Robot waiters, half the tables, and crossed fingers: How restaurants will reopen after UK lockdown ends May 2, 2020 Robot waiters, staff in masks and two metres between each table. This is what dining out could look like when the UK coronavirus lockdown is eased. At least, for the restaurants that manage to survive. Official government guidance on reopening has been limited so far. However, that could change soon as the Prime Minister said [...]
Coronavirus and sport: A guide to filling the void left by the cancellation of live fixtures March 16, 2020 You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. For many, sport is a steady, reassuring constant – something around which life revolves. Plans are made to accommodate it, socialising takes place alongside it, vast amounts of money is spent facilitating it, almost every hobby is connected to it, weekends are often entirely consumed by [...]
Focus on Primrose Hill: This prime enclave offers Victorian homes and a village vibe October 4, 2019 The term ‘London village’ is thrown around a lot these days, not least by those trying to sell you a property. By some standards, anywhere with an independent bakery and a few planters on the high street seems to qualify. But Primrose Hill, nestled between Regent’s Park and Camden, is one of the originals – [...]
Retail and casual dining bounce back in March amid sunny spring weather April 15, 2019 Britain's pubs and restaurants cheered a recovery in trading last month, as warmer weather boosted the nation’s appetite for drinking and eating out. A bounceback from cold, snowy weather last year saw collective like-for-like sales in restaurants and pubs grow by nearly four per cent in March, new data released today by the Coffer Peach [...]
Has-beans? What Chilango’s CVA tells us about the struggling casual dining sector December 11, 2019 Mexican chain Chilango offers its customers a choice between three different types of salsa: mild, medium, or hot. Faced with those options, who chooses the middle one? This is – in a way – the conundrum facing the increasingly polarised casual dining sector. Nowadays, customers either want fast, cheap fuel, or they want a quality [...]
Heineken completes £2.2m redevelopment of The Gun in Spitalfields January 30, 2019 Heineken has completed the £2.2m redevelopment of historic East End pub The Gun, the company said today. The Gun, which was first opened in 1929, has undergone a radical transformation since closing its doors four years ago. Read more: Fuller's calls time on brewing business as Asahi agrees £250m deal The makeover, carried out with the [...]
COVID-19 – the latest challenge to ‘levelling up’ the UK economy March 30, 2020 In uncharted territory … When I flew out of Buenos Aires in late 1990, having ended my stint working as part of a team supporting the economic reform programme of President Menem, I genuinely believed I would never again work in such a severe economic situation like the one Argentina had been in. Prices in [...]
And the best restaurant award goes to… Nando’s? April 12, 2019 A local award meant to recognise business on Preston's high street drew criticism after Nandos' was named the city centre's best restaurant. The Smiles Better Awards, running annually since 2016, are organised by the Preston Business Improvement District (Bid) and sponsored by the NWL Chamber of Commerce. Awards are given following a public vote, which [...]
Lloyd’s of London will ban drunk staff from the office as it clamps down on harassment with new rules April 7, 2019 Lloyd’s of London is set to share a new code of conduct with employees this week, setting out revised expectations for staff following a series of allegations over the culture at the firm. Last month Bloomberg quoted 18 women who had been subjected to “near-persistent harassment” at the insurance market, with one colleague calling the [...]
Number of UK firms in ‘significant distress’ rises July 30, 2019 The number of UK businesses facing “significant distress” has increased as consumer spending slumps due to ongoing uncertainty. In total, 14 per cent of all UK businesses – 484,000 – said they were experiencing significant distress at the end of June, with the leisure and retail industries hit the hardest. Read more: Consumer spending to [...]