Naughty or nice: Which businesses pleased or peeved Santa in 2020? December 21, 2020 Which businesses stood out this year for going above and beyond for customers and staff, and which will be remembered less favourably for their pandemic policies? The last year has certainly been one that will not be forgotten. The last 12 months have been widely been touted “the worst ever” by people around the world, [...]
UK economy receives fresh warnings before Rishi Sunak addresses MPs May 18, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to address MPs today following new dire predictions of the impact of coronavirus on the UK economy. Sunak is set to face questions over how the UK will pay for huge public borrowing currently propping up the economy. The Treasury boss extended his job retention scheme to October last week, [...]
Beer sales slump dampens Marston’s share price July 24, 2019 Shares in pub operator Marston’s plunged more than 10 per cent today as the company announced that beer sales growth slumped due to poor weather. Sales have been hit by 2019’s “relatively poor weather” following last summer’s heatwave and the England football team’s World Cup success. Read more: Marston’s cheers rise in profits after strong [...]
With five months to prepare, the A-level results fiasco is a scandal of the government’s own making August 12, 2020 A-level results day is always fraught with drama. Whether its moral panic of grade inflation, handwringing about the relative value of a university degree, or outrage over news stories being illustrated by delighted blonde girls jumping into the air with joy, results day “scandal” it’s a staple of the August news calendar. This year is [...]
Has the dream of a ‘V-shaped’ economic recovery died? July 14, 2020 Much has been made of whether or not the UK is going to see a ‘V-shaped’ economic recovery from coronavirus. That is, a sharp fall in output followed by an almost equally quick rebound. Those hoping for such a sharp bounce-back appeared to have been dealt a harsh blow today when official figures showed the [...]
Conservative MPs call for a cut in beer duty February 13, 2020 Conservative MPs have signed a letter imploring the Chancellor Sajid Javid to cut beer duty. Chairman of the All-Parliamentary Beer Group, Mike Wood and Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall delivered a letter to the Treasury yesterday. The letter, signed by 85 Conservative MPs calls for a cut in the duty in the Chancellor’s [...]
Fuller’s toasts revenue growth despite beer business sale July 25, 2019 London pub chain Fuller’s has reported strong revenue growth in its first full-year results following the sale of its beer business to Asahi earlier this year. The figures Revenue was up seven per cent to £431.1m from £403.6m in 2018, the company said in it’s full year results to 30 March. Adjusted profit was flat [...]
Coronavirus: Digital is at the heart of SME recovery May 9, 2020 Gary Turner is co-founder of Xero Behind the sobering statistics around businesses in financial distress, thousands of SMEs are making radical changes to their working models through digitisation. Businesses that have been traditional at the core are now discovering that digital processes offer far greater scalability and resilience, and as a result of Covid-19 I [...]
London Metal Exchange plans to suspend ring trading amid coronavirus outbreak March 17, 2020 The London Metal Exchange (LME) is planning to suspend open outcry trading and shift its business entirely on to electronic systems for the first time in its 143-year history to limit the spread of coronavirus. The LME said today that it expects to temporarily shutter Europe’s largest open-outcry trading venue next Monday to protect traders [...]