Six by Nico unveils reopening and seating plan | Independent cinema launches fundraising appeal | Oil giant's assets to be slashed by £17.9bn

Following 12 weeks of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the team has now announced that the first six-course menu will be its take on the traditional fish and chip shop.

The menu was the first theme introduced to launch the Glasgow Finnieston restaurant in 2017 and Edinburgh City Centre restaurant in 2018, and has been elevated and refined to offer Six by Nico customers an "extraordinary new and nostalgic food and drink adventure".

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Items on the menu have been "creatively re-imaged, with extra contemporary twists, to give customers old and new, a fun and unexpected dining experience".

Dishes on 'The Chippie 2.0' menu include Chips & Cheese, Scrabster Monkfish, Steak Pie and Fish Supper with Deep Fried Mars Bar for dessert.

Chef Nico Simeone said: “The Chippie was originally designed to bring a sense of fun and nostalgia, and when talking to our team and Six by Nico community about which menu we wanted to re-open with, it was clear we wanted to bring those feelings back.

"When we launched our restaurants in Glasgow and Edinburgh, The Chippie was hugely popular so not only does this mean our existing customers get the opportunity to experience a new version, but it gives us the chance to share it with even more people the second time around."

Restaurants will reopen with a reduced capacity and for the first time, Six by Nico Finnieston, Southside and Edinburgh will be open on Mondays.

Glasgow Finnieston will welcome up to 24 guests, Glasgow Southside 22 guests and Edinburgh City 42 guests in one sitting. This will be monitored continuously. 

Mr Simeone said: “I’m really proud of the work the team has put in behind the scenes throughout the pandemic. The Six by Nico experience is something that is really special to us, and while we have a reduced capacity the experience will not be compromised.”

Diners can now book a table now for The Chippie 2.0, which will run from Friday, July 17 to Sunday, September 6.

Open from midday, Monday through to Sunday, each six-course menu will be available from noon to night. The menu will be priced at £29 per person and diners will have the option to enjoy an expertly selected wine pairing for an additional £26.

In April, Chef Nico Simeone launched Home by Nico across Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh to allow people to experience Six by Nico from the comfort of their own homes.

The home delivery kits proved a "huge success" for the restaurant brand, who have served over 100,00 customers to date during lockdown, it said.

Home by Nico will be paused as the teams focus on re-opening all Six by Nico restaurants and plans for the food delivery business will be revealed later this year. Six by Nico London, located in Fitzrovia, will also open for the first time on Monday, July 20.

Edinburgh's Filmhouse cinema has launched a fundraising appeal as it faces a "huge challenge" to reopen.

It said independent cinemas across the UK are struggling as despite recent government announcements around the reopening of cinemas and the projected Phase 3 return in Scotland, a recent survey by the Independent Cinema Office found that the challenges of social distancing measures and the need for significantly reduced audience sizes means that reopening "may not be viable for many".

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Juliet Tweedie, head of development at Filmhouse in Lothian Road, said: “We have all been so touched by the outpouring of love and support for Filmhouse since we closed our doors in March.

“The last three months have been very challenging. We have been very lucky to be able to access support from Creative Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Government and the UK Government through the furlough scheme.

"Even with this support to help with the immediate financial strain, we anticipate that as well as a reduction in admissions when we do reopen, due to constraints on capacity in the building and changing habits of customers, we will have to invest hard cash into making the building safe and navigable for our customers and staff.

“We need your help to secure our future, so that we can continue our work as Scotland’s leading independent cinema and a hugely active charity in the city.

"We are a vital part of our community, and we don’t want to give up any of it. We recognise that this is a time of uncertainty, and other charities may be approaching you for help. We are so grateful for any donations, however large or small, and thank you for thinking of us.”

Oil giant Shell has warned that the value of its assets will be slashed by up to $22 billion (£17.9 billion) as the impact of the virus weighed on sentiment.

It predicted the write-down for the current quarter after lowering its outlook on oil and gas prices, which also comes amid a climate-focused review of its operation, after it laid out plans reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

READ MORE: BP strikes $5bn deal to sell petrochemicals unit to Grangemouth refinery owner

The British-Dutch firm predicted that it will book an impairment of between $15 billion (£12.2 billion) and $22 billion (£17.9 billion) after commodity prices were hit by coronavirus and the Saudi-Russian price war.

Earlier this month, BP said it would slash the value of its own assets by up to $17.5 billion (£14.2 billion) as it shared its rival's downbeat tone on commodity prices.

Shell also told investors that it predicted a 40% slump in fuel sales in the second quarter due to a sharp fall in consumption.

Fuel sales have been hit by travel restrictions in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, which has particularly weighed on air travel.

The company said it continues "to adapt to ensure the business remains resilient" in the face of the challenging environment.

It said on Tuesday that it expected Brent crude oil price to be at 50 dollars a barrel in 2022, having previously predicted a price of 60 dollars per barrel.

However, Shell also said that it expects oil production to be high than previously predicted, saying it hopes to produce between 2.3 million and 2.4 million barrels of oil per day.