Corona Impact Series: How a Brixton coffee roaster brew up plans for a radical transformation during lockdown April 29, 2021 In this series, City PM looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. Today: Volcano Coffee Works entered the initial lockdown as a wholesale business and, through necessity, is emerging as something very different. First lockdown Volcano Coffee Works is an independent [...]
City Pub Group expands portfolio in vote of confidence in London’s hospitality sector April 29, 2021 The City Pub Group has increased its stake in two hospitality chains in a vote of confidence in London’s pub sector. It has bought a 49 per cent stake in Barts Pub, the owner of Ladbroke Grove’s Kensington Park Hotel, for £750,000, and will operate the pub under a management contract. The City Pub Group [...]
Park Plaza operator PPHE looks forward to strong trading when hotels reopen April 29, 2021 Hotel chain PPHE, which operates the Park Plaza brand, said it expects demand to bounce back when restrictions on tourism are lifted. The firm said total revenue in the first three months of 2021 had plummeted 89.6 per cent to £5.3m, due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus restrictions. However PPHE said it had been [...]
In The Style sales soar 130 per cent in first financial update since retailer’s AIM listing April 29, 2021 Fast fashion firm In the Style, which collaborates with reality TV stars and online influencers, toasted booming sales over the last 12 months in its first financial results since it went public last month. The ecommerce retailer said turnover for the year ended 31 March is expected to be around £44.5m, a 130 per cent [...]
Unilever beats sales expectations and announces €3bn share buyback April 29, 2021 Unilever beat sales expectations in the first quarter and announced it will launch a share buyback of €3bn (£2.61bn) later this year. The consumer goods giant said this morning that it secured underlying sales growth of 5.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, beating analysts’ average forecast of 3.9 per cent. [...]
WH Smith launches £325m bond offering as retailer swings to first-half loss April 29, 2021 WH Smith warned it could breach its covenant tests next year as it revealed it swung to a first-half loss and launched a £325m bond offering. The newsagent chain announced yesterday evening that it was possible that “the group would not meet the conditions of the August 2022 covenant tests”. It posted a loss of [...]
Man’s best friend: Brits put a premium on pets even as household spend slips April 29, 2021 Not even lockdown could put an end to the old adage ‘Dogs are a man’s best friend’. In the last three months spending on pets surged as Brits prioritised emotional connections. Nationwide’s latest quarterly spending report reveals the biggest increases in spending between January and March have been on dating sites, gardening and pet-related costs. [...]
City fund managers discuss post-pandemic opportunities, with NatWest, Lloyds and BP topping the list April 28, 2021 As the economy slowly recovers from what has been a dramatic year, and investors gradually dare to think again about growth and investment, City PM checked in with a number of prominent Square Mile-based fund mangers to find out where they spot opportunities as London’s investment community starts to shake off the pandemic. Banking, energy [...]
Some 600 jobs at risk as Nestlé closes UK factory and moves some production to Europe April 28, 2021 Nestlé plans to close its Fawdon factory near Newcastle, putting 573 jobs at risk in the process. Under new proposals, the Swiss food and drinks conglomerate said products currently made at Fawdon would move to other plants in the UK and in continental Europe. If the plans go ahead, the Fawdon factory will close “towards [...]
Bouji restaurant group Hakkasan sold to hospitality giant Tao April 28, 2021 The famously bouji restaurant group Hakkasan has been bought by international hospitality giant Tao Group for an undisclosed sum. First opened in Fitzrovia in 2001 by Wagamama founder Alan Yao, Hakkasan soon became synonymous with London’s high end, high price dining scene, frequented by celebrities and oligarchs, with an encampment of paparazzi often waiting outside. [...]
