21 movies to see in 2021: Our bumper guide to the year ahead January 8, 2021 If 2020 had been the plot of a movie, no-one would have believed it. As the pandemic spread its tendrils across the globe, Hollywood’s studios were forced to shut their doors and an entire year’s worth of blockbusters either moved to streaming or were pushed back to 2021. This year the only thing we can [...]
Costain secures £3.3bn HS2 contract that could create 6,000 jobs April 15, 2020 Engineering firm Costain has won a £3.3bn contract to design and build the tunnels connecting the HS2 railway to London Euston station. This initial phase of the High-Speed Two (HS2) railway project, which controversially got the go-ahead from government in February, will create 6,000 jobs, Costain said. Costain’s share price surged 23 per cent to [...]
Domino’s chair steps down after activist fund grabs slice of company December 10, 2019 The chair of Domino’s Pizza is set to step down before the end of the year, following the appointment of an aggressive US hedge fund to the board of the company. The company said today that Stephen Hemsley had decided to step down from the board with effect from 29 December. Senior independent director Ian [...]
Help to Buy: Most popular London locations for first-time buyers revealed December 6, 2019 South London dominated the most popular locations for Help to Buy home purchases, new research has found after the government ISA scheme came to an end. Lewisham, Deptford and Croydon were all popular with buyers seeking to get on the property ladder, as first-time home owners were priced out of previously popular locations such as [...]
Non-alcoholic beers protect Fuller’s from Dry January slump January 30, 2020 Pub chain Fuller, Smith and Turner said an increased range of non-alcoholic drinks protected it from the usual January slump in sales, despite an uptick in the number of people going tee-total for the month. Fuller’s today announced that like-for-like sales in managed pubs and hotels were up 4.3 per cent in the six weeks [...]
For the sake of our economy and our culture, we need to save London’s theatres July 3, 2020 Tomorrow, large parts of London’s economy will start to reopen. Pubs and restaurants will fling wide their doors, hotels will begin to welcome guests, and museums and art galleries will once more be open for business. But not all of London will be switching back into gear. Live performances are still banned, placing immense pressure [...]
Restaurant delivery boxes are here to stay: We review 48 of them June 29, 2021 Before the pandemic, most top chefs would have turned their nose up at home delivery services. There’s the lack of control, the logistical nightmare, not to mention the wafer-thin margins. But necessity being the mother of invention has led to dozens of outstanding delivery services, and even with restaurants back open and looking forward to [...]
US crude oil inventories near all-time highs as demand dries up April 22, 2020 US crude oil inventories neared record levels today as producers continued to pump despite a near-total collapse in demand. Crude inventories rose by 15m barrels in the week to April 17 to 518.6m barrels, putting them within striking distance of an all-time record of 535m barrels set in 2017. Rystad Energy analysts had predicted an [...]
Please, end the political pass the parcel and build up our energy infrastructure September 5, 2022 Today the Conservative Party announces its new leader, drawing the curtain down on three years of Boris Johnson’s inimitable premiership. It is the third internal change of leader in six years, and we might hope as a nation that we are now given a little respite. Choosing a lowlight of the campaign is not easy. [...]
Pennon raises dividend on the back of robust first half of 2019 November 26, 2019 Pennon, which owns waste management firm Viridor and utility supplier South West Water, said it had posted a “robust” set of results for 2018 as the firm raised its shareholder dividend. Read more: Compass Group shares sink as catering unit is undercooked The figures Pennon’s profit rose 0.8 per cent in the half ending 30 [...]