A task force to increase the number of women founding, funding and working in technology businesses has been launched in South Yorkshire, after research published this month found women make up 18 per cent of the region’s tech workforce, against 26 per cent nationally.

The Women in Tech and Investment Taskforce has been set up by TechSY, the programme within South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority responsible for growing the county’s tech and digital economy, after research by TechSY found the region was lagging behind the rest of the UK on female participation in the sector.

The same research found women receive just 10 per cent of investment. TechSY puts the value of South Yorkshire’s tech ecosystem at £3.7bn, four times its size in 2019.

The task force will focus on four priorities: increasing the number of women starting and scaling up tech firms; encouraging more women to invest in start-ups; supporting women already working in the sector to move into leadership roles; and inspiring more girls and young women to pursue careers in technology.

Its chair, Helen Milner OBE, said discussions about women in technology had too often focused on the problem rather than finding solutions.

“By bringing together employers, educators, investors and founders, we have an opportunity to ensure more women can build successful careers and businesses in technology,” she said.

Christina Vaughan, who started her first business in the digital sector more than 20 years ago, said she found there were still “too few women” in the industry when she launched her most recent venture, based in Sheffield.

She said: “I felt very much on my own 25 years ago, if we can even move the dial a little bit, that would be a good thing.”

The government’s Investing in Women Code annual report found that increasing investment into female and ethnic minority-led businesses could increase the UK’s stake in the tech market by around 13 per cent. It concluded that tech businesswomen generally doubled any economic investment they received.

The South Yorkshire launch follows moves at national level, where the Invest in Women Taskforce has secured more than £250m from financial institutions to back female entrepreneurs, and comes amid wider evidence that backing female founders outperforms the market. Neighbouring West Yorkshire has launched its own regional tech body as it bids to grow the sector.

Tracey Johnson, programme director for TechSY and the figure behind the project, said backing more women into business was good for growth.

“This isn’t simply a diversity issue; it’s an economic opportunity and one we must address. If South Yorkshire is serious about becoming one of the UK’s leading technology regions, we need to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate and succeed,” she said.

The task force is funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the British Business Bank and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology via Barnsley Council’s Tech Town programme.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

Best Buy is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week with a company-wide sale running through Aug. 23, marking six decades since the retailer opened its first store as a small audio shop in St. Paul, Minnesota, and growing into one of the country’s largest consumer electronics chains.

According to a statement from the company, the anniversary celebration kicked off Monday, Aug. 17, with what Best Buy is calling “The Anniversary Sale,” running through Sunday, Aug. 23, across the company’s physical stores, its mobile app and BestBuy.com. The sale includes discounts across a range of consumer electronics categories, including iPads, headphones, laptops and other tech products, according to the retailer.

The company plans to extend the celebration further during what it is calling its anniversary weekend, running Friday, Aug. 21, through Sunday, Aug. 23, when Best Buy said it will introduce an additional, refreshed lineup of promotional offers beyond those available during the broader weeklong sale.

Best Buy is also offering enhanced loyalty rewards throughout the sale period as part of the anniversary promotion. According to terms outlined by the company, members of its My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total loyalty programs can earn 10% back in rewards on qualifying purchases made between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, up to a maximum reward of $60. That figure includes the standard 1% back in rewards those membership tiers already receive, combined with an additional 9% tied specifically to the anniversary promotion. According to the offer’s terms, members must have an active My Best Buy account and be signed in at the time of a qualifying purchase, and reward points are expected to post to loyalty accounts within two to three weeks of the purchase, shipment or delivery date. The offer excludes tax, shipping and delivery fees, and gift card purchases.

The retailer is separately promoting a credit card incentive tied to the anniversary event. Customers who apply for and are approved for a My Best Buy Credit Card can earn 15% back in rewards on purchases made using Standard Credit during their first day of card use, provided that purchase occurs within 14 days of the account being opened. That offer, which runs from Aug. 10 through Sept. 7, combines a standard 5% back in rewards for using Standard Credit with an additional 10% tied specifically to new cardholders’ first day of purchases. According to the terms, that particular offer is available only to customers being approved for a My Best Buy Credit Card for the first time and cannot be combined with other promotional offers.

