Friday Five: the week's top news
- Amazon has confirmed it is to close its London restaurant delivery service after less than two years. The US-based company will stop offering the takeaway service, which worked with Michelin-starred Benares and several casual dining chains, to its Prime members on 3 December.
- Chef Mark Abbott has become a business partner in Cambridge's Midsummer House after eight years at the restaurant. Chef-patron Daniel Clifford praised 'calm and collected' Abbott and tweeted that he would help take the two-starred site 'to the new level'.
- The company behind crazy golf and hospitality brand Swingers is to launch a second concept in the UK after receiving 'significant' funding from private investment firm Cain International. Competitive Socialising currently runs two London sites combining street food and sport, and is also believed to have a third lined up in New York.
- Shareholders in The Restaurant Group (TRG) have narrowly approved its £559m takeover of Wagamama. Some 60% voted in favour of the deal this week. Acknowledging the 40% opposition, TRG said that though it is confident the deal will create 'significant long-term value' it will 'engage with investors to address their concerns'.
- Chef Michael Caines is to open a restaurant in Exmouth in 2020 as part of a new development in the port town. The casual dining site will be a departure from his Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor hotel restaurant, with a menu 'to suit all tastes' and a dog-friendly cafe area serving coffee and ice cream.
For more of this week's news, click here.
