Friday newspaper round-up: Eat out to Help Out, retailers, Saga
At least 100m subsidised meals were eaten by diners in the UK in August following a last-minute rush by the public to take advantage of the government’s month-long “eat out to help out” scheme, the Treasury stated. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, praised the public for helping to save jobs in the vulnerable hospitality industry as it emerged that the meal discount scheme had exceeded expectations and would cost more than the £500m he set aside in the July mini budget. - Guardian
Retailers have told Boris Johnson that his government must do more to persuade the public that it is safe to travel to work and shop or risk needless job losses and store closures, as data showed city centres suffering from a lack of office workers. The British Retail Consortium said its monthly survey of footfall showed that empty office blocks were leaving city centres bare of potential customers even though lockdown restrictions had been gradually eased. – Guardian
Company bosses have turned optimistic about the future prospects of their businesses for the first time since the pandemic began, as the economic recovery takes hold and more workers return to the office, albeit slower than the Government had hoped. – Telegraph
A former boss of Aviva is behind a £370 million bid for Saga that has been spurned by the insurance-to-cruises company, The Times has learnt. It is understood that Mark Wilson, who was in charge of the FTSE 100 insurer for almost six years until 2018, has tried to orchestrate a takeover of the troubled over-50s group. – The Times
Employers’ groups and MPs have criticised the government for confusion over how small businesses can apply for the £2 billion Kickstart jobs scheme. The scheme, which provides subsidised work placements for young people, was launched on Wednesday, but small companies face uncertainty over how to access it. – The Times