Best Buy is also planning a separate, single-day in-store promotional event on Saturday, Aug. 22, which the company is calling Anniversary Day. According to the retailer, six special anniversary offers will be available exclusively in physical stores that day, including a promotional gift card deal. The company said quantities for these one-day offers are limited, with a minimum of 50 60th Anniversary Best Buy gift cards guaranteed per store location, and cautioned that the one-day event offers will not be eligible under the company’s standard price-match guarantee policy. Purchases under the Anniversary Day promotion are limited to one item per offer per customer.

As part of the broader 60th anniversary celebration, Best Buy is running a promotional sweepstakes inviting customers to submit photographs of their oldest technology devices, including phones, televisions and gaming systems, through BestBuy.com for a chance to win anniversary-themed prizes. According to the official rules, the sweepstakes requires no purchase to enter, runs through 11:59 p.m. Central time on Aug. 23, and is open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico who are at least 18 years old. The company described the promotion as a way to honor how consumer technology has evolved over the past six decades while looking ahead to future innovations.

Best Buy has also partnered with technology YouTuber Marques Brownlee for a video project tracing the evolution of the telephone over the company’s 60-year history, framing the retailer’s role in helping customers navigate successive waves of technological change. According to the company, an advertising campaign tied to that collaboration launched on Brownlee’s YouTube channel beginning Aug. 10.

In one of the more unconventional elements of the anniversary campaign, Best Buy said it is offering custom, 3D-printed anniversary-themed sneakers for purchase through BestBuy.com. According to the company, the shoes, produced in partnership with 3D-printing company Nexbie, are being offered in limited quantities as a novelty item tied to the anniversary celebration, intended to showcase advances in manufacturing technology alongside the retailer’s broader product offerings.

Best Buy, founded in 1966, has grown from its original single-location audio equipment store in St. Paul into a national retail chain operating hundreds of stores across the United States, alongside a substantial e-commerce and mobile app business. The company has positioned itself over the decades as a primary retail destination for consumer electronics, expanding its product offerings over time to include computers, mobile devices, home appliances, gaming systems and a range of technology services.

In a statement accompanying the anniversary announcement, the company emphasized that the celebration was intended to center on the customers who have supported the retailer throughout its history, rather than solely on the company’s own milestones. Best Buy said the sale, promotional offers and associated activities were designed collectively as “our own way” of marking six decades in business while thanking longtime shoppers for their continued patronage.

The anniversary sale arrives during a period of heightened competition within the consumer electronics retail sector, as Best Buy continues to compete against a range of both traditional retail rivals and major e-commerce platforms for consumer spending on technology products. Large-scale promotional events tied to company milestones, such as this week’s anniversary sale, have increasingly become a common strategy among major retailers seeking to drive foot traffic and online engagement during traditionally slower periods of the retail calendar outside major holiday shopping seasons.

As the weeklong sale continues through Sunday, Best Buy customers are expected to see the broadest range of anniversary-specific promotions during the final three days of the event, culminating in Saturday’s single-day, in-store-only Anniversary Day offers, before the celebration concludes alongside the standard sale pricing on Aug. 23.

Property developers will have to prove there is no reasonable prospect of a pub surviving before it can be turned into flats or offices, under changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, but industry figures have warned the new protections will not stop pubs closing.

At least 1,836 pubs have closed since the start of 2025, according to figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Experts from the construction and hospitality sectors said the reforms would not prevent pub closures in the first place, pointing to rising taxes, alcohol duty and higher wage costs.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said the Government would need to go further to reverse the effect of decisions taken by Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor.

He said: “There has been an increase in the closure of hospitality businesses across the board over the last two years because of this Government’s actions.

“The fundamental and core point here is the cost of running the pubs in the first place, and I would encourage the Government to be more concerned about reversing the damage of the past two years than with concerning itself with what happens to the building after that pub has stopped being viable.”

Wet-led pubs make about 3p of profit for every £1 spent at the bar, according to research by comparison website money.co.uk using data from the British Beer and Pub Association. That equates to 16p on an average pint costing £5.17.

Alcohol duty has risen by 3.66 per cent this year, while increases to the National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions are also adding to costs.

Jordan Connachie, managing director of property developer Kori Construction, said the planning reforms would lead to “a load of empty pubs up and down the country”.

“Planning designations don’t touch any of that,” he said.

“If the Government wants pubs to survive, the fix is in duty, business rates relief, and wage cost support – not in stopping a failing building becoming something that actually works economically.”

