Tag: bbc

Image caption The UK takeaway industry is now worth almost £5bn Apps now account for 39% of delivery visits – a rise of 14% year-on-year – and the takeaway industry has grown and grown to be worth a tasty £4.9bn – according to consumer research firm NPD. Dark kitchens make huge sense for the burger brand Boo. Set up by Arif Palejwala and his brother-in-law in Leicester, they have reached three other cities without having to find premises nor fork out. “We’re basically testing the waters. We started off in Nottingham and performed really well,” he explains. “Then they offered us a Manchester site, we’re going to be going to Leeds and probably some of the places down South as …

“If you are going to buy something you should do more research than look at a couple of five-star reviews on Amazon.” He says writers are paid to buy the product and then leave a review, meaning the review can be verified. ‘Too focused on statistics’ Another person, a woman who preferred to remain anonymous, writes fake online reviews of the restaurant where she works – a chain pub in Nottingham. “I feel like there’s significant pressure to get positive reviews on either Facebook, Google or TripAdvisor,” she says. “The manager has actually told us to ask customers to do the review in front of us after their meals which I find hilarious. “Anyway, I feel like it gets the …

People with PKU can’t properly digest the amino acid phenylalanine. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are broken down by the body to make our own proteins. But in people with PKU the levels build up, and can cause brain damage. Image caption Prof Anita MacDonald: The NHS said No “Because the trial had gone so well and because it made such a difference, I was convinced that it would only be a matter of time before this drug – that we had proved worked – would be available to everyone who responded to it,” Louise says. But for NHS patients it wasn’t. BioMarin put a £70,000 price tag on it, per adult per year – and …

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionMr Lidington said the talks would continue over the Easter break The government and Labour are “testing out” each other’s ideas as they try to resolve the Brexit deadlock, cabinet minister David Lidington has said. He told the BBC they had a “fair bit in common” over future customs objectives but further compromise was needed. While there was no deadline, he said the sides would “take stock” in 10 days and the process could not drag out. But former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said the process was a “recipe for disaster” for his party. He called for Prime Minister Theresa May to make way for a new Conservative leader next month …

The report was released at the start of the TUC’s annual black workers’ conference. UK ethnic minority workers face £3.2bn ‘pay penalty’ TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Far too many BME workers are stuck in low-paid, insecure and temporary work. “This has a huge impact on their living standards and life chances. “This problem isn’t simply going to disappear over time. We need a co-ordinated approach led by government to confront inequality and racism in the labour market – and wider society.” The TUC is calling for the government to ban zero-hours contracts and offer all workers guaranteed hours. It also wants legislation to bring in mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for all companies with more than 50 employees.

About 90% of overnight trippers to Wales are from the UK staycation market and that could rise with a scorching summer similar to last year. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Tenby is one of Wales’ most popular seaside resort “People are understandably nervous about going to Europe,” said Andrew Campbell, chairman of the Wales Tourism Alliance. “There is also a lot of uncertainty and people are holding on to their cash.” The alliance, which represents more than 7,000 businesses, spoke to delegates in Pembrokeshire on Friday about the “opportunities” for Welsh tourism because of Brexit. “Since the decision was made to leave the EU, the tourism industry has benefited,” said Pembrokeshire Tourism liaison manager Dennis O’Conner. What happens next …

In a blog on Virgin’s corporate website, Sir Richard said Virgin Trains “could be gone from the UK in November”. “We’re baffled why the DfT did not tell us that we would be disqualified or even discuss the issue – they have known about this qualification in our bid on pensions for months,” he wrote. “The pensions regulator has warned that more cash will be needed in the future, but no one knows how big that bill might eventually be and no responsible company could take that risk with pensions. “We can’t accept a risk we can’t manage – this would have been reckless. This is an industry-wide issue and forcing rail companies to take these risks could lead to …

By 1950, Debenhams was the largest department store group in the UK, with 110 stores.Debenhams: Three things that went wrong Debenhams joined the stock market, for the third time, in 2006, with a worth of £1.7bn. Its share price hit 207p one day later – a level that it has never bettered since. We take a look at the key factors behind its demise. 1. Lagging fashion trends With hindsight, Debenhams’ timing could hardly have been worse. Fashion is cyclical, but a new trend was beginning that turned out to be a game-changer. Laith Kalif at stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) points out that a year after Debenhams floated in 2006, the iPhone was launched. That was a key element in …

