The City View: Markets up, and nickel chaos March 16, 2022 Today City A.M.’s Charlie Conchie takes the reigns of The City View podcast, chatting to Economics and Markets reporter Jack Barnett. They discuss markets being up; the Fed and the Bank of England’s probable rate hikes; commodity prices settling; and the London Metal Exchange, which suspended nickel trading today. Charlie also goes through the headlines: [...]
Pubs hope to sell 14 million pints as St Patrick Day celebrations return March 16, 2022 Pubs are anticipated to pull some 14 million pints tomorrow on the first St Patrick’s Day unmarred by Covid guidance in two years. The estimation comes from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), who encouraged punters to support their local on Thursday. Venues lost out on an estimated £54m on St Patrick’s Day last [...]
Wagamama sales surge ahead of pre-Covid levels as the Restaurant Group ‘mindful’ of Ukraine inflationary impact March 16, 2022 Wagamama owner the Restaurant Group has reported sales surging ahead of pre-pandemic levels as the hospitality sector recovers from lockdowns. In full-year results, the operator said like-for-like sales at Wagamama, plus its pubs and leisure divisions, were well ahead of the 2019 comparable. Pub sales were up nine per cent while its leisure division saw [...]
Week ahead: City eyes jam-packed week of economic data and announcements March 13, 2022 Investors’ focus on developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict may be pulled away by a week of jam-packed flagship economic announcements and data. Last week was an extremely volatile one for London’s premier FTSE 100 index, swinging from a low of 6,674 to a high of 7,672. It eventually finished up 2.41 per cent. Wild market [...]
More than 250 hospitality bosses call for VAT freeze as diners hit by rising costs February 7, 2022 Restaurant bosses from big names including JD Wetherspoon and Greene King have signed a letter to the Chancellor calling for a VAT freeze at 12.5 per cent. In an open letter to Rishi Sunak, more than 250 hospitality businesses have called for a re-think of plans to hike the VAT rate back to 20 per [...]
Office occupancy is up, as workers return to Central London offices January 27, 2022 Workers have started coming back into central London offices, according to new data from Infogrid, which shows the number of workers back in central London is up 42.7 per cent compared to last week. The figures, collected by Infogrid using sensors it has installed in its customers offices, show that office occupancy jumped 42.7 per [...]
Wagamama owner TRG hikes profit forecast as it warns of slow battle to recover consumer confidence January 21, 2022 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has upgraded its profit expectations after strong trade at the end of last year despite Covid uncertainty. The group was affected by Omicron concerns and restrictions, such as guidance to work from home, but said it continued to trade ahead of the market. In a trading update on Friday, the [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile today? December 17, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Carzam Online used car business Carzam’s has appointed Paddy Power’s former boss as a new executive chairman. Andy McCue, who spent a decade with the gaming and betting giant, was also CEO of The Restaurant Group during [...]
Ex-McDonalds boss Steve Easterbrook hands back £75m to avoid trial December 16, 2021 Former McDonald’s chief executive has handed back over $100m (£75m) to the fast-food chain as he settles out of court over his dismissal in 2019.
Investment giant duo plot takeover of Bridgepoint-owned Element Materials November 23, 2021 Private equity firm Cinven and a Canadian pension giant are reportedly in talks for a joint bid for Bridgepoint-owned Element Materials Technology. The discussions between the private equity firm and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) are still in the preliminary stages, Sky News’ Mark Kleinman first reported. Element, which offers testing services for materials [...]