The transport hub is inviting businesses to put forward proposals
Bristol Airport sign(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Bristol Airport is planning to open 10 new food and drink outlets including a speakeasy bar in its departure lounge as part of its terminal transformation plans, it has announced.
The South West transport hub is inviting potential partners to take part in a tendering process as it looks to expand its fast-food, coffee shop and bar offering.
The airport is looking for businesses “capable of delivering standout concepts” that meet the needs of leisure and business travellers. It said the location of the units would offer operators “high-visibility spaces with strong passenger footfall”.
Kate Gwyther, head of retail at Bristol Airport, said: “We look forward to receiving proposals from passionate and innovative businesses ready to bring fresh culinary concepts and dynamic hospitality experiences as part of terminal transformation.
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“With 10.8 million customers a year passing through our doors this is a great opportunity to become part of the Airports vibrant departure lounge, and we are keen to hear from businesses who can offer customers something special.”
The tender will be a two-stage process, with interested partners invited to submit stage 1 requirements through the airport’s e-tendering system ‘In-Tend’ by midday on Tuesday, September 1.
The announcement is part of a huge £400m transformation scheme at the airport which included the opening of a new transport interchange last year.
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.
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Hundreds of people in the West of England support the proposals, according to a YouGov Poll, but there have been years of resistance against the plans.
Local residents and environmental campaigners have raised concerns about the impact of extra carbon emissions from an expanded airport. They also claim increasing capacity could lead to more congestion on local roads around the transport hub and create more noise.
Bristol Airport has already won one expansion battle. In 2022, it was given the go ahead to expand from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year after a High Court judge dismissed a challenge to its plans.
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Around 1.6 million journeys were made via Bristol Airport in 2025 – higher than before the Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man in Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Sony
There’s a new king of the domestic box office.
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Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” webbed up more than $360 million during its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, breaking the record for the highest-grossing debut of all time. The previous record was $357 million, set by “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019.
Globally, the latest Spider-Man installment tallied $932 million, shy of the $1.2 billion record still held by “Endgame.”
The Tom Holland-led “Brand New Day” kicked off with record-shattering Thursday preview sales and snared $169.3 million on Friday, including presales, and $101.5 million on Saturday. Sony had initially projected an $84 million Sunday, but moviegoers flocked to theaters, driving ticket sales to $88.7 million for the day.
The film’s opening weekend also marked the biggest opening weekend in Sony Pictures history and the biggest debut for the Spider-Man franchise.
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The feat comes even as “Brand New Day” was boxed out of Imax screens, which were snapped up for Christopher Nolan’s and Universal’s “The Odyssey.” Rival premium large formats thrived, however, as Dolby Cinema, ScreenX and 4DX all reported record-breaking ticket sales over the weekend.
“Brand New Day” is on pace to be the fourth billion-dollar film of 2026, joining Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” Lionsgate’s “Michael” and Universal and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
A supporter with the Billionaire Tax Now coalition holds a placard during a media briefing in Los Angeles on April 27, 2026. (Frederic J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The San Francisco Standard reported that according to Jane Natoli, who sits on the party’s resolutions committee, an initial vote barely failed to clear the 60% bar required for ratification, earning 59.2% support. But another vote cleared the threshold, scoring about 61.7% support, the outlet noted.
As the close votes demonstrated, Democrats are divided on the issue.
A voting booth as a voter casts their ballot at a polling location inside Echo Park Branch Library during a primary election in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference for a bill signing for a housing affordability reforms event in Oakland, California, on July 13, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“But I’m voting no because this measure dedicates almost all of the revenue it raises to a single category of state spending,” he wrote in a June Substack post. “So here is what I support: A national billionaires’ tax. A true minimum tax on billionaires — a modern Buffett Rule — that ensures the people at the very top pay at least the tax rate their own workers pay.”
New Delhi: The burden of adjustment in an imbalanced, conflict-ridden world should not fall disproportionately on countries in the Global South that don’t drive these imbalances, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.
India, like many developing economies, “remains largely peripheral to both the origination and propagation of global imbalances; yet, we continue to face their spill-over effects”, the minister said.
Sitharaman made the statements while representing India at a virtual meeting on the Global Convergence for Growth Summit, presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron, the finance ministry said in a post on microblogging site X.
“In today’s interconnected world, prosperity and challenges are shared, but the consequences of conflicts and uncertainty fall disproportionately on developing countries and the Global South. The situation demands coordinated global action,” the minister said during her intervention at the summit.
“We must strengthen multilateral cooperation to build resilient economies, accelerate sustainable development and ensure inclusive growth that benefits all,” she added.
