IHG: Holiday Inn owner braces for 50 per cent Middle East hit May 7, 2026 Holiday Inn owner IHG expects to see a 50 per cent hit to its operations in the Middle East, as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global travel. Intercontinental Hotels Group said revenue per available room in the Middle East slumped to a 26 per cent year-on-year fall in March, reversing the nine per cent [...]
JD Sports warns of ‘muted growth’ amid weak consumer spending May 7, 2026 JD Sports has seen profit fall as the sportswear retailer warned it is preparing for a period of “muted” growth amid weak consumer spending and potential Iran war cost pressures. Pre-tax profit at the FTSE 100 firm fell by 12 per cent to £629m in the year to January, even as sales rose by 12 [...]
WH Smith successor to shut 150 stores in ‘aggressive’ restructuring May 6, 2026 The owner of WH Smith’s former high street stores is set to shut as many as 150 of them as part of an “aggressive” overhaul which will put jobs at risk. Modella Capital bought the stationer’s 480 high street stores for £40m last year, and is now set to shut more than a quarter of [...]
Cinema chain Vue eyes blockbuster £1.5bn sale or listing May 6, 2026 Vue is bringing in bankers to oversee a float or sale which could value the cinema titan at as much as £1.5bn, according to reports. The British cinema chain, helmed by Canadian founder Tim Richards, has been interviewing banks in recent days as it pencils in the formal appointment of advisors later this year. Vue [...]
Who Gives a Crap: The toilet roll tycoon making a splash May 6, 2026 Simon Griffiths founded Who Gives a Crap toilet paper with the philanthropic aim of ensuring everyone has access to a clean toilet. He has raised £11m so far, but Griffiths tells Felix Armstrong that’s not nearly enough “I was always an entrepreneurial kid at school,” Simon Griffiths says, as he explains the complex process of [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Southwark? May 6, 2026 CLICK HERE to view all the latest London election results A divided borough may end up under no overall control, with Lib Dems faring well in the prosperous north, while social housing heartlands stick with Labour, which has struggled with local infighting and defections to the Greens. From the vantage point of the Shard, at [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Richmond upon Thames? May 6, 2026 Boasting the best quality of life in London, the Lib Dems are dominant and Ed Davey hopes to strengthen control of the borough. But a back-to-basics campaign from the Greens and high taxes are also on the agenda. Richmond, a borough of leafy avenues, stunning nature and quaint pubs is as close to an ideal [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win Redbridge? May 6, 2026 A rise in support of Nigel Farage’s Reform will be tested in the north of a borough dominated elsewhere by Labour which faces its own fight from the left. Results will be closely watched by Wes Streeting, whose parliamentary constituency is on the patch. Redbridge is a complex constituency. Labour is battling the Greens to [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Newham? May 6, 2026 What could have become the heartlands for Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party may represent the shortcomings of the former Labour leader’s new venture, as well as the impact of travails of his old comrades in Westminster. Newham is Jeremy Corbyn’s worst nightmare. A fertile seat for progressive politics, almost all of its wards have been Labour-dominated [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Merton? May 6, 2026 The Lib Dems’ serve up a “Gail’s strategy” to try and ace the vote in Wimbledon’s borough, where calls for affordable homes are rallying support and a local resident’s group has won seats. In Merton, home of the Wimbledon Championships, the Liberal Democrats have their best chance of smashing an ace past the Labour incumbents. [...]
