Picnic in style with our top restaurant-in-a-box delivery kits March 29, 2021 As the weather turns and outdoor meet-ups for two groups of up to six people are finally allowed, there’s a bit of optimism in the air. What better way to celebrate than with a Covid-friendly, appropriately-distanced, outdoor feast? Our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen continues to eat his way through as many home delivery boxes as [...]
Bring on the post-Brexit vertical farming revolution October 22, 2020 As the UK and the EU stretch out yet another week of “will they or won’t they?” over a trade deal, like a painfully unromantic episode of Neighbours (no jokes about Australian models, please), businesses are not only trying to plan for what happens in January, but also questioning how much we should rely on [...]
First lockdown cost food and drink industry £751m a week in lost sales, research shows November 12, 2020 The first UK-wide national lockdown cost the food and drink industry £751m a week in lost revenue, according to the latest research. Out-of-home food consumption fell 36 per cent in the first half of 2020, as the closure of restaurants and cafes and the shift to remote working forced Brits to eat more meals at [...]
Boris Johnson’s plan to tackle obesity must be backed by behavioural science March 15, 2021 The last 12 months have revealed clear links between obesity and Covid-19. As the Government pledges £100m to tackle this next great health challenge, what will it take to reduce our national waistline for life – not just life after lockdown? This month, the Government unveiled a new incentives and rewards approach designed to tackle [...]
Robot delivery service Starship Technologies targets students in $40m raise August 20, 2019 Starship Technologies, a US tech firm headed by former Airbnb exec Lex Bayer, has raised $40m (£33.1m) in a series A funding round. The investment was led by Morpheus Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Matrix Partners, Metaplanet Holdings, TDK Ventures, Qu Ventures and others. Starship’s autonomous robot delivery fleet operates in cities across the [...]
Buying newlyweds a crypto present is still the best gift January 8, 2021 In the recent past (I couldn’t tell you when exactly because the last ten months have destroyed my conception of time and my place on this planet), a good mate of mine got married. He is male and is called Adam and his wife is female, but not called Eve. He’s not your usual investor, [...]
Electric cars will lead to a design transformation on the scale of iPhones & Apple laptops March 6, 2021 There was a golden age of car design that ran from the mid 1950’s to early 1970’s. Cars like the Jaguar e-type, Ferrari Dino, or Pontiac Firebird emerged; they were not only engineering miracles, but objets d’art. During this time, the imagination of the auto industry was running wild, setting out ambitious visions of the [...]
IPOs – no sure thing? November 26, 2019 IPOs always attract plenty of attention, particularly when they are of highly-recognised companies. But are they a wise destination for investor cash? IPOs offer plenty of glamour, a change from the usual stocks in an index, and there have been plenty of new entrants to the UK stock market over the past ten years. Some [...]
Nation of beer drinkers: Brits spend extra £2.1bn on booze in lockdown December 18, 2020 Booze-drinking Brits spent an extra £2.1bn on alcoholic beverages this year as they stocked up on lager, wine and spirits while pubs were closed during lockdown. Despite its name, Corona was one of the lager brands to toast the largest growth, with sales up £68m compared to last year. Lager was the fastest growing drink [...]
Bank and government support to UK firms tops £100bn September 22, 2020 Struggling UK companies have now received more than £100bn worth of support from banks and the government through various coronavirus stimulus schemes, official figures have shown. UK banks have lent out more than £58bn to hard-hit companies through the government-backed coronavirus loan schemes, according to Treasury figures out today. HMRC figures showed that companies have [...]