The energy giant British Gas reported 34% drop in its profits from previous year due to phenomenal rise in cost of wholesale gas. It had made profit of £571 million in 2007 which was much above 2006 levels, when it made £96 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Centrica announced that it will create 1,500 ‘green’ and engineering jobs at British Gas in 2009 under its £15 billion investment plan.
‘Green collar’ jobs will include energy efficiency advisers, windform jobs and 1,000 service engineer staff. Read the rest of this entry »
The downturn and credit crunch have set a new trend in the market – hiring instead of buying!
Hiring has become cost-effective substitute for the cash-strapped consumers in the UK, leading to rapid growth of rental market.
Rumbelows and Radio Rentals had big growth in the past recession, but suffered during days of cheap credit. Now, as banks have started responding to government’s push for lending, rental companies are seizing good opportunity of doing business.
According to Maureen Hinton, retail consultant at Verdict Research, companies are thinking more about renting when it comes to more expensive products. This trend has lot to do with credit and cash flow.
Although costlier in the long term, options of weekly payments in renting are more acceptable to people who are unable to get loan for buying. Considering extra expenses associated with expensive items like cars, renting can be more economical.
It is now much easier to get everything on rent from jewellery, furniture to cars and even pets online.
Erento, an online renting marketplace which began its niche lending services in Britain last year lending from cameras to holiday homes, grew threefold more than its expectations. Customer traffic jumped 92% in January alone.
According to Clinton Patterson, Erento’s director of international operations, credit crisis was the best thing to have happened for the company. He also considered changes in consumers’ behaviour in choosing renting as a better option than buying, as another contributory factor for biggest growth.
DIY products viz. hand drills and floor sanders are in high demand. Surge is also observed in rentals in consumer durables, household goods, particularly furniture and even in handbag rental business.
Business groups in the UK welcomed government’s bail-out package with caution hoping that it would facilitate banks to provide credit and shield businesses from failure. Read the rest of this entry »
The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Equipment & Supplies Excellence Awards 2009 have taken place in sponsorship with 3663 Catering Equipment. These awards recognise the latest advancements in catering equipment in terms of hygiene, safety, functionality, usability and several other key areas.
Whether a company provides catering equipment in Yorkshire or Surrey, catering businesses always want to have the best equipment available to them.
The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Equipment & Supplies Excellence Awards are designed to help distinguish the best amongst the crowd of products. The awards are split into various categories depending on the type of equipment and the purpose. Below is a list of the areas with the winning devices:
Beverage Making and Dispense
Cybercino (Fracino)COMBI-OVENS, STEAMERS AND MICROWAVES
Convotherm OES 6.06 Mobile (Enodis UK Foodservice)CROCKERY, CUTLERY AND GLASSWARE
Alchemy Counterwave (Churchill China)FOOD DISPLAY AND BAR INSTALLATIONS
Hybrid Kitchen (BGL Rieber)FOOD PREPARATION EQUIPMENT
Clifton Food Range FL28D (Nickel-Electro)GREEN AWARD
Premium Cellar Cooling System with Econ-O-Mate (Hubbard Products)HYGIENE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
Sani-Floor (Mechline Developments)REFRIGERATION
Eco Pro (Foster Refrigerator)WAREWASHING
AUPR (Hobart UK)
Every year there is an impressive line-up of technological innovations as the manufacturers compete to design the most advanced equipment in the field of catering.
Woolworths’ bid to find a buyer sadly ended into failure and may lead to its imminent closure in next few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Sainsbury’s is pioneering food recycling by investing £9m in establishing five plants over the course of the next two years. It aims to become the first retailer in the UK to fully manage its food waste.
Sainsbury’s, the third largest grocer of the UK, has entered into a joint venture with British food recycling specialist, Biogen-Greenfinch, to develop five sites. Sainsbury’s wants to save millions of pounds every year with a plan to send zero waste to landfill by December 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Corus chief executive, Philippe Varin, is in a fighting mood and has threatened to shift its steelmaking operations in Europe to China if carbon emission regulations were not amended. Read the rest of this entry »
The second largest airline, BMI British Midland, operating at London Heathrow, has warned of biggest loss in its history in the current year.
BMI chief executive, Nigel Turner, informed its staff that group was facing the worst crisis and therefore needed restructuring. Read the rest of this entry »
The British biofuels industry has brought to notice a serious loophole in the government legislation which will allow oil companies to save millions of pounds while pushing the UK’s alternative fuel industry to the docks. Read the rest of this entry »