Here’s how a campaign to slash VAT cut the price of today’s pint September 24, 2014 The price of food and drink in 15,000 pubs and restaurants was cut by 7.5 per cent today as businesses came together to show the benefits of cutting VAT. Unfortunately the cut is a temporary one. Wetherspoons has reduced the price a pint of John Smith’s from an average £2.29 to £1.83 and a plate [...]
Ed Miliband re-launches PM campaign with new battle against zero-hour contracts November 17, 2014 Businesses and unions are digging in for an election-year battle over zero-hour contracts and what they mean for workers Ed Miliband re-launched his campaign to be the next Prime Minister last week, with a new attack on zero-hour contracts and the treatment of workers. Businesses hit back immediately, arguing the contracts give workers flexibility, allow [...]
Pub backing helping Brasserie Bar Co think big February 17, 2014 A CHAIN of restaurants named after French chef Raymond Blanc has secured £13.5m of funding to grow its gastropub brand. Brasserie Bar Co, the owner of Brasserie Blanc restaurants, said today that the funds from private equity firm ESO Capital will be used mainly to expand its White Brasserie pub chain. The group, which runs [...]
Property firms Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey line up to join FTSE 100 as IMI and Petrofac drop out December 1, 2014 Two companies are on track to be promoted to the FTSE 100 this week as the UK’s main stock indices undergo a reshuffle. Residential property development companies Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey are both in line to be moved on to the FTSE 100 index from their current position on the FTSE 250. The FTSE 100 [...]
Carpetright chairman Lord Harris to take his leave after 26 years October 21, 2014 CARPETRIGHT founder and chairman Lord Harris announced yesterday he would be stepping down – and this time for good – after naming Mitchells & Butlers boss Bob Ivell as his successor. Harris first announced his retirement in May only to reveal weeks later that he planned to stay on as non-executive chairman until a replacement [...]
From Grumpy Cat and falling oil prices to Google blackouts and the weather bomb: Here are 10 things we learned this week December 12, 2014 It's been another busy week… here's our pick of the things we learned. 1. Grumpy Cat may not look too impressed but for once she certainly had something to smile about. Turns out the feline internet celebrity earned £32m last year. That's more than a host of business bosses, including Sir Martin Sorrell, Jamie [...]
Punch founder in £37m Strada restaurant deal September 28, 2014 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur behind Pizza Express, Punch Taverns and the insurance group Pearl, has bought the Strada chain of Italian restaurants in a £37m deal. Sun Capital Partners, Osmond’s private equity vehicle, is buying the Strada brand and 43 restaurants from the Tragus Group in a deal announced yesterday. Osmond said his plan for [...]
Mitchells & Butlers blames poor weather for August sales slump September 25, 2014 PUBS AND restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers reported a slight 0.6 per cent rise in like-for-like full-year sales yesterday in a trading update, due to mixed performance over the summer. Mitchells & Butlers, whose chains include Harvester and All Bar One, said sales in July were boosted by the World Cup, but that damp weather [...]
Greene King sees a slow start to the year as World Cup hits sales September 10, 2014 British pub and breweries group Greene King announced yesterday that it expected sales in its core managed division to improve over the remainder of the year, after a disappointing 0.4 per cent growth in the first quarter due to the impact of England’s disappointing World Cup performance. The group also said that despite the UK’s [...]
UK consumer confidence dips but stays high October 30, 2014 Confidence among the UK’s shoppers remains at high levels that are consistent with a strong economy despite falling marginally in October. The confidence index produced by market research firm GfK fell by one point from September to October and now sits at minus two, according to survey results released today. At the peak of financial [...]