub stocks plummeted this morning following government advice for the public to avoid pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of coronavirus. The hospitality sector yesterday branded the government’s decision to urge people to stop going to venues without offering any additional help for businesses “catastrophic”. Pub operator Marston’s share price dropped more than 28 [...]
FTSE 100 slides after brief rebound following G7 coronavirus pledge March 17, 2020 The FTSE 100 has dropped back into the red, having initially recovered some of yesterday’s losses following a pledge from G7 leaders to do “whatever is necessary” to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Britain’s blue chip index gained as much as three per cent immediately after the open, but had fallen back into the red just [...]
UK distillery numbers jump as craft gin popularity booms March 16, 2020 The number of distilleries in the UK has surged as craft gin continues to grow in popularity, according to the latest research. Distilleries jumped 20 per cent to 246 over the last year, up from 205 the previous year, as the UK gin industry toasted a nine per cent increase in export sales to £672m [...]
Keep calm and drink Yorkshire Tea until the Twitter storm blows over February 27, 2020 Another day, another Twitter pile-on. This time, the warriors of social justice turned their ire on homely hot-drink merchants Yorkshire Tea. Their equally voluble online opponents rallied to its defence. Why? Because Yorkshire Tea had the temerity to be, unbeknownst to them, our new chancellor’s choice of brew. Or, more precisely, the drink selected by [...]
Brexit Day celebrations: How the UK is marking 31 January January 31, 2020 After nearly four years since the EU referendum in June 2016, Brexit Day is upon us. Great Britain will finally cut its ties with the European Union on 31 January after that date was repeatedly delayed. The original Brexit date was 29 March 2019. But that was pushed back to 31 October and then 31 [...]
Wetherspoons limits parents to two alcoholic drinks January 24, 2020 Wetherspoons pubs have told parents to stick to two drinks if they have their children with them. The pub chain said it is a staff guideline and applies to pubs across the country to deter “unruly behaviour”. The rule was first publicised by the Robert Pocock pub in Gravesend, Kent last Sunday. A poster at [...]
JD Wetherspoon toasts Christmas sales but warns on debt January 22, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon reported this morning that sales were up over the Christmas period, but warned that full-year debt will be higher than expected due to a spike in capital expenditure. The pub operator said like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to 19 January increased 4.7 per cent, and total sales were up 4.2 [...]
Wetherspoon to slash prices of drinks on Brexit Day January 20, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is planning to celebrate Brexit by slashing the prices of a selection of drinks on 31 January as the UK leaves the EU. The offer will reduce prices of drinks from across Europe, including Estrella Galicia, Beck’s and Peroni, by around 60p. The promotion – which will run until 29 February [...]