Waitrose has partnered with Dobbies to roll out a dedicated food range across 50 of its garden centres in the next two years. The initial launch begins in Edinburgh this month and will be followed by stores in Warwickshire and Brighton. A range of products from the supermarket’s essential and premium ranges will be on offer, mainly at stores in locations without an existing Waitrose presence. Waitrose executive director James Bailey said: “It will take us into locations that are entirely new for us and build our presence in other areas where a Waitrose shop may not currently be conveniently accessible despite strong demand for our products.”
A survey by the British Institute of Innkeeping has revealed that independent pubs have been hit hard by staff shortages and rising costs. 15% of independent pub operators said that their business is no longer viable, with around half having to cut trading hours due to a lack of staff. There are around 36,000 independent pubs in the UK, according to the trade body, and most members of BII are single pub operators. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Without intervention to reduce the cost of trading, removing regulatory blockers to growth and filling job vacancies, many of these businesses — particularly smaller or independent businesses without big finance behind them — will not survive”.
New data from Barclaycard shows a year-on-year reduction in spending in restaurants over June. The 3.3% reduction has been attributed to the continued increase in fuel, food and energy prices leading consumers to cut down and exercise caution with their budgets. However, compared to the previous month, restaurant spending grew by 0.8%, with a 2.3% month-on-month boost for takeaways and fast food. Discretionary spending increased for entertainment and travel, driven by cinema trips for new box office releases and summer holiday bookings.
Investment in UK shopping centres increased around 170% in H1 2022, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. The Retail Investment Report reveals that total investment volumes for shopping centres reached £1.24bn in the first half of this year, up from £460m for the same period in 2021. Demand from mainly overseas and private equity investors has been focused on smaller community shopping centres and a small number of large destination malls. It is expected that further large assets will come onto the market in H2.