Bank Holiday Weekend Press 29 March – 1 April
Pubs
Wetherspoons: we are quality
Cheap-as-chips pub chain JD Wetherspoon has defended its price hikes by claiming it now wants to be known for its quality.
Customer services chief Megan Stewart stunned one irate punter by saying it wants to “step away from being the cheapest”.
Wetherspoons infuriated drinkers by slapping-up to 40p on pint prices days before the budget.
Responding to a Sun reader, Stewart said: “We do feel the pricing structure remains competitive and we still offer great value for money.
“However, we have stepped away from being the cheapest on the market. We prefer to focus more on our service and the quality we offer.”
The letter went out last week – after lager, ciders and John Smith’s bitter all soared in price.
Founder Tim Martin blamed rising taxes, despite the beer duty cut in the Budget.
The Sun, Friday
Best of times extended on the Kings Road
A pub whose clientele included George Best and Dylan Thomas has been sold for a rumoured £4 million after Kensington and Chelsea planners rejected a scheme to convert it into a £20 million home.
Robert Bourne, a property tycoon and philanthropist, has sold The Phene off Kings Road to the City Pub Company, founded two years ago by the entrepreneurs Clive Watson and David Bruce after the sale of their AIM-quoted Capital Pub Company to Greene King for £93 million.
The Phene, dating to 1850, is the duo’s first acquisition in London since they launched their business with Enterprise Investment Scheme funding.
They have raised £9 million and bought nine other pubs in towns and cities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Winchester and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Mr Bourne, who also owns Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and Collins’ Music Hall, ran into opposition from local residents after he lodged plans to close The Phene and create a luxury home with a gym, swimming pool, steam room and sauna.
In January the Government’s Planning Inspectorate upheld the borough’s decision to reject the scheme on the ground that it would harm the character of the neighbourhood, which is in a conservation area.
The Phene, built by the Victorian philanthropist Samuel Phene as a watering hole for servants and local tenants, was acquired by Mr Bourne and his wife, Sally, the theatre impresario, a decade ago for about £2 million.
They have since invested more than £1 million turning it into a “gastropub-cum-restaurant”.
Mr Watson said that the acquisition of The Phene was likely to be the first of several by the City Pub Co in London, although he continued to seek pubs in “affluent market towns and cities in southern England”.
He said that the group, whose board includes John Roberts, the former Fuller’s Beer Company managing director, was hoping to raise £10 million under the present EIS fundraising and would seek to initiate a further £10 million equity raising in April next year. Davis Coffer Lyons acted for the Bourne family.
The Times, Saturday
Punch Taverns debt plan rejected by bondholders
A row over how to restructure Punch Taverns, the heavily indebted pubs group, has escalated after senior bondholders on Thursday rejected a plan put forward by management.
The tenanted pubs company, which built up £2.4bn of debt during an acquisition binge in the last decade, last month published a long-awaited plan to return it to a “normal publicly listed company”.
The pubs group has two complex and unsustainable debt structures, dubbed Punch A and Punch B, which require large cash injections to avoid a breach of covenants.
Under the plan published by Punch executive chairman, Stephen Billingham, the company proposed to reduce the debt in one of its debt vehicles, Punch B, by £229m through a deal with junior bondholders. Punch proposed to pay the junior bondholders £93m in cash and issue new debt notes worth £56m.
However, a committee largely representing senior bondholders yesterday issued a statement saying the proposal “does not provide a satisfactory solution”.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) committee made clear it “would not support the current proposals put forward by Punch” and urged management to work with senior bondholders to reach a “quick and efficient resolution”.
Some preliminary talks have already taken place between the committee, which is being advised by Rothschild, and Punch.
Senior bondholders object to the plan as they believe it prioritises junior lenders, who should be lower down the hierarchy. Meanwhile senior bondholders have to wait five years to see any significant return.
In Thursday's statement, the committee suggested a more acceptable proposal would involve repaying bondholders in the correct order.
A spokesman for Punch said the company “firmly believes that it is the best interests of all parties to agree a consensual restructuring”.
He added: “While these discussions remain ongoing, the board continues to believe that such a consensual restructuring will be launched in the first half of 2013.”
Shares remained unchanged at 10.75p.
The Daily Telegraph, Friday
Law to help save 100s of ailing pubs
Hundreds of pubs threatened with closure could be given legal protection in a move unveiled this week.
The Campaign for Real Ale is joining forces with government ministers to encourage communities to use new planning laws aimed at safeguarding their locals along with village halls and shops. Under the legislation, if a pub is listed as a “community asset” it cannot be sold on the open market unless customers get the chance to buy it first. Locals will have six months to find the money.
Camra is launching a campaign to prove 300 endangered pubs are community assets. Boss Mike Benner said: “At a time when 18 pubs a week are closing, this is a massive step forward.”
The Sunday Mirror
Cheers, Brigid!
Brigid Simmonds joined George Osborne for a celebratory drink after the Chancellor cut the duty on beer in the Budget, but the head of the British Beer & Pub Association is already preparing for her next battles with Westminster – and she has the advantage of being an ex-Army officer.
First there is the controversy over alcohol pricing, where Simmonds wants to avoid a legal minimum. But there is also the issue of big brewers and their alleged stranglehold over tenanted pubs.
