UK inflation leaps to 10.4 per cent smashing Bank of England and City forecasts March 22, 2023 UK inflation has surpassed forecasts and stayed in the double digits, in a sign the Bank of England will need to keep hiking interest rates to tame prices, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases jumped to 10.4 per cent in February, up from 10.1 per cent in January, according to the [...]
London’s last dance? Night czar Amy Lamé talks clubs facing lights out November 16, 2022 Night czar Amy Lamé talks to CityAM about London’s nightlife facing lights out, the capital as a 24 hour city and feeling like a pandemic scapegoat. “Gosh, how long have you got?” Lamé says with a laugh, when asked what the biggest challenge facing London’s night time economy is currently, in a bustling Soho coffee [...]
Left in the dark: Business chiefs fear redundancies after energy relief update delayed December 20, 2022 Business leaders have accused the government of leaving firms in the dark over energy bill support, after ministers push back an announcement of what aid will be on offer later next year. The government had previously said it would update businesses before the end of the year on energy bill relief from April 2023, when [...]
Inflation drops for second month in a row but experts warn rate has yet to pass its peak January 18, 2023 UK inflation has fallen for the second month in a row, but soaring food prices have led some experts to warn it may not have passed its peak yet. The rate of price increases dropped to 10.5 per cent in December, down from 10.7 per cent in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics [...]
Soho restaurants and cafés hit by Omicron restrictions December 14, 2021 Soho restaurants and cafés have been forced to rip up reservation lists as new Covid-19 restrictions scares punters from the West End.
Shapps intervention urged to stop energy suppliers ‘finding routes to inflate’ bills for SMEs November 28, 2022 The business minister has been asked to intervene to stop energy suppliers from hiking prices for small businesses. Some small firms have complained that their energy costs continue to climb, despite the government’s energy bill relief scheme. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has written to Grant Shapps to urge him to prevent suppliers from [...]
VAT freeze would create more than 286k new hospitality and tourism jobs, bosses say February 4, 2022 Hospitality bosses have urged ministers to halt a planned VAT rise this spring, claiming a retention could generate £7.7bn additional turnover in the next decade. Calls for a freeze have been reiterated by the British Beer and Pub Association, UKHospitality, the Tourism Alliance and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions today. In a study organised [...]
UK government launches £1bn Omicron rescue package for pubs, bars and restaurants December 21, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has launched a fresh £1bn rescue package to help sectors worst hit by the Omicron-induced economic storm survive. Pubs, bars and restaurants across England can now receive a one-off no strings attached payment of £6,000 per venue, the UK government announced today. Sunak said: “We recognise that the spread of the Omicron [...]
Pubs and bars anxiously wait to see if Omicron headlines have impacted customer confidence December 1, 2021 Hospitality firms are anxiously awaiting to see if Omicron variant headlines have hit consumer confidence. The bosses of both Loungers’ and Marston’s told CityA.M. that it was too soon to tell if bar goers had been deterred from making trips to venues after news of a new Covid variant. Loungers’ CEO Nick Collins said he [...]
All of the London mayoral election candidates we deserve, but won’t get May 24, 2023 As candidates to be the new Mayor of London pile in, I have some non-political suggestions to make. They include Stormzy and Adele among others who deeply care about our capital, writes Michael Martins