Steve Hesmondhalgh, a planning consultant, said protecting pubs through the planning system “sounds noble, but it is 20 years too late and aimed at the wrong problem”.

“All tougher restrictions will likely do is leave some buildings empty for longer, while owners wait for a pub use that no longer works,” he said.

“Would we rather have a dead pub or a building with a new life?”

Wyn Evans, founder of planning-feedback company Shared Voices, said that if the Government “genuinely wants to save pubs, it should address the economics of running them – not make it harder to use their empty buildings for something else”.

“These rules can make matters worse for pubs,” he said. “They may trap publicans in unviable businesses, deter investment and prevent adaptations that could keep pubs trading.”

Others backed the changes. Camra praised the reforms for “putting more power into local people’s hands to help them save successful and valued locals from greedy developers trying to cash in”.

The Government has been contacted for comment.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

Shares of Nike Inc. fell as much as 4.49%, or $1.83, to $38.90 as of 1:15 p.m. EDT Monday, dragging the stock to a fresh 52-week low and pushing it to price levels not seen in nearly 12 years, as investors reacted to disappointing sales guidance from premium athletic footwear rival On Holding AG.

Nike’s intraday decline touched a low near $39.41 earlier in the session before extending further, marking the stock’s weakest trading levels since late 2014, according to historical price data. The shares have declined roughly 38% so far in 2026, including a drop of more than 5% just in August, and now sit nearly 78% below their November 2021 all-time high of $179.10.

The primary trigger for Monday’s decline traced back to competitor On Holding, which reported mixed second-quarter results the prior Tuesday. On Holding posted quarterly earnings of 44 cents per share, topping the analyst consensus estimate of 41 cents, but reported sales of $1.076 billion, falling short of the $1.110 billion analysts had expected. More significantly for the broader athletic apparel sector, On Holding issued full-year 2026 sales guidance of between $4.390 billion and $4.503 billion, below the market’s prior consensus estimate of $4.490 billion, a signal that even one of the industry’s stronger-performing brands anticipates slowing growth ahead.

Nike’s decline outpaced the broader market and its sector Monday. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.24% and the S&P 500 had shed just 0.15% during the same session, while the Consumer Discretionary sector overall declined roughly 0.8%, meaning Nike’s drop significantly exceeded losses across comparable retail and apparel names. No specific new Nike earnings release or company-specific announcement appeared to trigger Monday’s decline directly, suggesting the sell-off reflected broader sentiment about the athletic apparel category following On Holding’s guidance rather than any fresh Nike-specific development.

Nike’s struggles have been building for months, rooted primarily in persistent weakness in its Chinese market and a broader turnaround effort that has yet to show clear signs of translating into sustained financial improvement. The company’s most recent full-year results showed Greater China revenue of $5.85 billion, representing 12.6% of total company revenue, with reported sales in the region declining 11%, or 13% when excluding currency fluctuations. Direct digital sales within China fell even more sharply, dropping 29%, while earnings before interest and tax from the Chinese market fell 20%.

Nike Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend addressed the company’s challenges directly following the results, saying the company was “improving the health of our business” while acknowledging that sell-through — the pace at which products actually move off store shelves to consumers — continued to face headwinds. According to analysis of the results, retailers have been restocking Nike merchandise, driving gains in wholesale revenue, but the company’s direct-to-consumer revenue and digital traffic have continued to lag behind, placing greater emphasis on wholesale channel growth and a broader recovery in consumer demand to sustain the turnaround CEO Elliott Hill has been pursuing since taking the helm.

Questions have also emerged regarding the sustainability of Nike’s dividend given the stock’s declining share price and underlying earnings pressure. Nike currently pays a quarterly dividend of 41 cents per share, totaling $1.64 annually. Based on the company’s reported fiscal 2026 earnings per share of $2.10, that dividend represents a payout ratio of roughly 78.1%. However, when excluding a previously disclosed 52-cent fourth-quarter gain tied to anticipated tariff cost recoveries, adjusted earnings per share fall to roughly $1.58, pushing the effective payout ratio to approximately 103.8% of earnings under that stress scenario, a level that would exceed the company’s underlying profitability if sustained.