There are plans to scrap the beer tie – the practice where tenant publicans can sell only beer made by the company that owns the pub. Simmonds insists this move is madness – “like allowing a Burger King manager to sell Big Macs” – but politicians are lining up to blame brewers for pub closures.
A consultation on scrapping the tie is expected to begin this week. Simmonds knows she will have a fight on her hands, but she says: “We will be rigorous about defending this.” Simmonds is also campaigning for a cut on the VAT levied on beer.
However, for the time being Simmonds can bask in the recent success of her campaign to cut beer duty. “I think a lot of my members didn’t quite believe we were going to pull this off,” she says.
As well as knocking a penny off a pint in his Budget last week, Osborne killed the hated beer duty escalator. This would have added 6p to a pint later this year.
So when Osborne arrived at the party at the Westminster Arms, close to the Houses of Parliament, the throng of brewers and pub owners cheered. A pint of Spitfire Ale – brewed by Shepherd Neame in Kent – was thrust into the Chancellor’s hand.
Simmonds has spent the past three years since she arrived at the BBPA – which represents most of Britain’s brewers and more than half of its 50,000 pubs – fighting to cut the escalator duty rise, which meant British drinkers were some of the most heavily taxed in Europe.
Simmonds, 54, describes herself as an “eternal optimist”, but even she was surprised by Osborne’s move. “In the run-up to the Budget I was told the Treasury had decided to keep the escalator,” she says, sitting in her office in Brewers Hall in the City.
“Then we saw the cut reported that morning and I thought, ‘that can’t be right!’ I never in a thousand years thought we could get a cut in duty as well.”
The wine and spirit lobby complained about unfair treatment, but Simmonds has little time for that. ‘Scotch whisky makers have short memories, they got a duty freeze under Gordon Brown,’ she says. She argues that beer deserves the break because it is relatively low in alcohol and pubs provide an important social service.
“There’s is a mental health issue here,” she says. “It’s good for people to get out of the house and socialise rather than drinking at home and that’s why the role of the pub is vital. Along with Camra, Siba [the Society of Independent Brewers] and the TaxPayers’ Alliance, we put a really positive and convincing argument forward – we really went for it this time.”
The idea that going to a pub and drinking beer is an aid to the nation’s mental health may not get universal approval, but Simmonds does not shy away from an argument. The daughter of an Army clergyman, she was born in Benghazi, Libya, and grew up in Leicestershire before joining the Women’s Royal Army Corps, and she exudes energy and decisiveness.
“There are plenty of other battles out there,” she says. “We’re campaigning about several issues, including not having to advertise in the local paper when you change your opening hours, but there is also the question of pricing. We’ve always been quite clear that rather than minimum pricing, we would welcome a ban on selling below cost.”
But the biggest fight is likely to be over the beer tie. Some MPs say self-regulation has failed to work and the tie adds to the alarming rate of pub closures. There have been several high-profile cases in which tenants complained of being ripped off by their pub owners.
Simmonds says: “We will be rigorous about defending the tie because we think it is a low-cost way to enter the market. If you want to run a franchise for McDonald’s, you have to have a huge amount of capital behind you. But you can start running a pub with £20,000. We think that self-regulation is working and should be given more time.’
She admits that the industry and the BBPA have been strongly criticised by some MPs, but counters: “There is lots of innuendo about problems with tied houses, but I haven’t seen anything that bears this out.
“We do have to be really careful about the contract that people are going into and we need to raise our game with the kind of people that we are attracting to our pubs.
“People who come into the industry see it as a lifestyle change and there are some people who are doing this and are really successful, and a lot of them are tied.”
But she says if family brewers are forced to allow tenants to sell rival beers, the whole business case is gone.?Simmonds, a sports enthusiast who has run five marathons, spent 17 years as head of the Business in Sport and Leisure consultancy before joining the BBPA. She was appointed an OBE in 2005 for services to sport.
She and husband Gavin, a former Royal Navy officer who is now at the Chamber of Shipping, have three children aged between 16 and 21. Simmonds stays in pubs when she is on the road and says that her only must-haves are “good service and clean toilets”.
That, at least, is not controversial.
The Mail on Sunday
A pub is patriotic, but there are still too many
The British brewing and pubs business makes a valuable contribution to the economy, Brigid Simmonds says, but even she admits that there may be too many pubs.
The British Beer & Pub Association says 87% of beer drunk in the UK is brewed here. This is in stark contrast to just 0.2% of wine.
Simmonds says: “We support a million jobs in the UK, of which 600,000 are in pubs, we contribute £19bn to the British economy each year, and 68% of the alcohol sold in pubs is beer.
“We created around 15,000 jobs last year and it is usually the case that ministers will celebrate jobs in Starbucks but wouldn’t necessarily create jobs in pubs.”
But the sector is under pressure as alcohol consumption is falling – down 13% since 2004 – and 5,800 pubs closed in the past five years with closures running at about 18 every week.
Simmonds does not automatically regard this as a bad thing: “I’m not a supporter of the idea that we should keep every pub open and I think we do have to have to close some. If local people are not going to use the local pub then it’s not going to survive and frankly we can’t keep pubs open if people don’t want to use them.”
The Mail on Sunday
Time for a code of practice, gentlemen, please
For many, running a pub is a dream. You can drink all day with your mates, bar City bankers from your gaff and turn the telly off just as John Terry is leading Chelsea to victory. But despite all these wonderful perks, the reality tends to be less blissful.
