Pizza Hut: Which UK restaurants are shutting down? September 11, 2020 Pizza Hut today revealed three London restaurants will permanently close in a crushing blow for food-lovers across the capital. Diners will no longer be able to go to the Croydon North End, Leyton Mill and Stratford restaurants. The fast food chain announced earlier this week that a total of 29 restaurants will permanently close, with [...]
Massive corporate debt could hamper the pandemic recovery. Here’s how we could deal with it September 11, 2020 Will Tanner puts forward a suggestion for tackling UK companies’ rising corporate debt in the wake of the pandemic. The paradox of the pandemic is that everything we have done to support our economy through the crisis may inadvertently hamper our recovery out of it. Since March, the Treasury has gone to unprecedented lengths to [...]
Exclusive: London consumer spending soars during cheap meal scheme September 10, 2020 The Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave London restaurants a huge boost in August, with spending jumping to just 10 per cent below its 2019 level, according to the latest data provided exclusively to City A.M. Food and beverage spending in London in July was a whopping 39.1 per cent lower than a year [...]
Signs of a positive Q4 despite lingering crisis September 9, 2020 Going into Q4 2020, we’re seeing EMEA starting to peek its head over the crest of the global pandemic. The just-released SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor for Q4 2020 forecasts that M&A announcements may see a YOY uptick of +6 percent, within a range of +15 percent to -2 percent. Distressed M&A deals have risen slightly here, but [...]
Pandemic pushes retail job losses to 125,500 this year September 9, 2020 More than 125,500 retail jobs have been lost so far this year as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated changes on the struggling UK high street. Nearly 15,700 roles were lost every month, while 13,867 shops have closed down across the UK this year. Small independent retailers shed 32,598 jobs between 1 January and 31 August, while [...]
Pizza Hut to close 29 restaurants, putting 450 jobs at risk September 9, 2020 Pizza Hut has announced plans to close 29 restaurants in the UK, putting 450 jobs at risk. The fast food chain is the latest firm to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) during the coronavirus pandemic, as it seeks to cut rents and exit loss-making stores, according to reports. Pizza Hut Restaurants, which is separate [...]
Coronavirus insolvency measures must be extended, says IoD September 9, 2020 The Institute of Directors is calling for an urgent extension to emergency insolvency measures to prevent a swathe of job losses and company collapses. In June, the government introduced emergency legislation to suspend the threat of liability for “wrongful trading” until 30 September 2020. Before the measures were introduced, the board of directors had a [...]
Worried about furlough fraud? Now is the time to check your claims September 7, 2020 When Covid-19 struck, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced the furlough scheme at remarkable speed to help people and businesses through the pandemic. But when claims are made in a rush – and under huge pressure – mistakes are inevitable. Also, sadly, when a recession hits the likelihood of fraud tends to increase. That is [...]
German parliament launches investigation into Wirecard collapse September 1, 2020 German politicians will open a full inquiry into the collapse of Wirecard, forcing the government to address questions over its failure to avert one of the country’s biggest corporate frauds. Wirecard collapsed into insolvency in June and there have been growing questions over the failure of German authorities to pick up on numerous red flags. [...]
Germany extends job-support scheme – contrasting with UK’s approach August 26, 2020 Germany has extended its job-support programme that subsidises workers’ wages at coronavirus-hit firms until the end of 2021 in a bid to support its economy. The move contrasts sharply with the UK’s approach. British chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the country’s “furlough” scheme in October. Germany’s scheme, known as “short-time work” or “Kurzarbeit”, [...]