Rihanna roils markets as China bags a key element March 16, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (March 12 to March 16, 2018). This week, Barbadian singing sensation Rihanna managed to wipe $1bn off the valuation of tech group Snap, the Chinese secured a major cobalt deal to help it produce electric [...]
Wetherspoons sales and profits up but tax troubles lie ahead March 16, 2018 JD Wetherspoon enjoyed a boost in profits last year, with operating profit up nearly 14 per cent and profit before tax up more than 20 per cent. The pub chain also saw its revenue increase by 3.6 per cent to £830.4m and its like-for-like sales increase by 6 per cent. Earnings per share were up [...]
Pub group Hawthorn Leisure to attract interest from competitors as private equity owner calls closing time on investment March 4, 2018 The 300-strong UK pub group Hawthorn Leisure is up for sale, according to industry sources, as its private equity owner looks to pass the group on. The young pub group, which was founded in 2014 by former Merrill Lynch banker Noah Bulkin with funding from Avenue Capital, is in the early stages of a process [...]
British pubs closing at rate of two a day since April business rates hike | City A.M. February 5, 2018 Two pubs a day have shut their doors since last April, according to new research. Some 616 pubs have been demolished or converted to other uses since the change in business rates came into force, real estate adviser Altus Group has said. But the overall rate of decline has slowed since the decade following the [...]
Supply chain costs push EU’s potential hard Brexit bill to £100bn January 15, 2018 European nations could face a cost of as much as £100bn if the EU and the UK do not agree a Brexit trade deal, according to new analysis published today. Under a so-called hard Brexit, in which the UK trades with the EU under World Trade Organisation rules, the cost of rerouting European supply chains [...]
Focus On Angel: House prices have almost doubled in this central part of Islington in the last ten years January 4, 2018 Though the name has pious connotations, the Angel is actually named after a pub. Well, the 17th century Angel Inn was a hotel, too, then a restaurant, but is now a Co-Op Bank. Although there is a JD Wetherspoons pub called The Angel next door. As an incredibly central part of the London borough of [...]
Young’s pubs boss Patrick Dardis: “Smithfields is the new Covent Garden” November 16, 2017 Pub company Young’s has announced a deal to buy City favourite Smith’s of Smithfield and its sister site on Cannon Street. The acquisition was confirmed as the group reported a market-beating rise in sales across its pubs. The figures Revenue across managed pubs, which accounts for the biggest chunk of the business, was up 4.6 [...]
Wetherspoon’s releases Brexit beer mats… again November 1, 2017 JD Wetherspoon has today placed 500,000 new beer mats in its pubs, in an effort to persuade punters unilateral free trade is the best approach for the UK post-Brexit. Founder and chairman Tim Martin argued last month that unilateral free trade will reduce food and drink prices in the UK, allowing Wetherspoon's to make its [...]
Wetherspoon’s goes green with vow to stop using plastic straws | City A.M. September 25, 2017 Wetherspoon’s and its senior management have taken stands on several issues over the years. Chairman Tim Martin is still expounding his views on Brexit, and last week all 900 pubs reduced prices in protest against the tax burden on pubs. Now the chain has turned to an even more pressing issue: plastic straws. The company [...]
The CBI aims to drive UK manufacturing to fresh highs as it sets up new council with Ineos director Tom Crotty at the helm August 14, 2017 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is setting up a manufacturing council in an effort to support the industry. The chief executive-level council will bring together dozens of the UK’s top manufacturers, and will be headed by chemical giant Ineos’ group director Tom Crotty. Crotty said: “A vibrant manufacturing sector is essential to the growth [...]