Certainly, that has long been said to be true for freelance landlords running boozers owned by pub groups, who have been criticised for trousering the proceeds of inflated beer prices and rent, making it impossible for licensees to make a living.
We are about to get another round of that saga too, with the government poised to kick off its consultation on a code of practice for pub companies, possibly as soon as this week. The aim is to make the treatment of all publicans identical – although there will inevitably be a bar room debate. For example, independent pubs close at a faster rate than tenanted pubs, according to the British Beer and Pub Association – a body that, like running a boozer, is not as much fun as it sounds.
The Observer
Restaurants and food
In recession, pizza’s where the dough is
Back in 2008, the then shadow health spokesman Andrew Lansley (remember him?) made the following observation: “I’ve been reading up on the impact of previous economic downturns on our health. Interestingly, on many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families.”
Like Lansley himself, that one hasn’t really stood the test of time. Domino’s Pizza, for example, has many fans, but its fare is probably not quite what Lansley’s doctor friends would order when it comes to improving the nation’s health. Yet the British business has had a quite remarkable recession, serving up so much comfort food to the UK’s couch potatoes that the company’s shares have tripled in value since the dark days of 2008.
We get to see the pizza parlour’s latest numbers this week, with its first-quarter trading update giving us further clues as to whether this run can continue – although some are already taking their slice out of the oven.
Directors Nigel Wray and Stephen Hemsley respectively cashed in £29m and £9.3m of shares last month – meaning that it’s not just Domino’s customers who have grown fat during this downturn.
The Observer
McCoy’s crisps recall
KP Snacks has issued a recall of McCoy’s crisps after pieces of plastic were found in packets. The products affected were six-pack multipacks of classic, salt and malt vinegar, and cheddar and onion, and 15 pack multipacks of classic flavour. They all have a best before date of 15 June.
The Sunday Telegraph
Gregg’s greengrocers is not making a bean
The greengrocer business that helped to set MasterChef star Gregg Wallace on the path to fame has gone bust.
Secretts Direct stopped trading last week and went into voluntary liquidation.
Last night the 48-year-old TV presenter, who owns 45 per cent of the company, blamed catastrophic farming conditions for its problems.
Gregg said: “Business is tough everywhere and this particular sector is extremely hard. Producers are being squeezed from all sides.
“Not only are farmers suffering because they can’t plant or physically get produce out of the ground, but the impact of the recession has also resulted in restaurants closing or orders being a fraction of what they once were.
“It means that a small business like ours just wasn’t sustainable. It is really disappointing. Everyone knows how close the greengrocer business has been to my heart – it put me on the path to where I am today.”
Gregg started West Veg Ltd in 2002 with best friend Vernon Mascarenhas, selling produce from Secretts Farm and garden in Milford, Surrey – which continues to trade – and operated under the name Secretts Direct.
The business expanded, using lots of farms in the home counties and distributing high-quality produce to London restaurants in a fleet of vans. The decision to shut the vegetable wholesaler has left a string of unpaid bills. About eight staff will lose their jobs.
The Sunday Mirror
Crumbs...ministers axe healthy loaves
Bread will have all the goodness taken out of it under barmy new rules.
Ministers want to remove calcium, iron and other nutrients from the baking process.
They have been added to white bread flour for the past 65 years to protect the nation’s health.
But the Coalition wants to ditch the legal requirement to do so.
Last night experts warned the move could harm the health of struggling families, with children especially in need of nutrients to aid growth.
The laws were brought in during the post-war ration years to get a hungry nation back on its feet.
Bakers were required to add calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin to all their bread.
The rules have stayed in place and apply to all white flour products — including hot cross buns.
But the Coalition is thinking of tearing up the 1947 regulations, even though none of the producers have asked for it.
Federation of Bakers boss Gordon Polson said: “Removing these nutrients would have a significant detrimental effect on the health of the nation.”
The Sunday Sun
Essex leads the way in bunfight
Bakers across Britain were preparing for a surge in demand for hot cross buns this weekend as the nation got into the Easter spirit.
About four million are sold each year by Greggs, the bakery chain, although its bakers have the capacity to put crosses on about one million buns a week if needed.
Essex accounts for 5% of the sales, with Peterborough being the hot cross bun capital. Newport in Wales is the next most bun-hungry city.
The Times, Friday
Stilton sales tumble as young shun the blue bits
A great British cheese is under threat – because young people are afraid to eat the mould, researchers have warned.
Sales of Blue Stilton are collapsing among under-25s and it is mainly bought by those nearing middle age, a study for the Co-operative has revealed
Industry experts say the number of people under 45 buying the cheese has dropped by 18% in the last two years alone.
Consumption by those under 30 has slumped by 23% and few people under 25 would ever consider buying it regularly.
“This cheese is part of Britain’s heritage,” said Co-op cheese buyer Mark Cloudy. “We can’t stand by and let it fade away, yet the people who like it are getting old.
“Millions of young people have been taught not to eat food with mould on it, and that view is having a catastrophic effect upon Blue Stilton. They take one look at the blue veins running through the cheese and then turn away.
“We want to tell everyone just how good Blue Stilton is. It is one of the best cheeses in the world, and it’s produced here in Britain - but yet few people realise what a gem they have on their own doorstep.”
