UK Deliveroo riders are expected to strike over pay and conditions as unconditional trading commences in the company’s shares. Strike organisers the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain said hundreds of riders are expected to attend socially-distanced protests planned in London. (Sky News)

Goldman Sachs bought about £75m in Deliveroo shares to prop up trading in the UK food delivery group after investors shunned its market debut – the purchases by Deliveroo’s underwriters equate to nearly a quarter of the value of shares traded in the London-based group during its first two days as a public company last week. (The Financial Times £)

Downing Street has left open the possibility that Covid status certificates could be needed for shoppers to enter clothes stores such as Next and H&M, if they are introduced (The Guardian). Asked on Tuesday whether people would need to prove their Covid-19 status to enter a pub or shop after June 21, when all lockdown restrictions are due to end, the prime minister sidestepped the question (The Financial Times £)

The government has been accused of “unreasonably targeting” the hospitality sector through the proposed introduction of Covid status checks for customers entering pubs, bars and restaurants, as three nationwide pub and bar chains and the UK’s largest nightclub operator voiced their opposition to the plans. (The Guardian)

A legal challenge by hospitality leaders to let pubs and restaurants fully reopen sooner than the roadmap allows will be expedited, a High Court judge has agreed. (Sky News)

Visits to pubs, bars and restaurants are the “overwhelming priority” for British consumers once restrictions are lifted, according to a new survey. (The Times £)

UK stocks have been buoyed by plans to ease the England’s lockdown on 12 April, when an estimated 402,000 non-essential shops, 7,000 gyms and leisure centres and 21,000 personal care premises will be allowed to re-open. (The Guardian)

Britain’s recovery will be faster than expected over the next two years as the world economy rebounds from the worst global recession since the Second World War on the back of the rapid vaccine rollout and unprecedented amounts of government support (The Times £). The IMF upgraded its outlook for growth in a range of economies, including the UK, the US and much of Europe, and suggested that advanced economies may be able to avoid much of the long-term damage some economists had expected from the COVID-19 crisis (Sky News).

The managing director of frozen food chain Iceland has said a digital sales tax should be introduced to help revive British high streets. Richard Walker stated that the tax should come as part of a reform of the ‘outdated and Victorian’ business rates regime or, he warned, ‘we will be killing off the high street as it is.’ (The Daily Mail)

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