Wall Street sentiment toward Nike has grown increasingly cautious in recent weeks. On Aug. 4, JPMorgan downgraded Nike to “Underweight” from “Neutral” and cut its price target, citing expectations that the company’s turnaround under Hill would take longer and prove more costly than previously anticipated, extending pressure on earnings into 2028. The downgrade pushed Nike shares lower in the trading session that followed its announcement. Separately, credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded several of Nike’s debt ratings in a prior report, citing cost pressures tied to tariffs and heightened competition within the athletic apparel market, projecting that while Nike’s profit margins would eventually recover, that process would unfold slowly.

Nike has continued pursuing structural changes as part of its broader turnaround strategy. The company is terminating its online distribution agreement with Topsports International Holdings in mainland China by January 2027, a move aimed at giving Nike greater direct control over its digital sales channel in the region and supporting a push toward full-price product sales rather than relying on discounted, third-party distribution arrangements. Nike has also announced leadership changes in key finance roles as part of its ongoing organizational restructuring under Hill.

Despite the stock’s steep decline and mounting near-term challenges, some analysts maintain a longer-term optimistic view of Nike’s prospects. According to earlier analysis compiled before the stock’s most recent slide, Wall Street had maintained an average “Buy” recommendation on the stock with a mean price target well above current trading levels, reflecting continued belief among some analysts in the eventual success of Nike’s turnaround strategy despite significant near-term headwinds, though more recent downgrades, including JPMorgan’s shift to an Underweight rating, suggest that optimism has begun to erode among at least some segments of the analyst community.

Nike’s stock now trades at roughly half of its 52-week high of $80.16, having fallen approximately 50.8% from that peak. Other apparel companies also declined Monday, though Nike underperformed its small peer group by roughly 0.4 percentage points, suggesting the sell-off reflected both broader pressure across the athletic apparel sector as well as company-specific concerns unique to Nike’s ongoing turnaround challenges.

With no clear near-term catalyst expected to reverse the stock’s trajectory and On Holding’s guidance having reinforced broader concerns about slowing growth across the athletic footwear and apparel category, investors are likely to continue closely monitoring Nike’s progress on its China recovery efforts, wholesale channel expansion and overall margin improvement as key indicators of whether the company’s turnaround under Hill can ultimately gain traction in the coming quarters.

The PM made the comments during a surprise visit to the Duchy where he also offered Cornwall Council a devolution deal

The Prime Minister has backed the introduction of an overnight tourism levy in Cornwall, suggesting it could prove transformative for the county. Andy Burnham made a brief visit to the Duchy at the weekend to announce a £65m support package for farmers, following concerns that hot, dry conditions could push up supermarket food prices.

He stopped at the family-owned Colwyn Farm at Perranwell Station, near Truro, as part of his morning itinerary, which also included a visit to The Arborist café at Killiow, also near the city, where we spoke with him.

Mr Burnham had written to Cornwall Council leaders and the county’s six MPs earlier in the week expressing his support for devolution proposals for the Duchy. He mentioned that he was looking forward to finding himself on a beach enjoying a Cornish pasty in the near future.

As it happened, his visit came much sooner than anyone anticipated. He wasn’t on a beach but at the picturesque location of The Arborist, where council leader Cllr Leigh Frost surprised him with a box of Barnecutts pasties, which were promptly and enthusiastically packed away by the Prime Minister’s minions.

Sitting opposite the PM in the café’s reading room, I mentioned attending a Local Democracy Reporter conference at Media City in Manchester last November, where Mr Burnham addressed a room full of political journalists.

During a Q&A session, while he stopped short of explicitly saying Cornwall should join a Devonwall-style combined mayor-led authority with neighbouring South West regions, it was evident he preferred that approach.

Given the current push to establish Cornwall as a single foundation strategic authority, has his view shifted? Is he content for Cornwall to go its own way without the need for a mayor or a political alliance with Devon?

“It’s not my opinion that matters about the form that devolution should take at a local level,” he told me. “It’s got to feel right to people here because if you try and foist something on to people it won’t work. It’s got to be bottom up.

“Personally, I still see the case for a combined authority, but I’m ready to go with a Cornish devolution deal. If the six MPs and the leader of the council are ready to come to me and say ‘that’s what we want’, I’m ready to give you that devolution deal.

“So the offer from me to the leader of the council today will be, if you want it, I would like it cross-party so come together with the MPs, come to No 10 North, let’s get around the table and let’s thrash out a devolution deal for Cornwall.”

Could this mean Cornwall might miss out on some of the advantages that a mayor-led authority could deliver, such as his proposal to allow mayors to retain a portion of income tax?