Ironically, while Blue Stilton is declining in popularity in Britain, overseas buyers can’t get enough of it. The cheese is regarded as a supreme delicacy in Europe and across America, with buyers prepared to pay up to £30 a kilo - over three times the UK price.
The Daily Mail, Saturday
The Daily Telegraph, Saturday
Blumenthal’s anchovy effect
Most Sunday roasts have been cooked roughly the same way for generations.
But this Easter there will be rather a lot of lamb joints studded with anchovies at the family dinner table.
The meal has been given a distinctive, fishy twist by chef Heston Blumenthal, triggering a rush for supplies of the tiny salty fish which have previously catered to a niche market.
Sales of anchovies have soared five-fold after the recipe, which Blumenthal first saw as a child, was the focus of an advertising campaign for Waitrose.
John Vine, grocery buyer for the chain, said: “Sales are up 400% week-on-week. The lamb is studded with anchovies to bring out the very best in the meat.”
The sales boom revives memories of the 'Delia Smith effect' when the former Waitrose figurehead pushed up demand by using unlikely or obscure ingredients.
In the advert, Blumenthal, depicted as a ginger-haired teenager, is transfixed by a sizzling pan of lamb in a restaurant in France. The narrator promises viewers that “the little tiddlers enhance the flavour” by melting away in the oven to leave a delicate tang.
But looking past the Blumenthal craze, the anchovy has quietly been making the transition from foodie crowds to the family for some time. Anchovies it seems are the perfect accompaniment for frugal times, even the word in Italian describes a skinny person.
Appearing on pizzas, pastas and salads, for some its appearance in the traditional roast was only the next logical step.
Blumenthal insists: “The combination may sound odd but it really works. The savouriness of the anchovies brings out the best in the meat, without tasting overly fishy.”
The Daily Mail, Saturday
Other leisure and hospitality
Cineworld on a roll
Cineworld’s flagship cinema in London’s O2 complex boasts the largest 3D screen in Europe.
It has been such a hit that the 800-seat auditorium regularly fills up. “Once people have seen a film on it, they want to come back and watch everything on it,” according to manager David Spence. Another screen at the O2 features the D-Box: a chair with motion sensors that make it move during film action sequences, giving cinema-goers the nearest thing to a 4D experience.
But then experimentation and innovation are calling cards of Cineworld’s American founder and chief executive Steve Wiener. As he embarks on an ambitious expansion of the 80-strong chain later this year, Wiener is out to create the “cinema of the future”. The prototype will be revealed next year. It could feature more space between rows and “wrap-around” sound systems.??Wiener, a former Warner Bros executive, started the London-listed business in 1995 after hitting upon a new catchment area for British cinemas: populations of 150,000 within a 20-minute drive of the location. The result was cinemas for the first time in towns such as Stevenage and Wakefield. Previously cinema chains had targeted populations of 200,000. Recently he has successfully revamped ticketing and marketing.
Customer preferences are monitored to see what stars and genres interest them. Booking fees have been ditched and tickets bought online come with a 10 per cent discount. At the heart of the revamp was an “all you can view” monthly ticket called Unlimited, which now costs £15.90 a month under an annual contract and includes discounts for food and drink. Wiener’s refusal to stand still has paid off, despite the recession. It is the UK’s biggest cinema group in terms of admissions and recently reported a 15.3 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £38.5 million for 2012. Revenue grew 3.1 per cent to £358.7 million as cinema visitors spent more money on items such as popcorn, sweets and drinks. Cineworld is now on an expansion drive. Last year’s acquisition of art-house group Picturehouse, owner of Brixton’s Ritzy, Aberdeen’s Belmont and Southampton’s Harbour Lights, for £47.3 million, will give him access to a different market segment. The brand, which has 21 sites across the country, will remain separate. The idea is to hold onto loyal Cineworld customers once they reach a certain age.
Wiener does not plan to stop there. He intends to open at least 25 new multiplexes between 2013 and 2017, creating hundreds of jobs. The first will open later this year in Wembley. In the age of pay-per-view, online DVD rental services and large-screen TVs at home, is Cineworld at risk of over-expanding? Absolutely not, says Wiener adding: “Every time new distribution is invented, it whets the appetite for films. “The more exposed people are to films, the more they want.” Advertising, hit hard in the wake of the credit crunch, is starting to come back. He says: “Advertising last year was saved by the Bond film Skyfall.” It was the UK’s highest grossing film ever, taking more than £100 million. This year many films in the pipeline could take upwards of £20 million each, including the latest versions of Superman, Iron Man and Star Trek. Cineworld has got it picture perfect.
The Sunday Express
Odeon’s Olympic drama
Poor weather and the Olympics combined to hit the performance of Odeon last year. The cinema chain’s earnings before interest, tax and other charges fell 3% to £90.8m despite a 4% rise in sales to £724m. Like-for-like earnings dropped 10% to £82.3m as movies such as The Dark Knight Rises vied for attention with the Euro 2012 football championships and the Olympics. Trading was much stronger in the final quarter. Terra Firma, the investment vehicle that owns Odeon, is said to be keen to sell the chain within the next year.
