Just Eat’s Hungryhouse takeover is nearly good to go as competition watchdog gives provisional clearance October 12, 2017 The competition watchdog has provisionally paved the way for Just Eat to gobble up Hungryhouse, saying the merger does not raise concerns. Shares in Just Eat rose nearly five per cent in morning trading as investors chewed over the good news. Just Eat paid £200m for Hungryhouse, which it bought from Delivery Hero, back in [...]
Placing London in Tier 3 would deliver ‘killer blow’ for hospitality venues December 8, 2020 Placing London in Tier 3 would represent a “killer blow” for the capital’s hospitality venues, the UK’s leading business bodies have told City A.M, amid fears that tougher restrictions lie on the horizon following a rise in infections. Latest data from Public Health England showed that London’s infection rate now stands at 169.6 per 100,000 [...]
How meditation can help you through the pandemic January 22, 2021 Meditation is one of the most important and easiest things we can do to help improve our happiness in the current state of affairs. I have just returned from an extended trip to Brazil, and within a couple of days I could really notice the impact Covid is having on people here. People are stressed [...]
8 weird and wonderful applications of CRISPR technology March 31, 2021 Techno-optimists like to talk about the notion of a “singularity” – a time when technology progresses so rapidly that life is transformed beyond recognition. The driving force of this hypothetical event is typically regarded to be artificial intelligence becoming omnipresent. But what does omnipresent AI really mean for everyday life? ‘Technoking’ Elon Musk says that [...]
Back to Business: Merlin Labron-Johnson on how Covid could change hospitality for the better August 22, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. This week Merlin Labron-Johnson, chef-founder of Osip, speaks about the silver linings he found during lockdown. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Merlin Labron-Johnson and I’m the chef-owner of a little restaurant called Osip in Bruton, [...]
Nicola Sturgeon is no Mother Christmas December 3, 2020 If there is one political certainty I would bet my house on, it’s that when politicians are in serious trouble they will suddenly make a major announcement to push the damaging story off the news agenda. There is no better exponent of this trait than the media operation of Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish government, [...]
Best of travel: The foodie revolution hits the Maldives March 1, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Melissa York’s trip to The Maldives. ••• A friend once told me, in total bafflement, about a couple who left their honeymoon in The Maldives early. They were bored, she said, in the midst [...]
Pets At Home: Animal ownership ‘not just Covid trend’ as profit slips November 23, 2022 The chief of Pets At Home has said pet owners are keen to treat their animals still, as the FTSE 250 firm posts subdued profit before tax. In interim results, the London-listed business posted underlying profit before tax of £59.2m, some 9.3 per cent below its previous half-year sum of £65.3m. Profit slipped due to [...]
Lockdown board games: Forget Monopoly, here are the real games December 30, 2020 For decades board games lived largely unloved lives, their battered boxes pulled off dusty shelves on rainy days and holidays. But as we approach essentially another national lockdown, many of us will be dusting them off once more. Back in their heyday, board games were designed to be simple, with concepts that could appeal equally [...]
BOXPARK chief: Government must allow hospitality businesses to recover October 11, 2020 The past few months have been some of the most difficult for the hospitality industry – and now, just as many of us are getting back on our feet, we have been hit by new restrictions that could last for up to six months. Six months is an extremely long time for an industry that [...]