Frankie & Benny’s parent company has swung back to a first-half profit despite challenging conditions in the hospitality sector.

The Restaurant Group, which also operates Wagamama and Chiquito, declared a £2.3million statutory pre-tax profit for the six months ending 2 July, compared to a £28.5million loss in the same period last year.

Profitability was supported by significantly lower impairment charges and a bumper trading performance boosting turnover by 10 per cent to £467.4million.

Recovery: Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group swung back to a first-half profit

Its concessions business saw the largest increase in sales, with like-for-like growth of 28 per cent thanks to a continued rebound in air travel following the absence of pandemic-related restrictions.

Demand at the start of 2022 was impacted by the Omicron variant’s emergence discouraging many Britons from commuting to work or visiting hospitality venues.

TRG also recorded healthy first-half trade at its pubs and Wagamama outlets, although like-for-like revenue declined in its leisure division, which it partly blamed on consumer cost-of-living pressures.

However, all the firm’s segments achieved turnover growth in the eight weeks to 27 August, with concessions sales jumping by a third.

TRG noted Wagamama benefited from cooler summer weather, while popular cinema releases like Barbie and Oppenheimer buoyed the leisure business.

Following the result, bosses at the London-listed company have made a ‘moderate increase’ to their expectations on adjusted core profits.

Andy Hornby, chief executive of TRG, said: ‘We are encouraged by the significant progress made in the first eight months of the year, delivering strong LFL sales growth despite the consumer backdrop.’

He added: ‘We are making excellent progress on our medium-term plan, and the board continues to actively explore strategic options to further accelerate margin accretion and deleveraging.’

TRG said annualised cost savings of £5million had been attained, while the planned reduction in its leisure estate portfolio was proceeding ahead of schedule.

From the next fiscal year, the group plans to launch eight to ten new Wagamama establishments, as well as up to three ‘high-quality’ pubs.

The Restaurant Group shares were 1.8 per cent down at 42.9p on early Wednesday afternoon, meaning they have slumped by approximately 72 per cent since Hornby took over in August 2019.

Hornby has faced considerable backlash from some investors for the company’s long-term share price weakness and its four consecutive annual losses.

In March, 46 per cent of shareholders – including activists Oasis Management and Irenic Capital – voted against the ex-HBOS chief executive’s proposed £792,000 pay package.

DP World has warned of an ‘uncertain’ outlook after the port operator revealed a drop in half-year profits.

The Emirati-state run firm, which owns P&O Ferries, saw profits attributable to its owners decline by 9.7 per cent to $651million (£510million) for the six months ending June.

Profits fell despite shipping freight rates continuing to fall back from record levels in mid-2021 amid improving supply chain issues and a global economic slowdown.

Logistics giant: Headquartered in Dubai, DP World’s ports include Jebel Ali (pictured), the busiest in the Middle East, and Southampton and London Gateway in the UK

DP World cautioned that the immediate outlook remained mired by geopolitical factors, high inflation, recent interest rate hikes, and currency fluctuations.

The group is owned by Dubai World, an investment company that operates on behalf of the Government of Dubai. 

DP World still managed to boost total turnover by 13.9 per cent to just over $9billion, thanks to solid performances from its Imperial Logistics and Drydocks World businesses.

Container volumes also bucked the broader market, increasing by 3.1 per cent to 39.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with the Asia-Pacific region driving growth and offsetting weaker trade across the Americas and Europe.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chief executive and chairman of DP World Group, said: ‘While the near-term trade outlook may be uncertain due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, the solid financial performance of the first six months positions us well to deliver a steady set of full-year results.

‘We remain optimistic about the medium to long-term prospects of the industry and DP World’s capacity to consistently generate sustainable returns.’

The global container fleet is expected to expand by 6.3 per cent in 2023 and 8.1 per cent next year, according to the Baltic and International Maritime Council, a trade association representing shipowners.

Headquartered in Dubai, the logistics giant’s ports include Jebel Ali, the busiest in the Middle East, and Southampton and London Gateway in the UK.

It handled around 79 million containers across its network last year and plans to boost its capacity by another 3 million TEUs by the end of 2023.

DP World invested $910 million across its estate during the first half of this year and anticipates spending $2billion overall by the end of December. 

The company sparked public anger in 2022 when P&O Ferries, which it initially bought for £3.3billion in 2006, abruptly sacked 800 British-based employees without notice and replaced them with agency workers.