The Sunday Times
Minibars are set to run out…
Time is being called on the hotel minibar which has tripped up many a tipsy guest. Big hotel chains are phasing the fridges out of rooms after problems monitoring them and customers complaining of being ripped off. In a recent survey 84% of guests admitted trying to dodge minibar bills. Tricks included trying to refill bottles with water. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Marriott have ditched minibars in many rooms while Travelodge and Premier Inn are likely to provide well-stocked vending machines in corridors.
The Daily Express, Monday
Retail
’Retail destinations; to drive Tesco sales
The success of Tesco’s business in Asia is set to help shape the company’s strategy in Britain as the group looks to develop its supermarkets into family retail destinations.
The company’s two biggest international businesses are in South Korea and Thailand, where Tesco hypermarkets are often situated within shopping centres. In the UK, Tesco is now looking to develop its supermarkets into such retail destinations to drive footfall. It has bought family restaurant chain Giraffe and opened Harris + Hoole coffee shops and Euphorium bakeries within its stores.
The Daily Telegraph, Monday
Commercial property deals give retail a boost
Britain’s retail industry received a welcome vote of confidence after a spike in investment in shopping centres this year.
According to property agent Savills, the total value of shopping centre deals in the first quarter of 2013 was £1.43bn, 194% up on the £488m in the same period last year.
The value of deals in the first three months of 2013 is already more than half the total investment into the market in 2012, which totalled £2.7bn and included the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund buying 50% of Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield for £750m.
The sharp increase in investment has been driven by UK property companies and pension funds, bucking the recent trend of overseas investors dominating the commercial property market. The investments have been made despite flat sales on the high street and the collapse of a string of retailers including HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster.
The Daily Telegraph, Monday
High Street frozen out by cold March
Freezing temperatures having been deepening the chill in retail sales, as store groups brace themselves for a difficult Easter.
With high streets and multiple retailers already under pressure from consumers reining in spending amid stubbornly high inflation and muted wage growth, struggling store groups face a further blow from the unseasonably cold temperatures.
One retailer said recent trading had been “very poor” as consumers in many parts of the country had not been able to get out to shop.
“This weather is killing everyone,” he said.
Another retailer said that if the freezing temperatures continued this weekend, conditions would be “brutal” for store chains.
A third retailer said the dismal weather, combined with consumers’ concerns about how much gas and electricity they would be using to heat their homes, would make them think twice about spending.
“It’s not a great Easter for anybody,” he said.
Some clothing retailers are already advertising discounts of up to 75%.
According to data provider Springboard, footfall was down by 25% last weekend, [23/24 March] compared with the year-earlier period, when temperatures were high.
By far the worst hit were high streets, with double digit annual declines in footfall in all regions across the UK.
Neil Saunders, managing director of Conlumino, the retail research group, said he expected food sales to hold up. The plunging temperatures could also boost demand for products such as heaters and electric blankets. But they were particularly bad for clothing retailers, which were trying to sell their spring and summer ranges, as well as DIY chains and garden centres.
Richard Hyman, president of PatelMiller, the retail consultancy, said: “January and February were very poor, and March has been every bit as bad, if not worse. Frankly it would have been really bad without this weather. The weather is just a nail or two more in the coffin.”
Some spending could be deferred until April or May, particularly if a forecast rise in temperatures materialises.
Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital, said that if the unseasonable conditions continued for the next few weeks “it could be reasonably tricky and quite materially depress the first quarter, and impinge on second-quarter sales. Quite a few non-food retailers in particular could be making a reference to the weather in their forthcoming trading updates.”
The Weekend FT
4,000 queue in cold the for chance of shop jobs
Some wore smart suits, others were dressed down in jeans. But all braved the bitter cold for one reason – they are desperate for a job.
No fewer than 4,000 applicants turned up yesterday (Thursday) hoping to secure one of 1,000 positions at a new shopping centre. They began queuing two hours before the doors opened at a recruitment fair in Whiteley, Hampshire.
The South East has the second lowest unemployment rate in the UK at 6.6%, compared to the national average of 7.8%.
But yesterday’s scene highlighted how no area is immune to job losses
The queues stretched on outside the jobs fair where crowds gathered two hours before it opened
The Whiteley Shopping Centre, just off the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth, will have 56 stores including Clintons, JD Sports and Starbucks.
The biggest employer will be the restaurant chain Harvester, which is looking to employ 45 staff.
Across the country there are 5.1 people chasing every job vacancy.
This high demand was highlighted last month in Nottingham when 1,700 applied for just eight jobs at a branch of Costa Coffee.
The chain was swamped by the equivalent of 212 for each post.
The Daily Mail, Friday
The Express, Friday
Thorntons’ sales start to crack
Thorntons faces online sales melting over its crucial Easter trading period after it admitted to a "glitch" with its delivery system.
The retailer, which has 317 stores, sent out an email on Thursday morning apologising to customers and explaining it was not too late for them to order chocolates for Easter Sunday.
The hiccup will raise eyebrows among investors in Thorntons, as it follows "operational issues" with its new website that had a "significant impact" on its sales over Christmas.
Easter is one of the most crucial trading periods for chocolatiers, along with Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
In an email to customers on Thursday morning, Thorntons said: "We are so sorry if you were unable to place your order for Easter delivery through the website in the last 24 hours. This glitch with our delivery system has now been fixed and we are ready to process your order right now!"
