Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: zurich

  • The number of European tourists in Switzerland to fall by a third this winter

    The number of European tourists in Switzerland to fall by a third this winter

    The number of European tourists in Switzerland would fall by at least a third during the winter season, AFP reports.

    In the context of quarantine measures upon entry into Switzerland, the relaunch of external demand has slowed significantly, the Swiss economic institute KOF said in a statement.

    KOF added that increasing the number of overnight stays by Swiss tourists will not be enough to cover the gap left by foreign tourists.

    Overnight stays of Swiss tourists would increase by 8% during the winter season compared to the pre-crisis period. However, the total number of overnight stays would decrease by at least 30%.

    And if the pandemic worsens, the decline could exceed 50%.

    The Covid-19 pandemic will cause an estimated loss of 13.3 million overnight stays during 2020, which is equivalent to a decrease in turnover of 1.6 billion francs (1.4 billion euros) for the hotel sector.

    For the entire tourism sector, the decline in turnover would exceed 10 billion francs. In 2021, the decrease in turnover would be one of almost 6.2 billion francs compared to 2019.

    33.000 jobs were lost in the hotel and restaurant industry in Switzerland in the first half of 2020.

  • Swiss Olympe raises CHF 2.5 million in investment round

    Swiss Olympe raises CHF 2.5 million in investment round

    Olympe announced the closing of a 2.5 million Swiss franc funding round on 31 July 2020. Olympe is a disruptive software development platform for large companies.

    This fundraising also welcomed Inter Invest Capital, leading management company in this funding round, as a new shareholder and its Co-founder and Partner Benjamin Cohen on Olympe’s Board of Directors.

    This round also opened up the capital to several employees who were eager to become more involved in the company.

    In addition, the general shareholders’ meeting decided to extend the subscription period to 31 October 2020, for an additional amount of up to one million Swiss francs.

    After this investment, Olympe’s co-founders and their 30 teammates will be able to accelerate the platform’s marketing phase by reinforcing the sales and marketing team. 

  • Swiss company launched the first purely vegetable kebab in the world

    Swiss company launched the first purely vegetable kebab in the world

    Planted launched a 100% purely vegetable kebab pies without gluten and additives. The product to be available from the beginning of September in 15 kebab shops in Switzerland.

    From 1 September, the Neue Taverne in Zurich will also have various planted.kebab variations on its menu.

    Planted.kebab is based on the planted.chicken product. In addition to salt and a spice preparation, it contains only four ingredients: water, pea protein, and rapeseed oil and pea fibers.

    “This means that Planted’s kebab has the shortest list of ingredients on the market and does not contain any additives,” the start-up shows in a press release.

  • SPAR Switzerland adds fully electric truck to its fleet

    SPAR Switzerland adds fully electric truck to its fleet

    SPAR Switzerland has added a fully electric vehicle to its fleet. The new e-truck, a 264kW (360hp) e-truck from MAN, will transport food products emission-free and almost silently from the central warehouse to SPAR stores in the Appenzell region and Thurgau.

    SPAR Switzerland first started using hybrid trucks at the end of 2011. In 2017, a more modern and economical Euro 6 engine used to supply SPAR stores in the capital city Zurich, replaced this truck.

    The new e-truck can cover around 180km per charge, depending on the climatic and topographical conditions. Thanks to the sophisticated braking energy recovery system, the 180km range can be extended.

    A display in the cockpit informs the driver on the current energy capacity.

    The new e-truck will be used in the Appenzell region in the morning and in Thurgau in the afternoon. The silent e-truck can save 19,000 litres of diesel per year, leading to a reduction of 50 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

  • Swiss GDP set for sharpest fall in decades

    Swiss GDP set for sharpest fall in decades

    • Swiss GDP to fall very sharply in 2020 in the wake of the measures being taken to contain the coronavirus.
    • Furthermore, the economy is only likely to recover slowly in 2021.
    • All data are available after The Expert Group on Economics has updated its economic forecast.