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The summit was held to bring together leaders of advanced and emerging economies to deliberate on ways to support a balanced and efficient global framework. The senior leadership of all the G7 nations and India, Brazil, China, Kenya, South Korea and the International Monetary Fund participated in the summit. Making her observations on global imbalances, the minister said: “Not all imbalances are alike, some reflect differences in demographics, development stages, resource endowments, or economic structures.””Our focus should, therefore, remain on excessive and persistent imbalances while recognising that the scale of domestic needs varies significantly across countries,” she said.
Medium-term growth, MDB reforms India’s growth is projected to remain strong at about 7% over the medium term, the minister said, stressing that the country remains the world’s fastest-expanding major economy.
The country’s growth is primarily led by domestic demand, with a largely market-determined exchange rate, she added.
Sitharaman called for better, bigger, more effective and more representative multilateral development banks (MDBs) that can deliver greater financing to developing countries and emerging economies. Bolstering their financing capacity, operational agility and responsiveness will be critical, she said.
Not all vessels are deterred from passing through because the Houthi threat is only targeted at Saudi shipping, with the total number sitting at about 50% of pre-attack levels.
But the number of ships loading crude oil for export to Asia passing through has dropped to about four per day, Kpler added, the lowest point since the start of the war.
A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd, the global shipping giant, said some of its vessels were still passing through the Red Sea but that it would “monitor developments closely and will adjust the network if circumstances change”.
“If the Strait of Hormuz reopened, most ships could probably leave the region fairly quickly. However, restoring normal cargo flows would take much longer.
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“Services have been suspended and ships redeployed elsewhere, so a return to normal flows would most likely take three to four months.”
Despite the talks with Oman, Iran has said that no deal is imminent that would reopen the strait to normal traffic.
Its foreign ministry ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said any agreement would not lift the current restrictions while US “aggression” continued.
Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, another ship-tracking company, said the fighting had taken the shipping industry “back to to square one” and that things were in “a terrible state, regardless of which shipping type you’re you’re looking at”.
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“The alternatives for getting cargo, whether that’s hydrocarbons or container shipping, are really not great… it is really still troubling times with no clarity and no change of fortunes within sight.”
Chip Motors plans to produce a four- or six-seat low-speed vehicle, which it is calling a “life utility vehicle, named Chip.
Courtesy image
The next big idea in the U.S. automotive industry may be small.
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A growing number of companies, including auto giant Stellantis, are betting Americans are ready to embrace smaller, less expensive vehicles amid yearslong affordability concerns for the U.S. auto industry.
But the vehicles aren’t technically “cars.” They’re electric low-speed vehicles, or LSVs, that are essentially a step above a traditional golf cart but below a typical light-duty car or truck sold in the U.S.
“We have seen the popularity of many different form factors of electric, small low-speed vehicles continuing to grow,” Keith Simon, CEO and cofounder of Waev, which owns several LSV brands such as ex-Polaris brand GEM, told CNBC. “I think it’s evident by the number of new entrants across many different vehicle types. There’s a lot of new players. … It’s been growing significantly.”
Attention on such vehicles has been magnified during the past year by President Donald Trump. He has discussed opening U.S. roadways and regulations to better allow for smaller vehicles, including LSVs from Europe and Japan’s “Kei cars,” on U.S. roadways.
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“I’m giving all American car companies the right to build what are known as tiny little tiny cars,” Trump said during a speech last week at General Motors’ Milford Proving Grounds in Michigan. “I go over to Europe and I see these little cars all over the place and I say, ‘Why aren’t we making them?’”
Small cars have historically not performed well in the U.S., but those involved with LSVs believe they could be a growth market for Americans who want an affordable, easy-to-drive vehicle for short distances. They also can typically be charged overnight with a traditional household outlet compared with typical, more expensive EVs that need special chargers that can cost thousands of dollars.
Waev’s lineup of GEM low-speed vehicles, starting at
Courtesy image
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Reliable data on the U.S. LSV market is limited since of the vehicles don’t need to be registered, but they’re part of a larger “micromobility” segment, which consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year estimated could more than double in size globally by 2030.
“The global micromobility market is on the upswing. McKinsey estimates that the market was worth about $160 billion in 2022; by 2030, it’s estimated to reach $340 billion,” according to its McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility. That includes North America’s market growing from $20 billion in 2022 to $35 billion by 2030.
For U.S. consumers, companies such as Stellantis’ Fiat, Waev and startup Chip Motors are focusing on electric streel-legal LSVs, many of which are starting around $15,000, a fraction of the nearly $50,000 average price tag for a new traditional car or truck.