Thorntons, which plans to close up to 180 stores over the three years to June 2014, has offered web customers a 10% promotional discount, "as a thank you for sticking with us".
The 102-year-old retailer told web customers if they ordered by 1pm on Thursday it would deliver eggs and other treats for Easter Sunday and said the error had been quickly rectified.
Thorntons' profits jumped 71% to £5.3m over the 28 weeks to 12 January, which prompted its chief executive to say last month: "There is clear evidence the strategy is working and we believe it is the right one."
The Independent, Friday
Bridgepoint brushes aside three rivals to swallow Oasis dental chain for £185m
Private equity firm Bridgepoint has bought Oasis Healthcare, the UK’s second-largest independent dental chain, for £185m. Bridgepoint, whose current investments include fashion retailer Fat Face and sandwich retailer Pret A Manger, has purchased the business from Duke Street Capital, its current owner. However, in a somewhat unusual move, it is understood that Duke Street will be rolling over a small part of the proceeds from the sale to remain as a minority investor in Oasis.
The Sunday Telegraph
The economy
£1.6 trillion: VAT’s a nice little earner
It's a milestone that, one can safely assume, is unlikely to be celebrated by British taxpayers.
VAT, one of the country’s most controversial taxes, reaches its 40th birthday on Monday.
On 1 April 1973, Value Added Tax was introduced to Britain, a requirement of the decision to join the European Economic Community three months earlier.
In its first year, VAT was levied at just 10% and raised only £1.5billion for the public purse.
But, 40 years later, the standard rate has doubled to 20%. It is now worth a record-breaking £100billion a year, nearly four times more than the amount paid in council tax.
The cost of VAT, which is so notoriously complicated that it was once dubbed ‘a kind of fiscal theme park’ by a judge, is eye-watering.
A total of £1.6 trillion – or £1,639bn – is estimated to have been paid in VAT since its introduction in 1973, according to a report by the accountants Deloitte, published today.
It was introduced by the Conservative Chancellor Anthony Barber, who insisted it was a ‘simple tax’. But there is very little straightforward about VAT, which has such fiendish complications that it has resulted in a long – and growing – list of expensive High Court battles.
For example, a Baked Alaska is ‘zero-rated’, which means no VAT is charged, but ice cream is ‘standard-rated’, which means the tax is charged at 20%. Corn for popping is zero-rated, but popcorn attracts the tax.
One of the most famous examples of the confusion was the battle between the taxman and the Jaffa Cake in 1991. The taxman insisted Jaffa Cakes are biscuits, taxed if they are ‘half or more covered by chocolate’. But the manufacturer insisted they are cakes, which are not taxed.
Obscure legal arguments focused on discussions about how a cake is something which starts off soft and goes hard when it is stale, while a biscuit starts off hard and goes soft. The judge ruled the Jaffa Cake is, indeed, a cake.
Most food does not attract VAT, which was charged at 17.5% from 1991 until it was cut to 15% as an emergency move by Labour during the financial crisis.
Yesterday Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: “Forty years of VAT is not a cause for celebration. It is a reminder of the never-ending headache VAT creates for businesses.”
He said it has become “a complicated stumbling block for small businesses and sole traders”, many of whom struggle with the complicated tax.
Daniel Lyons, a partner specialising in VAT at Deloitte, said: “VAT touches every area of your weekly expenditure, from the petrol in your car to a beer in the evening.”
The Sunday Telegraph
England World Cup flop could cost economy £1bn
FA chiefs stand to lose up to £26m if England fail to reach next summer’s World Cup finals.
But the cost to businesses in the country as a whole could be as much as £1bn - heaping more misery on retailers battling to recover from recession.
England’s 1-1 draw in Podgorica on Tuesday has left Roy Hodgson’s men with an uphill task to secure their place in Brazil next summer.
They are currently two points behind leaders Montenegro with only four Group H games remaining and the prospect of everything resting on the final clash against old-foes Poland — who famously stopped England qualifying for the 1974 finals.
Aside from the national humiliation, failure to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1994 would have serious implications for the nation’s bank balance.
World Cup elimination would have a knock-on effect on the UK economy, with retailers missing out on the surge in sales in beer, food and televisions that normally accompanies England’s qualification for championship finals.
The British Retail Consortium estimated that the team’s failure to make it to Euro 2008 cost the economy as much as £600m with a higher price put on a place in the World Cup finals.
Pubs, clubs and off-licences raked in more than £250m in extra sales during the 2010 World Cup.
Then there are the big supermarket chains hoping for “barbecue summers” to accompany a good England run as well as TV retailers, bookmakers and even travel companies eager to cash in on hoardes of fans flying down to Rio.
The Sun, Friday
It may be snow-go for UK economy
Chances of printing more money to boost the economy are on a knife-edge this week as the cold snap renews fears of a triple-dip recession.
The Bank of England could unleash more quantitative easing (QE) on Thursday if crucial data is worse than expected, economists say.??A rebound in the dominant service sector in January and higher retail sales in February raised hopes that Britain would avoid contraction for a second quarter in a row after a 0.3 per cent fall in GDP in the final three months of last year.?But some analysts say the chilly weather might have held the economy back by keeping people indoors.??Chris Williamson, at financial research group Markit, said: "Severe weather has fuelled fears that the economy may have contracted again."??The Bank of England has already pumped £375billion into the economy in a bid to kick-start consumer demand and business investment.?March manufacturing and services figures due tomorrow and Thursday are likely to be pivotal in determining whether the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee opts for more QE.
