End of the party: A quarter of nightclubs set to close due to roadmap delay June 14, 2021 A quarter of nightclubs across the UK could shut permanently if the next stage of easing lockdown restrictions is delayed by another four weeks. The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), which represents clubs and bars across the country, said one in four businesses will not survive longer than a month without additional financial support. Half [...]
Meal kits firm Dishpatch rustles up £10m in funding round June 13, 2021 A meal kits provider that offers dishes from top London restaurants including Ottolenghi has raised £10m in a fresh funding round. Dishpatch, which was founded during lockdown last year, secured the backing from Andreessen Horowitz and Local Globe. Entrepreneurs including Bloom & Wild boss Aron Gelbard, Trouva’s Mandeep Singh and Songkick co-founder Ian Hogarth also [...]
Theatres set the stage for state-backed insurance scheme June 13, 2021 Theatre grandees are said to be on the brink of striking a deal with the government for a state-backed insurance scheme enabling performances to go ahead. Top West End figures have an agreement in principle from culture secretary Oliver Dowden for a taxpayer-backed indemnity programme, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The plans have now been passed [...]
JD Sports under fire for ‘inappropriate’ chairman bonus June 13, 2021 JD Sports is facing fierce criticism for paying bonuses to executive chairman Peter Cowgill despite taking tens of millions of pounds in government support. In a damning report shareholder advisory service Glass Lewis recommended that investors vote against the company’s “inappropriate” pay policy. It also said shareholders should oppose Cowgill’s reelection due to inadequate succession [...]
Will rapid delivery apps maintain post-pandemic momentum? June 12, 2021 Since the pandemic began, a slurry of quick delivery apps have emerged with the same promise to deliver food within 30 minutes, while the pandemic made supermarkets an even more costly chore. The pandemic pushed the pedal on rapid delivery apps like Weezy, Dija, Getir and Gorillas – a sector where a huge amount of [...]
Euro 2020: Less than one in three Brits plan to watch the football in a pub June 11, 2021 Less than a third of Brits plan to watch the Euro 2020 football tournament in a pub over the coming weeks despite the easing of restrictions, according to a new survey. Boozers are gearing up for a major boost to business as fans flock to their local for the delayed footie extravaganza. Yet pubs may [...]
Fossil fuel fashion: half of clothing made from non-recycled plastic, think tank says June 11, 2021 Half of fast-fashion items sold by online brands like Boohoo and Missguided, are made solely from non-recycled plastics, a think-tank has said today. Think tank Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) urged the government to impose a new tax on such clothing made from non-recycled plastic like polyester. Income from the suggested clothing [...]
Cheers! Naked Wines sales surge 68 per cent on strong US performance June 11, 2021 Naked Wines has been one of the few winners during the pandemic, reporting a surge in both customers and sales off the back of a strong performance in the US. With pubs and bars shut for most of the year, the online wine retailer reported a 68 per cent increase in annual sales to £340.2m. [...]
Hospitality sales drop by 26 per cent in May despite indoor reopening June 11, 2021 Pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK saw sales slide more than a quarter below pre-pandemic levels last month despite the reopening of thousands of venues, according to new figures. The latest Coffer CGA business tracker revealed that hospitality operators reported a 26 per cent decline for May against the same month in 2019. Trading [...]
John Lewis exclusive: ’40 per cent of our profits will come from non-retail by 2030′ June 11, 2021 High Street giant John Lewis looks back on a difficult year. In March, the 157-year old partnership announced it would not reopen eight stores after lockdown restrictions eased, putting almost 1,500 jobs at risk. The value of John Lewis stores dropped to almost half the value they were before this year’s and last year’s writedowns, due [...]
