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    Oliver Barnes

    Leisure Industries Correspondent

    Oliver Barnes is the FT’s leisure industries correspondent based in London. He covers hospitality, gambling, tourism, tobacco and cannabis companies. Oliver previously covered health and science for the FT. He was awarded a journalism prize by the Royal Statistical Society for his coverage of the pandemic.

    Before joining the FT, he worked for BBC News, writing articles for Reality Check, the fact-checking arm of the BBC, and reporting for radio outlets including Radio 4 and the World Service.

    Email Oliver Barnes @mroliverbarnes  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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    • Monday, 25 September, 2023
      Entain PLC
      Entain warns of decline in online gaming revenues

      Shares in owner of Ladbrokes and Coral tumble as it blames slowdown in part on UK government reforms

      A Ladbrokes betting shop in east London
    • Monday, 25 September, 2023
      FT News Briefing podcast10 min listen
      Poland’s complicated relationship with Ukraine

      The FT has found that Russia has succeeded in avoiding G7 sanctions on most of its oil exports

    • Friday, 22 September, 2023
      UK politics
      Sunak considers move to ban smoking for next generation

      Prime minister’s latest effort to tackle falling ratings could trigger party backlash

      Cigarette in ashtray
    • Thursday, 21 September, 2023
      Travel & leisure industry
      Europe’s largest cruise company pushes for change to emissions rules

      MSC Cruises draws ire of environmentalists as it calls for rethink on how passenger ships are assessed by UN shipping regulator

      Pierfrancesco Vago
    • Monday, 18 September, 2023
      Private equity
      Big Mamma restaurant group sells majority stake to private equity

      Deal with McWin values French-owned Italian company at €270mn

      Big Mamma’s Circolo Popolare in London
    • Friday, 15 September, 2023
      The Big Read
      The rise of surge pricing: ‘It will eventually be everywhere’

      Powered by algorithms and AI, a growing number of consumer industries are adjusting prices in response to supply and demand

    • Wednesday, 13 September, 2023
      Chick-fil-A Inc
      Chick-fil-A to make second attempt at UK launch after previous gay rights backlash

      US fast-food chain closed initial store in 2019 following protests by campaigners

      Signs for Chick-fil-A above a restaurant in Midtown, New York
    • Tuesday, 12 September, 2023
      Food & Beverage
      Slug and Lettuce owner draws backlash over ‘dynamic’ beer pricing

      UK’s biggest pub company to charge more for pints during peak hours to offset high costs

      People having a drink outside a branch of Slug and Lettuce in London
    • Sunday, 10 September, 2023
      The Restaurant Group PLC
      TRG in ‘advanced’ talks about Frankie & Benny’s sale

      Management will hope to quiet activist investors critical of group’s languishing share price

      Exterior of a Frankie and Benny’s restaurant
    • Friday, 8 September, 2023
      The Restaurant Group PLC
      Chair of Wagamama owner to step down as activist pressure continues

      The Restaurant Group says Ken Hanna’s decision to leave was due to ‘personal reasons’

    • Thursday, 7 September, 2023
      Travel
      No phone, no food — the wild rise of the survival holiday

      Why growing numbers of holidaymakers are paying to be cast away with nothing more than a machete

      A smiling woman crouches on the ground, holding a burning stick of wood
    • Thursday, 7 September, 2023
      British American Tobacco PLC
      BAT sells Russian business to local management

      Group becomes latest company to part ways with country following its invasion of Ukraine

      A picture showing someone smoking in from of the BAT logo
    • Wednesday, 6 September, 2023
      The Restaurant Group PLC
      Wagamama owner TRG defies casual-dining sector gloom

      Group raises full-year earnings expectations despite pressure on consumer incomes

      People sit in a Wagamama restaurant in London
    • Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
      Scottish politics
      Scotland’s first minister to boost welfare spending by £1bn

      Increase in social security budget to £6.3bn comes as SNP’s Yousaf seeks to outflank a resurgent Labour party

      Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister
    • Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
      News in-depthTravel & leisure industry
      Europe’s tourist surge defies cost of living crisis

      US visitor influx helps region enjoy best summer season since before pandemic

      A woman takes a selfie on her phone while tourist pass either side of her. Columns of the Acropolis are to the left and right
    • Monday, 4 September, 2023
      UK economy
      UK wages: which sectors are driving up pay?

      Britain could see interest rates rise further as pay growth remains high

      montage of a worker in front of a graphic
    • Saturday, 19 August, 2023
      Confederation of British Industry
      Companies seek to spin off diversity campaign from crisis-hit CBI

      Move aims to insulate Change the Race Ratio from lobby group’s struggle for survival

    • Friday, 18 August, 2023
      News in-depthTravel & leisure industry
      Hoteliers take to high seas and railroads in hunt for ultra-luxury travellers

      Groups including Accor and Marriott launch vessels and opulent trains as sector booms

      The Orient Express’s La Dolce Vita suite
    • Friday, 18 August, 2023
      Football
      Cornwall council to allow pubs to open early for World Cup final

      Move by local authority follows request from UK government to fast-track licensing extensions

      England celebrate their  second semi-final goal against hosts Australia
    • Friday, 18 August, 2023
      Soho House Ltd
      Soho House teams up with Michael Milken to bring The Ned to Washington

      London-based group partners with ‘junk bond king’ on club adjacent to the White House

      Rendering of Ned’s Club Washington DC
    • Wednesday, 16 August, 2023
      Jamie Oliver
      Jamie Oliver to steer clear of challenging mid-market in London return

      Celebrity chef to launch upmarket restaurant four years after collapse of Italian chain

      A Jamie’s Italian eaterie
    • Friday, 11 August, 2023
      Travel & leisure industry
      Owner of UK holiday resorts Center Parcs races to seal sale

      Advisers to Brookfield try to fashion consortium from remaining bidders

    • Thursday, 10 August, 2023
      Entain PLC
      Ladbrokes owner Entain puts aside £585mn to settle bribery probe

      Group close to deal with UK authorities to resolve alleged bribery offences at former Turkish subsidiary

      The inside of a deserted Ladbrokes betting shop
    • Thursday, 10 August, 2023
      The Big Read
      The dark side of the US sports betting boom

      Americans have bet $245bn on sporting events since restrictions were loosened in 2018. But many fear a surge in gambling addiction is coming

      A person with their face in shadow sits hunched over against a background of sports betting sites logos
    • Saturday, 5 August, 2023
      News in-depthTurkey
      Cheap deals and weak lira boost Turkey’s tourist appeal

      Visitor numbers rising but those in the sector say cost of living crisis means travellers are spending less once they arrive

      Holidaymakers watch each other  jump from rocks into the sea in Antalya, Turkey
    Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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