“I’m delighted with the broad-based improvement across the business,” he said. Overall like-for-like sales (which strip out changes to stores) rose 2.9%, including the 1.7% at Tesco and 11.1% for Booker. Group sales fell in Asia. Tesco’s new discount chain Jack’s takes on Aldi and Lidl Tesco reports best Christmas in 10 years Jobs have been lost as he aims to save £1.5bn a year and up to 9,000 roles were put at risk in January when the chain announced it would close food counters in 90 stores. He has also launched a discount chain, Jack’s, to take on German rivals Aldi and Lidl, which Tesco said had received a “strong response” in the eight new stores. The proposed tie-up …

Image copyright Getty Images That means that goods exported from Norway into the EU must meet rules of origin requirements, to demonstrate that they do not contain more than the maximum permitted level of parts and components from elsewhere. Norway’s border with Sweden, for example, is one of the most frictionless in the world between two countries that do not have a customs union – but it still takes about 20 minutes on average for a lorry to pass through its main border crossing, at Svinesund. Sir Oliver told BBC Reality Check: “I am of course assuming that the Chequers arrangement for a single market in goods is also part of the deal, as both Mr Corbyn and Mrs May …

They were talking about how tweets (in particular one of David Cameron’s) can get lost amid the noise of the internet. They wondered: “Can we make sure it wasn’t forgotten about?” Four months on, the group has hired more than 240 billboards across the UK, having raised over £340,000. The posters feature old tweets or quotes from politicians who have been involved in the Brexit process. Image copyright Led By Donkeys Image caption A banner in Dover shows a quote during a 2011 debate on the UK’s relationship with the EU There’s another point, he added – not everyone who is politically engaged is on social media. “Taking [the words] off the digital, makes them more tangible. That move from …

Of Fortnite, he said: “That game shouldn’t be allowed. Where is the benefit of having it in your household? “It’s created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible. “It’s like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken down.” He added that social media was “more addictive than alcohol and drugs”. What is Fortnite? Image copyright Getty Images Image caption There are an estimated 32.4 million gamers in the UK. “Games fire up response systems in your brain and other things don’t bring you as much joy,” he told the MPs. “I was thinking, ‘Why would I …

His message has been retweeted more than 350 times and liked by more than 3,000 people, with many commenting that they would like a similar prescription for their child. Skip Twitter post by @DrAmirKhanGP The best prescription I gave today was to an 11yr old lad “No Minecraft or Fortnight for two weeks, doctors orders!” Addictive computer games impacting his life I even wrote it on a prescription pad and signed it! Good luck to the pharmacist who gets that!😂#ThursdayThoughts — Dr Amir Khan GP (@DrAmirKhanGP) March 28, 2019 Los Angeles-based Mr Adair set up Game Quitters after battling an addiction to gaming that saw him playing up to 16 hours a day. He said gaming addiction “can be devastating” …

“At one stage there was a 100-year waiting list to get a stall. Now you can take your pick. The change has been humongous.” Image caption Lesley McDonald fears the town will never go back to its heyday What’s happening on the UK High Street? Each year, more shops close than open in the UK and the gap is getting wider. According to figures from PWC and the Local Data Company, 2,692 shops shut in the first half of 2018 – about 14 per day – while 1,569 opened, a net loss of 1,123. That compared with a net loss of 222 in the same six months of 2017. Clothes shops and pubs were the biggest casualties. In January 2008 …

Image copyright Paul Adams Image caption There are now 25 Wahaca branches across the UK Financially the outbreak had a substantial impact on the business, with Wahaca saying it was responsible for a £4.7m loss that financial year, compared with profits of £600,000 for the preceding 12 months. Thankfully, the company was able to recover. Within a few weeks all of the affected restaurants were able to reopen and the business returned to profitability. Today the popular chain has annual revenues of £47.9m. Mark and Thomasina opened their first Wahaca restaurant in London’s Covent Garden in 2007. They had been introduced by a mutual friend who knew they both had a passion for Mexican food. Thomasina had not long returned …

“This appears to have made it easier for some funeral directors to charge high prices,” it said. ‘My mum’s funeral costs were extortionate’ Death in data: What happens at the end of life? Watch: Deciding where to bury your parents if they were not born in the UK In November, the CMA said it had “serious concerns” about above-inflation price rises. The CMA found that people typically spent between £3,000 and £5,000 organising a funeral, with the average price of the core elements now standing at £4,271. Larger chains had consistently raised prices, it said. Now, it has concluded that a full investigation is needed. Related Topics Funerals Personal finance Competition and Markets Authority Companies Original Article : HERE ; …