The Daily Express, Monday
Show more ambition, businesses tell Osborne
George Osborne “lacks ambition” and must push through radical steps to stimulate growth or risk killing off a rebound in business confidence, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned.
While tomorrow’s release of the employers group’s latest economic survey is expected to show growing optimism in a number of sectors, the BCC said “bold and direct action” is urgently needed to capitalise on any improvement in trading conditions. It added that the Chancellor’s attempts to stimulate growth are “not good enough”.
In a clear sign of growing frustration among trade bodies over the Coalition’s economic policies, John Longworth, director general of the BCC, said: “Despite confidence rising, the prospect we face is still for a period of slow growth. We need to be more ambitious and that needs big, bold action and soon; radical steps to shift spending from unproductive areas of the economy to areas that will stimulate growth. We should not be satisfied with mediocre performance.”
The Daily Telegraph, Monday
Health, politics & legislation
Night curfew for under-16s in Barnsley
Children have been banned from a town centre at night under sweeping new police plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour.
Police officers have been given the power to stop anyone under 16 from walking the streets in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, after 9pm, and to take them home if they are not with a parent or responsible adult.
The six-month dispersal order - which police said was introduced in the wake of reports of rowdy and abusive behaviour in the town centre - has been branded 'totally wrong' and a 'blatant infringement' of civil liberties by critics.
The order, which came into force on Friday and covers the hours between 9pm and 6am, also gives police the power to disperse groups of two or more people from areas where there is persistent anti-social behaviour.
Any breach of a dispersal order, such as refusing to comply with being told to leave, is classed as a criminal offence.
Campaigners have warned that the ban infringes on civil liberties and said it amounted to treating groups of young people as criminals.
Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, said a dispersal order was a “blunt, crude tool” that, at best, moves the problem to another location nearby.
“It is a sign that the police have lost control of the streets and yet does nothing to restore either the community spirit or respect for the law that has been lost,” he said.
Inspector Julie Mitchell, from South Yorkshire Police, said: “Over the past few months, we have received numerous reports of nuisance caused by large groups congregating in the town centre.
“The Barnsley Interchange has reported a number of nuisance behaviour incidents within their premises, and the County Way car park has been a regular venue for nuisance drivers late at night.”
The officer said discretion would be used and that the force wants to encourage residents and visitors to go into the town centre for retail and leisure.
“By dispersing those groups intent on engaging in poor behaviour, we will ensure Barnsley is a safer and stronger town for everyone else,” she said.
The Daily Telegraph, Saturday
The Times, Saturday
The Sun, Saturday
What’s your poison – record hospital booze cases
A record 92,000 people were treated in hospital after boozing last year — more than 250 a day - shocking figures have revealed.
A Sun investigation found admissions across binge-drinking Britain have nearly trebled in just nine years.
The figures include 4,517 under-18s suffering from alcohol poisoning in England alone — including 3,297 under-16s and 51 who were under eleven.
The staggering numbers cover all those treated in hospital for the toxic effects of alcohol or troubled with mental health problems because of booze.
Experts last night warned that the jump in hospital admissions — from 35,171 in 2003 to 92,308 last year — were an early warning of long-term health problems the nation faces.
Most binge-drinking hotspots are in the North, with hospitals in Leeds treating six adults every day for alcohol poisoning.
The trust which treated the most underage booze overloaders was Pennine Acute Hospitals, in North East Manchester. It dealt with 155 under-18s last year.
Charity Alcohol Concern called for long-debated minimum booze pricing in the wake of the figures. Chief Eric Appleby said: “They again highlight the urgent need to get a grip on the problem of excessive drinking. It costs us dozens of lives and places a massive burden on the NHS.”
But earlier this month Prime Minister David Cameron indicated that he would not be imposing a minimum price of 45p per unit.
The Department of Health last night admitted figures were “concerning”.
The Sun, Friday
Booze kids aged 7
A boy of seven had to be admitted to hospital with mental problems… caused by drink addiction.
He is one of hundreds aged under 10 who have been treated for alcohol problems, research by the Sunday Mirror reveals.
Cases even include a baby under one taken to A&E in Gloucestershire with a head injury sustained while intoxicated.
We found the worst areas for children boozing are in the more prosperous south.
A Freedom of Information request to England’s 166 NHS hospital trusts revealed 380 children aged 10 or under were treated for alcohol intoxication between 2008 and 2012, with 25 needing help for an “alcohol-induced disorder”.
The figures are likely to be much higher because 67 trusts refused to respond to the request.
The seven-year-old was treated by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust which said: “The primary diagnosis was a mental and behavioural disorder due to acute intoxication.”
The worst areas for alcoholic children is Berkshire.
A total of 46 drunks aged 10 or under were rushed to A&E at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading between 2008 and 2012.
Two needed treatment for mental disorders. Second worst was Oxford University Hospitals Trust, where 32 youngsters under 10 were seen in A&E in the same five-year period.
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and East Kent Hospitals treated 18 under-10s, while Milton Keynes treated 16.
