Pub and restaurant sales jump in second week of trading July 24, 2020 Pub, bar and restaurant sales started to improve in the second week after lockdown was lifted as more sites reopened, the latest research showed. Hospitality businesses in England were allowed to reopen from 4 July as the coronavirus lockdown was eased, but sales jumped in the week beginning 13 July as more venues opened and [...]
Brokers, intermediaries and blockchain December 15, 2020 As a follow-on from my article on the top 7 things that people want to know about blockchain, I came up with another question: Does blockchain create value? Or to put it another way, “How does blockchain create value?” The short answer is: It doesn’t – in and of itself. Blockchain is infrastructure. Blockchain is [...]
The fight for the future of British fish and seafood February 15, 2021 As the fishy issue of seafood continues to cloud the waters between the EU and post-Brexit Britain, fishermen and suppliers are clamouring to reinvent the industry. Local & Independent has launched a Be Unshellfish campaign highlighting the difficulties faced by fishermen and explaining how both professional chefs and consumers can buy direct from the nets. [...]
British companies planned 300,000 redundancies in June and July September 8, 2020 UK employers planned more than 300,000 redundancies this summer as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the economy. Figures obtained by a BBC Freedom of Information request show 1,784 firms made plans to cut nearly 150,000 jobs in July, a near sevenfold increase on the year before. While in June, 1,888 employers [...]
FTSE 100 rises despite UK GDP missing expectations October 9, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose at the open despite the UK economy growing less than expected in August, as traders continued to mull the prospect of more US fiscal stimulus. London’s blue-chip index climbed 0.5 per cent to 6,009 points. The FTSE 250, made up of slightly smaller companies, rose 0.3 per cent. Asian markets were [...]
We travel to Europe’s first psychedelic mushroom retreat January 11, 2021 Lockdown has scuppered even the best laid plans. Far from going on holiday somewhere exotic, or embarking on an adventure of self discovery, we’re stuck in a country where walking in the park with a flask of tea may get you arrested. So as we dream of better times and sunnier climes, we’re starting a [...]
UK mortgage approvals beat expectations as housing market reopens July 29, 2020 UK mortgage approvals beat expectations and rocketed in June as the housing market reopened from the coronavirus lockdown, the latest figures have shown. The number of mortgages approved by UK banks rose to 40,000 in June after May’s record crash to just 9,300, the Bank of England said today. Analysts had predicted a rise to [...]
Mother’s Day gifts: Make 2021 a lockdown to remember March 6, 2021 As the first mother’s day under lockdown rapidly approaches, this year it’s more important than ever to get your gift just right. This year we have focused on the amazing food options you can lavish upon your wonderful mother – or you could even buy two and eat them together over a nice, long Zoom [...]
Back to Business: Masha Rener on keeping her restaurants afloat online August 1, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. Lina Stores head chef Masha Rener talks about how home-cooking with top ingredients is here to stay. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Masha Rener, head chef at Lina Stores in Soho and King’s Cross How [...]
Just Eat share price inches up as competition watchdog clears takeover of Hungryhouse November 16, 2017 Just Eat’s takeover of Hungryhouse has been officially cleared to go ahead by the competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today that a group of independent panel members found that the merger does not raise competition concerns. In the CMA’s provisional findings, published last month, it stated that Hungryhouse presently provides limited [...]