“I think you have to recognise the form that you take may then have implications in terms of what can be devolved and how quickly, because a bigger authority has that ability to take on more. If you think about policing – obviously policing is dual counties in this part of the world – so the form does have implications, but I’m looking at giving the best I can and I want good growth in every postcode and that is true of every postcode in Cornwall.”

It was at this point that the Prime Minister disclosed his support for the introduction of a ‘tourism tax’ in Cornwall.

“I am prepared to look at an overnight visitor levy for Cornwall. People in the tourism industry might say ‘woah, hang on, what will that mean for us?’ but it’s something that tourists from Britain are paying all over Europe this summer, so actually it could be something of a game changer for Cornwall.

“I don’t think people resent the idea of a few extra pounds on a hotel or Airbnb bill because you’re using the services. It’s not fair, actually, to pay for all of the services and infrastructure from council tax – that’s a burden that residents can’t carry on their own.

“Cornwall wouldn’t have to do it, but it’s just there as a possibility and I’m keen to not just give that power to mayors if there are parts of the coastal and rural economy that want those powers early and are prepared to move early for a devolution deal.”

‘I think Cornwall is a jewel in the UK’s crown’

He has undoubtedly received a clear message in recent weeks from Cornwall Council and local MPs that Cornwall is unique, and is plainly aware of the local authority’s bid for Cornwall to be recognised as the fifth nation of the UK. Does he envisage that becoming a reality during his time in office?

“I think that might be pushing too far from my point of view. There were moments where I thought about declaring independence in Greater Manchester, but it never got to that point.

“I believe in a United Kingdom. I’m not saying you’re going all the way to independence, but let’s get you going properly with a devolution deal. I think focus on that, as that’s practical and here and now. That could change lives in two or three years. That could get growth going in every postcode in a short period of time.”

He went on to say: “I think Cornwall is a jewel in the UK’s crown, we love it and have all got memories of it, but has the UK looked after Cornwall as much as it may? I would say no – the infrastructure isn’t what it should be and there’s a fragility to some of the services down here.”

Mr Burnham believes that devolution would also help address the challenges facing the farming community in Cornwall, as “they’re different from other parts of the country. If you have control of post-16 education, that a massive benefit for the farming industry here”.

Discussing the difficulties confronting the hospitality sector and the 20 per cent reduction in business rates announced for next year, Mr Burnham added: “It’s great to be in this business, The Arborist, in Truro on the old golf course – it’s an amazing business with music nights at a family location.

“It really speaks to what hospitality businesses do – they give life, they give people a lift, they build a sense of community and togetherness, hence they deserve extra support. We need to give them the ability to do more of those good things that benefit society.

“We’ve made a start with the commitment to a 20 per cent business rates cut for pubs, but there’s going to be a stage two and we’re looking towards the budget later this year to see what more we can do. I can’t make firm commitments today because, as you know, it’s tough out there in terms of finances, but hospitality brings something unique to the high street and our communities and it deserves our support.”

Mr Burnham said he wanted people to understand during his visit “that No 10 North is as much at the services of Cornwall as it is of the north of England.

“The point is it’s giving leaders here a single conduit through the centre of government into that Whitehall system and making that Whitehall system come back with a single plan for Cornwall, rather than passing round leaders from pillar to post and all the departments.

“It’s about growth going more quickly and getting power out and down. People are making a mistake if they think of it as a gimmick. No 10 North could make a big difference for Cornwall and do it very quickly. The old way of working through Whitehall silos hasn’t got the growth going in the way it needs to”.

Joined at The Arborist by Truro and Falmouth’s Labour MP Jayne Kirkham, the PM went on to praise Cornwall’s MPs – the two Lib Dem members alongside the four Labour MPs – for doing a “fantastic job in representing the needs of this county back to Westminster and me specifically – they have made representations about issues around second homes and housing prices as it’s particularly felt in this part of the world”.

He concluded by saying: “I come back to the idea of an overnight visitor levy – I think it could be a major game changer in Cornwall, if it’s pitched the right way. Just start with a level that is fair. That is a new revenue stream and then you can borrow against that revenue stream.

“It could be massive for this county. Let’s get into that conversation sooner rather than later. By this time next year I would hope to be coming down where that devolution deal is already in place and delivering benefits for the people of Cornwall.”

