All articles by Nick Hughes – Page 3

Insight

Storyhouse Chester: screen saver

2017-07-13T06:00:00Z

It takes a brave council to invest more than £30m in an arts project when local government budgets are being cut to the bone, but Cheshire West and Chester Council’s redevelopment of the city’s 1930s Art Deco Odeon cinema into a cultural centre is already paying dividends.

Markets

MEATliquor: the burger king

2017-06-22T06:00:00Z

The theft of a burger van may seem an unlikely start to the story of a successful restaurant chain, but then MEATliquor has never done things the conventional way.

Insight

Department stores: trouble in store?

2017-06-09T00:00:00Z

If you want a clue as to the current state of the UK department store sector, consider this: of the four chief executives at the helm of John Lewis, Marks Spencer, Debenhams and House of Fraser at the start of 2016, none are still in post 18 months ...

Insight

Vape bars: attack of the vapers

2017-04-26T07:00:00Z

The rise of e-cigarettes has sparked an expansion in the number of vape stores. Will the fast-growing sector have longevity or go up in smoke?

Insight

On The DogHouse: the BrewDog hotel

2017-04-25T07:00:00Z

BrewDog has never done things the conventional way. It therefore seemed fitting that the self-styled ‘punk’ beer brand should announce its intention to enter the hotel sector.

Insight

Proptech and agents: rise of the machines

2017-03-31T00:00:00Z

Proptech start-ups are disrupting the established agency business model. Should the new generation of property firms be resisted - or embraced?

Insight

Third-party logistics providers: the space race

2017-02-14T10:15:00Z

These days even die-hard Luddites are shopping on their smartphones. Technology is transforming the way people buy goods and that is transforming the logistics sector.

Markets

Barriers to electric vehicle take-up are being broken down

2017-01-20T00:00:00Z

The year 2016 may one day come to be regarded as a tipping point in the UK’s adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

Insight

Supermarkets: discounters race for space

2016-11-02T06:00:00Z

Of all the seismic changes that have taken place in the grocery sector in recent years, the emergence of discounters Aldi and Lidl as a disruptive force in the market has been among the most dramatic.

Markets

Will non-food drive-thrus flourish... or fall thru?

2016-09-29T11:10:00Z

McDonald’s and Metro Bank are not obvious competitors, yet when it comes to securing sites for new drive-thru outlets the two may soon be going head to head.

Markets

Room, board and manicure: hoteliers becoming landlords

2016-02-26T00:00:00Z

No longer content with selling a bed for the night, hotel operators are increasingly acting as commercial landlords in their own right.

Markets

Motorway service area operators step up a gear

2016-01-22T00:00:00Z

Pay a visit to Westmorland services on the M5 near Gloucester and you might find yourself coming away with a cup of freshly pressed fruit juice, a loaf of artisan bread or a homemade pie prepared with locally sourced meat.

Markets

Portable revolution for retail parks

2015-10-08T00:00:00Z

In retail parks spanning the length and breadth of the UK, a portable revolution is taking place.