P&O’s boss, Pete Hebblethwaite, admitted the action was unlawful because the firm did not give 45 days’ notice to authorities before planning to make redundancies and failed to consult with unions.

Norma Hunt, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder and former owner Lamar Hunt, has died the franchise announced Sunday. 

The cause of death of the woman dubbed the ‘First Lady of Football’ by many is currently unknown. 

Norma, the mother of the NFL team’s current owner Clark, was the only woman to attend every Super Bowl and watched her beloved Chiefs hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in February. 

She was by her husband’s side throughout his many sporting ventures from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, World Championship Tennis, the North American Soccer League, and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls.

In a statement from the Hunt family, released by the NFL franchise, Norma was described as kind, generous and unfailingly positive. 

Norma Hunt (center), the wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, has died 

The statement read: ‘Our family is deeply saddened by the passing of our mother, Norma. She was a wonderful mother and an extraordinary woman who will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Kind, generous and unfailingly positive, mom was one of a kind. Her joy and zeal for life were infectious. She loved caring for others, and she always had an encouraging word. She was a loyal friend, the consummate hostess and she had a rare ability to make everyone she encountered feel valued and at ease.

Mom was steadfastly devoted to her family and fiercely passionate about her family’s sports teams. She was by our father Lamar’s side every step of the way – from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, World Championship Tennis, the North American Soccer League, and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls. She was the only person we knew who rivaled his love of sports. The two of them found such joy together, whether at home, or in stadium stands around the world.

‘[…] Her quiet yet deep faith sustained her throughout her life, and we take great comfort knowing that she is home with the Lord. She will be greatly missed by our family, the extended Chiefs and FC Dallas families, and by everyone who knew her.’

The NFL also honored the ‘First Lady of Football’ with Commissioner Roger Goodell paying tribute to Norma in a statement released Sunday evening. 

​’The entire NFL family is deeply saddened by the passing of Norma Hunt, who was a significant presence in the NFL for the last seven decades,’ Goodell said.

‘Norma’s role in football was highlighted recently in the documentary appropriately entitled ‘A Lifetime of Sundays.’ Norma’s place in NFL history will forever be remembered by the Chiefs’ organization and the entire league.’

‘We extend our deepest condolences to Clark and the entire Hunt family, and the many people whose lives she impacted during her remarkable life.’

Norma was working as a schoolteacher and hostess for the Dallas Texans when she met Lamar Hunt in 1964, five years after he and other members of ‘The Foolish Club’ founded the AFL.

She and Lamar married later that year and went on to have two children – current Chiefs owner Clark and Daniel.  

Lamar moved the Texans to Kansas City and renamed them the Chiefs and the upstart league eventually merged with the NFL.

Lamar , who died in 2006, also coined the term ‘Super Bowl’ for the league’s championship game and has the AFC Championship trophy named after him. 

More to follow.  

A Siberian husky called Rex has undergone an amazing transformation after having a huge tumour removed thanks to a pleading TikTok video from his owner.

The six-year-old dog was suffering from a tumour on his snout so big that it stopped him from seeing and breathing easily, with nobody wanting to operate on it.

Rex’s owner, Damián, sought treatment for his beloved pet at a number of veterinary clinics in the province of Cádiz, in southwestern Spain, where he lives.

However, all the clinics told him that this type of tumour could not be operated on and the vets did not give Rex long to live.

In a last-ditch attempt to save his dog’s life, Damián posted a video to TikTok with the aim of finding a vet in Spain who could treat it. 

The six-year-old Siberian husky was suffering from a tumour on his snout so big that it stopped the animal from seeing and breathing easily 

After Rex had the tumour removed, he has been well on the road to recovery, according to the vets

The director of an animal sanctuary who came across the video told the owner to get in touch with the Faunivet Veterinary Clinic in Vinarós—around 560 miles away by car.

The fast-growing tumour was a fibrosarcoma, a cancer derived from fibrous connective tissue.

In dogs, this cancer occurs most commonly around the mouth area. 

In a last-ditch attempt to save his dog’s life, Damián posted a video to TikTok with the aim of finding a vet in Spain who could treat Rex

‘Rex is a male Husky dog that we heard about through the director of an animal sanctuary,’ vets Francisco Serrano and Nacho Martín-Macho with Faunivet told Newsweek last week.

‘This woman showed us some photos with images of Rex’s head, and the large tumours on his face, to ask us if we could do something for him.’