He then departed to board a five-hour train back to London, remarking on the need for improved connectivity between Cornwall and the rest of the country as he walked past surprised café customers.

The South West transport hub is undergoing a £400m transformation

A host of restaurants are set to open at Bristol Airport in the next year as part of the transport hub’s £400m transformation plans. All-day dining chain Bill’s will be the first of four new eateries to open in the departure lounge when it arrives in the summer of next year.

It will be followed by Cosy Club – the Bristol-founded cafe-bar group – pan-Asian chain Wagamama, and a new bespoke bar and kitchen called Tap + Brew, which will be partnering with a local craft beer company.

Bill’s will be operated by Avolta and will offer its all-day dining menu, which includes dishes such as pancakes and burgers, and will include a range of Coeliac UK-approved gluten-free options.

Tom James, managing director at Bills, said: “Bristol Airport is such an exciting project to be involved in. As a key travel hub with such a large catchment area, the development and growth of this fantastic Airport is something we are very proud to be part of.

“Bill’s is finding a great new home in the airport environment, and the opportunity to delight the thousands of passengers from families to solo travellers travelling from Bristol each week is something we are really looking forward to.”

The Cosy Club Bristol Airport branch will be operated by TRG Concessions when it opens in 2027. It is understood the menu will use West Country suppliers such as Baker Tom in Cornwall for bread and Philip Warren Butchers, which supplies the dry-aged, grass-fed beef for the burgers. Vegan and gluten-free options will also be available, and there will be a dedicated children’s menu.

Nick Collins, Loungers chief executive, said: “We are really excited about Cosy Club opening in Bristol Airport. We think our all-day menu will represent a real step-up in terms of choice for travellers, and we are really chuffed that Bristol Airport chose us as a local Bristol business to open here.”

Wagamama will be the third outlet to open its doors next summer and will also be operated by TRG Concessions. The Bristol Airport menu will feature the chain’s classic dishes including curries, ramen and bao buns, and will also have children’s and vegan options. It will also be selling breakfast dishes – from eggs and waffles to French toast and granola for early morning travellers.

Francisco Neves, SVP International at Wagamama, said: “We’re excited to be bringing Wagamama to even more travellers with the Bristol Airport opening. As demand grows for fresh, high-quality food while travelling, we’re proud to make the Wagamama experience accessible to more guests wherever their journey takes them.”

The fourth restaurant to open next year will be Tap + Brew, which will be operated by SSP UK & Ireland. It will sell local craft beers and cider from Wiper and True, a craft brewer based in Bristol, alongside well-known beers, seasonal specials, as well as low and no alcohol and cocktails. The food menu will feature classics such as fish and chips, burgers and fully loaded nachos as well as hearty breakfasts from a full English to smashed avocado on toast.

Stuart Buchanan, chief property and business development officer at SSP UK & Ireland, said: “In the past 12 months, we’ve invested significantly in our offer at Bristol Airport and are excited to continue this growth with our newest Tap + Brew bar from our own brand portfolio.

“The airport’s transformation journey marks a new era of travel to, from and within Bristol, and we’re delighted to be at the forefront of what it has to offer for customers living in and visiting the city.”

Kate Gwyther, head of retail at Bristol Airport, said the planned openings were the “the first of many announcements to come”, including coffee shops, fast-food outlets, grab-and-go chains and bars.

“We’re delighted to welcome these exciting and much-loved restaurants to Bristol Airport,” she said. “We’re on a mission to offer our customers some really great options to suit their tastebuds, dietary requirements, time and pocket. We really hope they will be spoilt for choice and feel their holiday can begin once they arrive at Bristol Airport whether that’s with breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

She added: “This is just the beginning of a very exciting transformation for our customers, creating a new level of shopping and dining at the airport. The departure lounge will feel much more inviting, spacious and brighter with more seats.”

The terminal transformation began at the end of last year, with the airport investing more than £60m to improve its customers’ experience.

All units will be new, and the redesign will feature more space, almost doubling the number of shops and restaurants. An additional 17 new units are being incorporated into the design, including premium retail brands.

The departure lounge will also include around 20 per cent more general airport seating, Bristol Airport said.

The news comes as Bristol Airport sets its sights on further expansion as it targets new routes and more long-haul destinations. Earlier this year, the transport hub submitted a planning application to North Somerset Council to increase its capacity from 12 million passengers to 15 million a year.