    The Expert Group on Economic forecasts is expecting GDP adjusted for sporting events to fall by 6.7% in 2020 (March 2020 forecast: −1.5%) and unemployment to average 3.9% over the year as a whole. This would make it the biggest slump in economic activity since 1975.

    A modest recovery should set in with the planned relaxation of health policy measures. However, losses of income caused by an increase in short-time working and rising unemployment as well as the considerable economic uncertainty will limit the amount of lost ground that private consumption will be able to make up in the second half of the year. Overall, private consumption could fall even more sharply than GDP in 2020.

    The Expert Group is also expecting the global economy to mount only a sluggish recovery in subsequent quarters, with key trading partners, chiefly the major southern European countries, facing a particularly fierce battle against lasting consequences of the coronavirus crisis.

    This will hit the segments of Swiss foreign trade that are sensitive to the economic cycle particularly hard. All in all, production capacity in Switzerland is likely to be significantly underutilised and uncertainty extremely high, resulting in a very sharp decline in investments as well as job losses.

    Slow recovery in 2021

    The Expert Group is expecting Swiss GDP to grow by 5.2% in 2021 (March forecast: 3.3%).

    This would be a relatively slow rise from a very low starting point, meaning that the level of GDP seen at the end of 2019 would not yet have been reached by the end of the forecast period.

    An improvement to the situation on the labour market is also expected to be hesitant at best: unemployment is set to rise further to 4.1% in 2021, with employment only likely to see a minimal rise.

  • Hedin Group acquires two BMW dealerships in Zurich

    Hedin Group acquires two BMW dealerships in Zurich

    • Hedin Group, one of the largest privately-owned automotive retailers in Europe, expands to Switzerland though the acquisition of SeeAll Group.
    • Hedin confirms it has entered in exclusive negotiation with BMW Switzerland to further acquire the BMW-owned branch Zürich-Dielsdorf (Niederlassung).

    SeeAll Group’s two dealerships, Allmend Garage and Seeblick Garage, are Hedin’s first in Switzerland, adding to the existing relationship with BMW in Norway and Sweden. 

    The Swiss dealerships had a turnover of around 100 million Swiss franc in 2019. The acquisition expands Hedin’s total representation to 123 dealerships across four countries.

    Upon closing, SeeAll will become part of a wholly owned, newly established Swiss subsidiary of Anders Hedin Invest AB, folded into the Scandinavian BMW division, Hedin Automotive in Norway. Through the I.A. Hedin Bil AB subsidiary, Bavaria, Hedin Group is the largest dealer of BMW and MINI in Scandinavia.

    “We are pleased to expand our dealership footprint to Switzerland and to increase our long-standing, strong partnership with BMW,” said Stig Saeveland, chief executive officer of Hedin Automotive Norway.

    “The expansion to Switzerland is an important milestone in our company history. SeeAll reinforces our position in Europe, leveraging on our existing alliance with BMW to accelerate our international development in a fast-changing industry.” said Anders Hedin, Owner & CEO of Hedin Group.

  • Oviva has raised $21m in Series B funding

    Oviva has raised $21m in Series B funding

    • Oviva, the leading digital provider of Type 2 diabetes treatment in Europe, has raised $21m in Series B funding.
    • MTIP led the round, joined by Earlybird as new investors.
    • Existing investors AlbionVC, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures and Partech all participated.

    The new capital will be used to further develop Oviva’s technology and expand in Europe to serve the millions of patients not accessing treatment today. It brings the total amount raised by Oviva to date to $34m.

    Oviva offers an evidence-based digital solution to stop the progression of and reverse Type 2 diabetes and obesity-related conditions. Patients receive tailored nutrition advice and personalised coaching via their phone.

    Oviva’s technology-supported treatment has consistently demonstrated higher patient uptake, retention and outcomes at lower costs compared to face-to-face therapy. They treated 90,000 patients to-date across the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland and the UAE, consistently doubling each year for the last 3 years.