BUSINESS EXTRA

Drink up

THE City Pub Group said after an ‘anaemic’ Coronation Day, sales the next day, Sunday, had been “really, really” strong. Longer opening hours would bring a boost of around £104 million (€119.8 million) to the sector the Centre for Economics and Business Research had forecast beforehand.

No takers

BUSINESS­OWNERS are finding it increasingly difficult to cover job vacancies and engage sufficient staff to complete their workforces. “This is a problem affecting all sectors and qualification levels, warned Andrés Sendagorta, president of Basque multinational Senera and the Institute of Family Businesses (IEF).

Love in the air

AS predicted, ITV’s advertising revenues dropped by 10 per cent during the first quarter of this year. The broadcaster said it expected declining advertising sales to be compensated by the next series of Love Island and the Rugby World Cup which would draw large broadcast and streaming audiences.

Going green

CEPSA signed an agreement to supply European energy service provider GETEC with green hydrogen from 2026. This will give the Spanishbased oil company a direct link to its industrial customers in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy, Cepsa’s Hydrogen director Joaquin Rodriguez said.

School bills

IT costs families at least £39 (€44.9) a week in transport, lunches, uniform, learning materials and school trips to send a child to a state secondary school according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). This fell to £19 (€21.87) a week for a child at primary school.

Linda Hall

JOHN LEWIS staff backed the group’s chairwoman Dame Sharon White during the recent twiceyearly meeting of the partnership’s 60 ­ strong council on Wednesday May 10.

The department store and Waitrose supermarket owner reported a £234 million (€269 million) loss over the year ending last January, despite £12 billion (€13.8 billion) in sales, obliging it to abandon the staff bonus for only the second time since 1953.

Although the votes were symbolic rather than binding, they also carried considerable weight, as the council has the power to oust the chair of the partnership at any time should the members decide.

Earlier, White had courted criticism following reports that she was contemplating selling a stake