Why cheap delivery is getting dearer and who's really expanding across Britain

This week's Briefing opens with a shift that matters to anyone who orders in or sells through the delivery platforms. The self-employed rider model that kept prices low is under pressure from right-to-work checks, HMRC reporting and a government consultation on employment status. Enforcement has arrived before the law, and the likely result is fewer, better-vetted riders and higher costs showing up in fees, menu prices or longer waits. I also revisit a prediction I made in 2021.

In The Numbers, I've mapped this year's overseas restaurant openings and found two very different pictures: newcomers cluster in central London, while earlier arrivals are heading to Glasgow, Hull and Nottingham. The difference is more about format than nationality and it raises an uncomfortable question about what the rest of Britain is importing.

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