Offices share half-a-billion business rates write-off December 22, 2020 The Valuation Office Agency has agreed to write off almost £500m-worth of offices’ business rates after weeks of negotiations. Business rates discounts were announced for firms directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, including pubs and restaurants. Read more: UK borrowing in November the third-highest on record Offices that lay empty however [...]
British Chambers slam “constantly shifting goalposts” in desperate plea to PM December 22, 2020 The British Chambers of Commerce have today warned the Prime Minister that businesses are “on their knees” due to new lockdown restrictions. The body’s President, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, says that the “constantly shifting goalposts” had left many businesses considering “shutting up shop for good.” In her open letter, she calls for the PM to offer [...]
MPs slam government’s ‘woeful’ handling of bounce back loans December 16, 2020 After months of chaos MPs have today published a report into the government’s failings to support small businesses with the bounce back loan scheme. The Public Accounts Committee has published a devastating report into the government’s handling of the bounce back loan scheme, which has received criticism since its inception. The BBLS was introduced in [...]
Placing London in Tier 3 would deliver ‘killer blow’ for hospitality venues December 8, 2020 Placing London in Tier 3 would represent a “killer blow” for the capital’s hospitality venues, the UK’s leading business bodies have told City A.M, amid fears that tougher restrictions lie on the horizon following a rise in infections. Latest data from Public Health England showed that London’s infection rate now stands at 169.6 per 100,000 [...]
Market Finance to make £5,000 grants available to UK SMEs December 8, 2020 Market Finance has announced an SME fund that will make grants available to businesses struggling amid the pandemic. The fintech lender has launched the Business Booster Fund which will make grants of £5,000 available to the UK’s small firms in a bid to help them “kickstart” 2021. The initiative is broad brush – any business [...]
Can I go to the theatre in Tier 2? Yes – here are the top December shows November 27, 2020 Few industries have been as badly hit by Covid restrictions as the theatre. Not have they had to shut for two lockdowns, but social distancing means most productions, already run on the thinnest of margins, are now loss-making operations. Throw in the uncertainty over what lies ahead, which is at odds with the long lead-times [...]
The best London takeaways, and the wines to drink with them November 26, 2020 The end is in sight: one more week until we are released back into the wild. While we all brace ourselves to get back into our favourite restaurants and bars across, I have been thinking about my favourite wines to pair with takeaway food for one last lockdown binge. Indian If like me you find [...]
New Covid rules are a ‘disaster’ for hospitality, based on non-existent data, says D&D London boss November 24, 2020 The head of restaurant group D&D London has slammed the new government Covid restrictions, calling them a “disaster” and a “kick in the teeth” for the hospitality sector. Des Gunewardena writes in an exclusive column for City A.M. that the government is failing to back up its new regulations, which place tough restrictions on bars [...]
The government is ignoring Covid science and hospitality is paying the price, says D&D boss November 24, 2020 Des Gunewardena is Chairman and CEO of D&D London, the restaurant group behind brands including Bluebird, Angler, 14 Hills and Coq d’Argent. Here he lays out where the government has failed the hospitality sector and gives a plan for how it could still salvage something from the most important month of the year. So we’ve finally [...]
Tier 3 restrictions could be ‘nail in the coffin’ for London’s restaurants November 23, 2020 London’s chefs and restaurateurs reacted with fury and confusion today over the government’s plans to replace lockdown with a new three tier system. As shop owners and even sports stadiums prepare to start welcoming guests again, those working in hospitality say the industry has been hung out to dry, with some fearing a wave of [...]