The Faunivet team told Damián that they thought the tumour could feasibly be operated on, so the owner made the long journey over to the clinic.

‘No clinic they had previously consulted with gave him any chance, and the only remedy they gave him was euthanasia,’ Martín-Macho and Serrano said.

The Faunivet team examined the dog and decided that the operation could go ahead.

‘Rex at that time was already suffering from respiratory problems, difficulty eating, and extensive infection in the area due to ulceration of the tumour,’ the vets said. 

‘The type of tumour is a fast-growing fibrosarcoma, with a low possibility of metastasis, but a high possibility of local recurrence.’

The complex operation lasted more than three hours but thankfully no significant complications arose.

‘It was possible to remove the tumour, and then [conduct] a complicated facial reconstruction with success,’ Martín-Macho and Serrano said.

Pictured left: The Siberian husky undergoing surgery in in Vinarós, Spain. Pictured right: The Faunivet Veterinary Clinic team with Rex following the operation

Since the operation, Rex has been well on the road to recovery, according to the vets.

There has been an uplift in his mood and he has gained weight. A vet in Cádiz is also seeing him for periodic check-ups.

The team are pleased that the surgery was a success and that Rex can live a normal life again.

If the tumour does return, the vets said that it could be controlled before it becomes as big as it was, as long as he receives the treatment in good time.

Hopes for the UK’s electric vehicle industry have been reignited as Jaguar Land Rover’s owner looks set to pick Somerset over Spain for a car battery plant.

Tata’s boss is expected to fly to London next week to finalise the multi-million-pound deal, which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been pushing for months, according to the BBC.

But Whitehall sources told the Mail that negotiations were still ongoing to secure the most significant investment in UK automotive since Nissan came to Sunderland in the 1980s.

Elon Musk has also said he is considering the UK for a Tesla gigafactory as the electric car maker ramps up production. 

Deals with Tata and Tesla would significantly bolster Britain’s electric vehicle (EV) sector, which has had a rocky ride in recent months – from the collapse of Britishvolt to the crisis surrounding the lack of electric chargers.

Site: Jaguar Land Rover is expected to pick a site near Bridgwater in Somerset (pictured) for its new car battery gigafactory

There are also ongoing concerns over ‘rules of origin’ laws which could see tariffs of 10pc whacked on EVs exported to the EU that do not meet strict criteria.

Under current plans, 45 per cent of an electric car must be sourced in the UK or elsewhere in Europe to avoid export tariffs of 10 per cent.

The rule, which is set to come into force next year, was originally intended to boost the creation of domestic electric car battery industries and remove the over-reliance on foreign players, such as China and Japan. 

But both the EU and the UK have failed to build enough factories to meet these production demands, meaning that most vehicles will not meet this standard and therefore must pay the tariff.

Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall and Citroen, told MPs last week that it would be unable to make EVs in the UK without changes to Britain’s agreement with the bloc.

Ford and Jaguar Land Rover also argued that the shift to EVs could be knocked off course unless the stricter rules are delayed.

Although Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said a solution would come ‘soon’, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) underlines the scale of the threat.

More than eight in ten cars manufactured in the UK last month headed overseas, according to the figures, with over half of these going to the EU.

Manufacturers produced a total of 66,527 cars in April, up 10 per cent from the same period last year, the SMMT said, with the number of electric vehicles jumping 56 per cent year-on-year.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: ‘These figures show how exports, particularly to Europe, continue to be the foundation of British automotive manufacturing so we must do all we can to safeguard the competitiveness of these trading relationships.’

Denver Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic dismissed claims he could be suspended for Game 5 of the series with the Phoenix Suns after he got technical foul for pushing Suns owner Mat Ishbia in the game.

The incident was in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday when Suns guard Josh Okogie crashed into the seats while trying to save a loose ball. He landed in a group of fans on the baseline that included Ishbia, who grabbed the basketball.

Jokic was trying to get the basketball back quickly – apparently so the Nuggets could start their offensive possession – when he tried to take the ball away from Ishbia. The ball flew backward into the crowd, and then Ishbia was knocked backward by Jokic’s elbow.

Jokic was unapologetic after the game, which the Suns won 129-124 but he scored a brilliant total of 53 points.

‘The fan put the hand on me first,’ Jokic said. ‘I thought the league was supposed to protect us. Maybe I am wrong. I know who he is, but he is sitting on the court so he is a fan, isn´t he? He cannot influence the game.’

