Spirits in the sky: JD Wetherspoon axes Jägermeister and French brandy in post-Brexit plan September 12, 2018 JD Wetherspoon is ditching European spirits such as Jägermeister for non-EU equivalents in a bid to lower prices across its 880 UK pubs. Replacing the ousted continental brands, which also include French brandies Courvoisier VS and Hennessy Fine de Cognac, will be US drink E&J Brandy, Australia’s Black Bottle and Strika, a herbal liqueur produced [...]
Berry Bros & Rudd boss Dan Jago interview: Uncorking Britain’s oldest wine merchant September 3, 2018 The flagship shop of Berry Brothers & Rudd has remained unchanged for over 300 years. Famous customers, from Byron to Churchill, have stepped through the doorway and left St James’s Street behind for a wood-panelled room replete with bottles of top-notch plonk. In the back room, one of the walls has been repurposed after previously [...]
London’s historic India Club saved as Westminster council halts Strand development plans | City A.M. August 1, 2018 The Strand’s iconic India Club has been spared destruction by Westminster city council after an application for redevelopment was denied last night. Plans to revamp one of London’s most established Indian restaurants were refused on the grounds of its cultural and historical importance. Marston Properties, the freeholders who had hoped to create a more modern [...]
Wetherspoon’s will slash the price of food and drink for a day to protest tax burden on pubs | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has announced that it will hold another “Tax Equality Day”, reducing the price of all food and drink to protest VAT. Spearheaded by founder Tim Martin, the protest calls on the government to lower the tax burden on the hospitality industry. Food in pubs is subject to 20 per cent VAT, [...]
Theresa May is ready for Brexit negotiations to ‘accelerate and intensify’ but Michel Barnier says big divergences remain June 29, 2018 Theresa May has told European Union leaders the UK is ready for Brexit talks to pick up, with the publication of a much-anticipated Brexit white paper to be published shortly. But EU chief negotiatior Michel Barnier said today that while progress had been made – big differences remained. He added that he hoped a British [...]
Theresa May is ready for Brexit negotiations to ‘accelerate and intensify’ but Michel Barnier says big divergences remain June 29, 2018 Theresa May has told European Union leaders the UK is ready for Brexit talks to pick up, with the publication of a much-anticipated Brexit white paper to be published shortly. But EU chief negotiatior Michel Barnier said today that while progress had been made – big differences remained. He added that he hoped a British [...]
Jeremy Hunt says Airbus warnings over Brexit are ‘completely inappropriate’ June 24, 2018 Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said “threats” made by Airbus over pulling investment in the UK because of Brexit are “completely inappropriate”. Last week, Airbus warned it could leave the UK in the event of a hard Brexit, putting around 14,000 jobs at risk. The pan-European firm said it would consider moving out of the [...]
Editor’s Notes: Without the UK, the EU can resume its march to ever closer union, Nex’s Michael Spencer backs British bubbly and Lady Wilson remembered June 15, 2018 Earlier this week I chaired a discussion at TheCityUK’s annual conference, where several people, including the lobby group’s chairman, John McFarlane, stressed the point that “there’s life beyond Brexit”. It can’t be said often enough, given how much of our national attention and energy has been sucked into the black hole of Brexit: the uncertainty, [...]
Network Rail wants to ban plastic cutlery and cups from major stations by 2020 June 6, 2018 Network Rail is to ban retailers at some of its stations from supplying plastic cutlery and cups in a push to become more environmentally friendly. By the end of 2020, retailers at some of the biggest and busiest rail stations will also have to implement a coffee cup recycling scheme and expand the roll out [...]
The internet trolls ruined social media, but here’s how brands and charities can reclaim it May 29, 2018 Advertising used to be simple. Brands placed ads in print and on billboards, or maybe they’d buy airtime to run television commercials. The internet made everything more complicated. Brands had to create new types of advertising, and the popularity of social media meant many firms felt the need to be involved and create profiles in [...]