Tiny cars, tiny market
LSVs vary in form and can be heavily customized, including the number of seats, electric range and available features, such as optional doors. They’re typically used for short distances, often for people living in closed community settings such as retirement homes or condominium complexes. Their main competition has traditionally been golf carts, not small cars.
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“The use case for these kind of vehicles has become more interesting as people have evolved their lifestyles, and a vehicle like this fits into their lifestyles,” Simon said.
The market is loosely regulated compared to the light-duty vehicle market that dominates the U.S.. but the vehicles must not go faster than 25 mph and have to be equipped with standard safety features such as headlamps, turn signals, mirrors and a windshield that conforms to the federal motor vehicle safety standard. They’re not required to have airbags and they’re allowed on roadways with speed limits of up to 35 mph.
Stellantis plans to offer the Fiat Topolino, an all-electric quadricycle vehicle, in the U.S.
Stellantis
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“The market demand is here now and you don’t need nearly as much capital to bring a LSV to market,” said Jameson Detweiler, CEO of Chip Motors, which last month revealed a new LSV that’s expected to go into production early next year. “What we’ve seen in the market … is just incredible latent demand.”
Detweiler estimates the street-legal LSV market to currently be in the hundreds of thousands of units in annual sales, but below 500,000. He believes as more companies such as his enter the market, the more awareness and sales will grow.
But for now, they’re small vehicles for a tiny part of the U.S. market, according to Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at Mobility Global.
“They’re less expensive than a normal car, but they’re not expected to be a normal car, and and people buy them as recreational vehicles,” she said. “There’s great uses for them, but these are not part of of a day-to-day work-life commute for most people.”
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New entrants
Detweiler’s company describes its vehicles as a “life utility vehicle,” named Chip. It looks like a beefed-up golf cart with a smiley, digital interactive face. The four-passenger vehicle is expected to start at $15,000 for an entry-level model, and it can also come in a six-seat model.
Detweiler plans to grow Chip to eventually be capable of self-driving technologies. In the meantime, he said the privately funded company expects it to be used more as a second vehicle, with plans to offer a service in which Chip employees can virtually remote into the vehicle to assist with driving and parking, he said.
The Chip “life utility vehicle” positioned between two Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
Courtesy image
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“I really value and like the idea of when the future seems fun and promising,” said Detweiler, a Florida native, wearing a Timon and Pumbaa shirt from Disney’s “Lion King.” “A lot of technology is probably headed more ‘Blade Runner.’ We want to head more ‘Jetsons’ era.”
The company expects to begin sales in Miami, which officials say is a popular market for such vehicles.
The Florida coastal city also is where Stellantis’ Fiat brand is first offering its Topolino vehicle, which also starts around $15,000 and features the styling of the Italian brand’s iconic 500 city car.
The Topolino, which translates to “little mouse” in Italian, is actually a quadricycle. It has grown in popularity in Europe and the company is starting to sell it in limited numbers in the U.S.
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Fiat CEO Olivier Francois is using the vehicle as a test bed to potentially refocus the famed Italian brand, which has struggled for years in the U.S., to focus on micromobility rather than traditional cars.
“I want Fiat to become the brand of micromobility within Stellantis,” Francois told CNBC. “I want to use America to test and learn. And, hey, if along the way I do some good volumes and good business, it doesn’t hurt.”
2026 Fiat Topolino Dolce Vita.
Courtesy Fiat
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The brand re-entered the U.S. market in 2011 after a nearly 30-year absence with its small Fiat 500, but it never become a mass market success like it is in Europe.
In the brand’s first full year in the U.S. in 2012, Fiat sold 43,772 vehicles domestically. Those sales dwindled to roughly 1,300 Fiat vehicles sold last year in the U.S., with its only vehicle being an all-electric version of the Fiat 500.
Francois admits while the 500 EV, starting at $35,700, may be too expensive and too small for many Americans, he remains optimistic about the Topolino testing micromobility in the U.S.
“While everyone is explaining to me that small is a limit in the U.S., I think that now we go so small that it’s going to become exciting. We will see the reaction,” he told CNBC. “The fun thing with Topolino is we double down on small.”
Unions at Santander and TSB have opened negotiations over how staff in duplicate roles will be assessed for redundancy, following the completion of Santander’s acquisition of TSB from Spanish owner Sabadell.
The deal, agreed at £2.65 billion, completed on 30 April, according to Santander UK’s announcement of the completed cash acquisition. The combined group employs about 23,000 people and is targeting £400 million in cost savings.