Nikola Jokic was seen pushing Suns owner Mat Ishbia while attempting to get the ball  

Other fans rose from their seats as the incident occurred in the first row of the audience 

After the incident coaches, officials, and other players quickly stepped in two separate Jokic from the first row of the crowd

He was asked if he was worried he risked a fine or suspension for Game 5.

‘Why? His hands are on me,’ Jokic said. They are not going to protect me? They are going to protect the fan? I’m talking about it as a player. 

‘They can do whatever of course, they don’t care but I think they are supposed to protect players.’

Nuggets coach Michael Malone added: ‘(Jokic) is going to get the ball and some fan is holding on to the ball like he wants to be part of the game. Just give the ball up, man.’

When Malone was told the fan was Ishbia he simply responded: ‘I don’t give a s***. I really don’t care.’ 

There were a few minutes of confusion as officials sorted out the weird scene, and then Jokic was assessed a technical foul. The Suns made the ensuing free throw.

Suns star Devin Booker – who finished with 36 points and 12 assists – said he knew it was Ishbia in the middle of the fracas.

‘He got us a point!’ Booker said with a grin.

Ishbia (second left) was seated courtside in his customary seat when the shove occurred

Despite the shove Jokic scored a career-high in the post season with over 50 points

The Nuggets center shot an impressive 20-30 from the field and 11-13 from the free throw line

Denver’s MVP candidate also recorded 11 assists to end the night with another double-double

Ishbia told The Associated Press at halftime that he was ‘fine’ and more worried about the game than the altercation. 

He was back in his usual seats in the second half. The incident didn’t seem to bother Jokic either – the MVP runner-up finished with 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting.

Ishbia has only been the Suns’ owner for a few months, purchasing the team from the embattled Robert Sarver.

Game 5 is on Tuesday in Denver. The series is tied at two games each.

British Airways’ parent company has increased its profit forecast due to a strong recovery in demand for leisure travel. 

IAG now expects underlying profits for 2023 to surpass the high end of its €1.8billion to €2.3billion (£1.6billion to £2billion) prior outlook, supported by lower fuel costs, rising ticket prices and higher demand on long and short-haul flights. 

The company bounced back to a small first-quarter operating profit for the first time since before the pandemic, thanks to the continued recovery in leisure travel.

International Airlines Group (IAG), which also runs Aer Lingus, Vueling and Iberia, reported an operating profit of €9million (£7.8million) for the opening three months of 2023.

In the equivalent period last year, the Anglo-Spanish firm made a €718 million loss due to governments reintroducing travel restrictions in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. 

Earnings: British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) rebounded to an operating profit of €9million in the opening three months of 2023

Revenue climbed by 71.4 per cent to €5.9billion between January and March thanks to a surge in passengers across all regions and better-than-expected performances in all of IAG’s divisions.

Aer Lingus and Vueling’s results were buoyed by strong demand for flights to the United States, with the latter also benefiting from travel to Spain and Latin America and a faster rebound in business customers relative to other airlines.

The company forecasts full-year capacity to be at 97 per cent of 2019 volumes, helped by the resumption of British Airways services to Shanghai and Beijing this summer.

Chief executive Luis Gallego said: ‘We are seeing healthy forward bookings with leisure demand particularly strong while business travel continues to recover more slowly.

‘As we return to more normal operations, we continue to invest in sustainability, including more fuel-efficient aircraft, and in customer experience, updating the business cabins for British Airways and Iberia.

‘Over the past year, we have recruited thousands of new employees across the Group and strengthened our operations so that we are ready to deliver for our customers during the summer peak.’

IAG and other airline groups were severely impacted by delays and cancellations last year as employee shortages left them struggling to cope with the exceptional resurgence in demand.

The industry has also been affected by a wave of strike action, causing thousands more flights across Europe to be axed.

Security officers at Heathrow Airport are currently staging the first of three planned walkouts in a dispute over pay, having just completed a 10-day strike that hit travellers over Easter.

Richard Hunter, the head of markets at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said: ‘The headwinds which have blighted the sector are never far away, meaning that airline stocks have long been a traditionally hazardous investment, variously affected by virus outbreaks, industrial action, volcanic dust clouds and higher fuel costs.

‘The pandemic added another level of issues, while current macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns add to a potentially dangerous mix.’

International Airlines Group shares rose 2.7 per cent to 151.5p in early trading, making them one of the top ten risers on the FTSE 350 Index.

However, they remain about two-thirds below their value in January 2020.