The A-Z of wine: H is for… Hunter Valley June 9, 2022 Our alphabetical tour of the wine world continues with a trip Down Under to find a hidden gem in Hunter Valley What’s this then? A bit of a niche area this week, because it turns out that when you commit to the rigid structure of an alphabet-themed series there’s always one letter that throws a [...]
Thousands of Brits received ‘unacceptable service’ after Storm Arwen, Ofgem rules June 9, 2022 Electricity networks provided an “unacceptable service” to thousands of customers following Storm Arwen, which left nearly one million homes without power, industry watchdog Ofgem has said. Winds of 100mph caused widespread disruption, uprooted trees and damaged power lines, cutting the electricity supply from November 26 across northern England and Scotland. Power outages lasted for more [...]
Fuller’s toasts return to profit amid ‘fragile’ consumer confidence June 9, 2022 Pub chain Fuller’s is back in the black after posting an adjusted profit before tax of £7.2m, as the licensed trade recovers from the pandemic. In results for the year to 26 March, the pub operator saw profit back in growth after posting a £48.7m loss in 2021, when Covid lockdowns enforced the closure of [...]
The new landlord in town: John Lewis to build homes on two London Waitrose sites June 9, 2022 John Lewis is preparing to pitch itself to Londoners as an affable landlord, revealing plans for two rental developments at Waitrose sites in the city. The retailer set out early plans to for build to rent developments in Bromley and West Ealing in London, as well as a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Reading. The [...]
Amazon seizes more than three million counterfeit products as ecommerce giant cracks down on fraud June 8, 2022 Amazon has seized more than three million counterfeit products in the last year and referred more than 600 criminals for investigation as the tech firm tries to stamp out fraud. In its latest Brand Protection Report, the ecommerce giant revealed it has invested more than $900m and had more than 12,000 people—including machine learning scientists, software developers, and [...]
Govt wastes close to £100m on electronic tagging and has no clue if it helps prevent reoffending June 8, 2022 Whitehall’s watchdog has warned that the Government does not know if electronically tagging criminals is helping to cut reoffending because of failings with the system. The failure to carry out a “fundamental transformation” of the scheme has also cost the taxpayer millions of pounds, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). It said the Ministry [...]
Average Premiership attendances fall compared to pre-pandemic figures June 8, 2022 Regular season attendances in English rugby’s top flight Premiership competition are, on average, 1,000 down on pre-pandemic levels. In data crunched by City A.M. – and taking into account a series of factors – attendances in England’s top flight have fallen from 12,636 in the 2018-19 season, the last full season before the pandemic, to [...]
Despite Gareth Southgate plea to behave: England football fans arrested in Munich for Nazi salutes June 8, 2022 Ahead of the Nations League tie with Germany last night, local police in Germany said multiple England football fans in Munich have been arrested for making Nazi salutes and for damaging a hotel room. Eight England fans were arrested, largely in the downtown area of Munich, despite insisting they were determined to repair their damaged [...]
Welcome (back) to Ibiza, as the Balearic prepares for its biggest summer yet June 7, 2022 The pandemic hit every tourism-focused economy hard, but few places felt the effects of Covid more starkly than Ibiza, an island that specialises in squeezing lots of hot and sweaty people into enclosed spaces. Two years of closures and uncertainty took their toll – almost half of the island’s GDP comes from tourism and visitor [...]
M&S bosses set to pocket £15m pay pot if bonus targets are hit June 7, 2022 Top bosses at Marks & Spencer could pocket some £15m in total if they achieve bonus targets, including a 50 per cent boost for the retailer’s share price. New CEO Stuart Machin is due to trouser a basic salary of £896,000, according to the supermarket’s annual report. Former boss Steve Row pocketed a salary of [...]