Santander has not confirmed how many jobs will go across the enlarged business. TSB has already announced 130 redundancies ahead of the formal transfer of staff under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, and further cuts are expected as the group pursues its savings target.
The two banks use different metrics for assessing staff performance. It is understood that unions at both are in talks about how to create a single system for evaluating individuals in the redundancy process.
One source said: “It goes without saying that in any merger there are going to be synergies that the banks will realise. And there is going to be an impact on jobs.
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“There will be duplication of roles. I’m sure every role will be evaluated, wherever there are people doing similar roles.”
A spokeswoman for Santander said: “We have not yet made operational decisions on jobs [as part of the integration]. However, we will ensure that our colleagues are informed of any changes at the appropriate time.”
A spokesman for TSB said: “Whenever we make any changes to our business, the priority is to consult first with impacted colleagues to ensure they’re fully supported.”
Under government guidance on business transfers and TUPE, employees’ jobs, terms and conditions and continuity of employment usually transfer to the new owner, with redundancy among the exceptions. The regulations apply regardless of the size of the business.
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Speaking to Bloomberg last year, José García Cantera, chief financial officer of Banco Santander, said cost savings would “come from projects that TSB is currently running that we will not need to do when the two banks merge”.
He said: “Yes, we think there will be savings; yes, we think these savings will offer us better products at lower cost to the customers; but not all of these costs [savings] will come from job cuts or branch closures.”
Sources said staff at Santander were broadly relieved at the merger with TSB, after news reports had at one stage suggested the bank’s Spanish owner might seek to exit the UK market entirely. It is understood some TSB staff have started looking for new jobs in anticipation of cuts.
The redundancy talks follow a separate dispute over working patterns. TSB told its workforce of about 5,000 that they will be required to work in an office three days a week from April 2027, and the TBU union is preparing to take cases to the Employment Tribunal over members it says cannot change their arrangements for personal or medical reasons. TSB did not previously have a formal office attendance requirement.
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Santander has also confirmed it will retire the TSB brand and fold the lender into its UK arm, ending a name that dates to a Dumfriesshire parish savings scheme founded in 1810. TSB operates around 175 branches and has roughly five million customer accounts.
Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.
Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) fell over 12% to Rs 101.50 on the BSE on Monday after Sebi’s final order in the unauthorised pledge of immovable property case. The regulator imposed a Rs 30 lakh fine and barred the company from accessing the securities market for two months.
Sebi on Friday barred ZEEL founder Subhash Chandra and CEO Punit Goenka from the securities market for one year each and imposed a total penalty of Rs 1.48 crore over the unauthorised pledge of the company’s Hyderabad land to secure loans for promoter-linked Essel Group entities.
Sebi said its investigation was triggered after ZEEL’s statutory auditor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, reported in its FY19 audit that the title deeds of certain immovable properties were missing.
The regulator said the original title deeds of ZEEL’s Hyderabad land were deposited with Indiabulls Housing Finance on December 27, 2018, to create a first-ranking mortgage securing loans availed by four Essel Group companies. The entities had together borrowed Rs 726 crore, while Essel Home acted as the co-borrower.
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According to the company’s statement released on the BSE, it is currently evaluating the Sebi order in consultation with legal advisors.
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In a separate development, ZEEL shareholders approved a Rs 3,144 crore fundraise through convertible warrants to the promoter group at Friday’s EGM. The resolution secured 76.64% of votes, exceeding the 75% approval threshold required by law. However, the Sebi curbs on capital-markets access for the promoters and the company could introduce regulatory ambiguity around ZEEL’s plans to issue fully convertible warrants to an entity within the promoter group, according to Ashish K Singh, managing partner, Capstone Legal. He further added that in the absence of a Sebi directive on the preferential warrant issue, the outcome of the EGM would stand. ZEEL and the borrowing entities i.e. Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka were alleged to be related-parties, as per the final order by Sebi. However, ZEE’s financial statements revealed that the borrowing entities were not disclosed as related parties, and the use of the Hyderabad land for securing their loans was not disclosed as a related-party transaction.
Sebi had alleged that the borrowing entities were ultimately controlled by Subhash Chandra, Punit Goenka and their family members through multiple layers of shareholding, making the transaction a related party transaction under accounting standards. Also Read | Sebi bans Zee’s Subhash Chandra, Punit Goenka from markets for a year
According to the final order by Sebi, Chandra signed the declaration and acknowledgement on behalf of ZEEL, stating all necessary corporate approvals had been obtained before creating the mortgage. However, the investigation did not find any prior approval of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors or the shareholders of ZEEL for the creation of security over the Hyderabad land.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
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