The Sunday Mirror
’Healthy’ juice has more sugar than 12 Hobnobs
A bottle of fruit juice can contain more sugar than 12 McVitie’s Hobnobs. A new study has found that a 500ml bottle of Pret a Manger orange juice contained 51g of sugar and 229 calories. It was one of the surprise findings in the research into drinks available on Britain’s high streets. Drinks targeted as children were particularly bad too, with some milk-based ones containing the same amount of sugar as cola.
And a 250ml portion of grape juice contained as much sugar as four Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.
The worst children’s drink was said to be Starburst strawberry flavoured milk, which has 6.4g fat and 42g sugar in 400ml – the same amount as in 11 Hobnobs. Dr Sebastian Winckler, of health service dred.com, said: “Don’t let the fact that this is a milk drink fool you into thinking it’s healthy. This oversized beverage has double the sugar content of semi-skimmed milk as well as a host of E number additives.”
The findings come as experts warn that sugary drinks are to blame for rising obesity. A spokesman for Pret said: “Pret’s orange juice is made from 100% freshly squeezed oranges with no added sugar. The sugar is naturally occurring in fruit.”
The manufacturer of the Starburst drink said: “Our drinks are designed as a treat to be enjoyed as part of healthy, balanced lifestyle. Milk-based drinks contain lactose, which is a sugar naturally present in milk.”
The Sunday Mirror
Drinks
United Spirits cash sparks spat
A legal dogfight looms over part of the £1.3bn cash Diageo is paying for United Spirits, the Indian drinks group owned by mercurial liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The acquisition will give some much-needed cash to the debt-burdened Mr Mallya, whose grounded Kingfisher Airlines is estimated to owe at least $2.5bn to creditors, mainly Indian state banks. Lawyers are working to see who will be able to access the cash – Mr Mallya or his creditors, some of whom are holding United Spirits shares as collateral for loans to Kingfisher. Diageo is understood to have structured its part of the deal in a way that enables it to “pay unfettered cash for unfettered shares”, according to people familiar with the matter. However, the dispute in India centres on the fate of the balance of cash paid by Diageo after the shares pledged as collateral to banks against loans are released. While part of the cash will be used to pay off loans to release the shares, the rise in the value of the shares means there will be cash left over, sparking a spat among creditors about access.
The Financial Times, Monday
Tourism
Badger cull may deter families at holiday sites
Families sickened at the prospect of seeing badgers being killed in the Government’s cull programme are scrapping summer holidays in the countryside, regional tourism officials have claimed. John Turner, the vice-chairman of Somerset Tourism Association, said the tourism industry, already hit hard by the recession and continuing bad weather, would face a bleak stretch this summer. “Many people contacting the Visit Somerset Twitter and Facebook feed are very concerned about the badger cull in July and August,” he said. “The fear is that the effects of the cull will also be felt in other major cities such as Devon and Cornwall.
The Daily Telegraph, Monday
Business lending
Can’t find a loan? Try the Bank of Rooney and Pietersen…
With a salary at Old Trafford of £230,000 a week, Wayne Rooney is certainly a man with money to spare.
Now the Manchester United and England striker is open to a loan of a different kind - using his wealth to help provide a boost to the economy. The 27-year-old has teamed up with cricketer Kevin Pietersen and Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis to offer a service giving loans to small businesses that have been turned down by the banks.
The trio are investors in a £2.5?million venture put together by Ian Currie, a former director of Bolton Wanderers.
They are thought to have contributed about £200,000 each to the partnership, which has been lending to small business without fanfare for more than a year and has given loans to more than a dozen different companies.
“Through the loans we have saved about 200 jobs,” Mr Currie told The Mail on Sunday.
Unlike many investments favoured by sports stars, such as film and property ventures, there are no tax advantages to the deal.
“We lend to companies that can’t borrow from the banks. We put about £200,000 to £500,000 into businesses,” Mr Currie said.
He added that since its creation in late 2011, the partnership – called Senone – had been inundated with requests for finance, fielding 500 queries in the past year.
The Mail on Sunday
Small businesses' struggle for loans ‘will worsen’ after stockpile demand
Experts are warning that small businesses face an even tougher struggle to gain finance after last week’s demand by the Bank of England for high street banks to stockpile an extra £25?billion for potential losses.
Research shows that in the past six months nearly 60 per cent of small firms applied for finance from their bank in the form of an overdraft or a loan, yet more than half (55 per cent) were refused funding.
A third were given no reason, while 80 per cent were not told about alternative funding such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.
Unsurprisingly, 81 per cent of small firms believe that the banks are failing to support them.
Finance broker Touch Financial, which carried out the survey of more than 500 small firms, says the results illustrate the lack of adequate bank funding for smaller firms and its impact on confidence.
Director Simon Carter says: “Any business, regardless of size or sector, should be given access to finance, if not as traditional bank lending then via the alternative funding solutions that are available.
“Small businesses simply are not getting the support that they need if they are to be the primary engine for growth.”
The Mail on Sunday
And finally...
Whey to go, 007 drinks made from milk
It is the drink of choice in Russia, typically made from grain and consumed by hard-bitten drinkers in sub-zero temperatures. But now farmer Jason Barber is making the world’s first milk vodka – from his herd of 250 cows at Beaminster, Dorset. Black Cow vodka has become the must-have tipple at restaurants owned by Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Celebrity fans include 007 star Daniel Craig and Liz Hurley.
The Mail on Sunday
