Market Halls acquires Brighton’s Shelter Hall from Sessions for first site outside London: Market Halls, the London food market hall operator, has acquired Shelter Hall in Brighton from Sessions in a multimillion-pound deal. The acquisi … view

Le Pain Quotidien reveals target locations as it seeks franchisees to start building back its UK estate: Le Pain Quotidien has revealed a list of target locations as it seeks franchise partners to start building back its UK estate. The b … view

Dishoom co-founder – I think we can open two or three sites a year in the UK: Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of award-winning Indian restaurant group Dishoom, has said he believes the company can one two or three sites a year, “while stil … view

New World Trading Co announces record sales of £73.5m, lfl sales up average 16% at The Botanist conversions, planning rebrand: Graphite Capital-backed pub restaurant group The New World Trading Company (NWTC) has announced record sales a … view

Black Sheep Coffee raises £11.5m of liquidity through a mixture of debt and equity: Black Sheep Coffee has raised £11.5m of liquidity through a mixture of debt and equity “to ensure the group has sufficient liquidity to continue to tr … view

Exclusive – Patty & Bun completes successful restructuring of the business: Patty & Bun, the better burger concept led by Joe Grossmann, which appointed advisors at the start of the year to explore its strategic options, has completed a … view

Cost of living pressures hold down delivery and takeaway sales in February: Britain’s leading restaurant groups continued to struggle for growth in delivery and takeaway sales in February 2025, CGA by NIQ’s Hospitality at Home Tracker … view

Burgerism begins franchise journey, foundations built to become a national brand: Mark Murphy, co-founder of Burgerism, the fast-growing, north west smash burger concept, has told Propel that the company is to begin exploring franchising … view

Exclusive – Rosa’s Thai, Pho and Mowgli brought together under Arcturus Group, Jason Cotta hired as CEO: TriSpan, the investment firm, is to bring together three of the brands it backs – Rosa's Thai, Pho and Mowgli – under one hol … view

Flight Club operator targeting 84 sites by 2030 as full-year revenue increases to record £77.1m: Red Engine, the Flight Club and Electric Shuffle operator, and its franchise partners are aiming to open 45 venues over the next five years … view

JD Wetherspoon – no plans to slow down recruitment or cut jobs despite annual £60m increase in labour costs, no longer using third-party booking platforms for hotels: JD Wetherspoon chairman Sir Tim Martin has told Propel it has no pla … view

JD Wetherspoon reports like-for-like sales up 5.0% in past seven weeks as half-year revenue passes record £1bn: JD Wetherspoon has seen like-for-like sales in the seven weeks to 16 March 2025, increase 5.0% as the company reported record … view

Caprinos targeting London for next phase of expansion, set to launch in the Middle East this year: Fast-growing pizza franchise Caprinos has told Propel it is targeting London for its next phase of expansion and is also set to launch in t … view

Flat February for hospitality businesses as consumer spending tightens: Britain’s leading restaurant, pub and bar groups delivered fractional like-for-like sales growth of just 0.1% in February, according to the latest CGA RSM Hospitali … view

Shepherd Neame – increase in NLW and national insurance will add £2.6m to costs annually from April, reports ‘strong’ first half in ‘challenging’ market: South east brewer and retailer Shepherd Neame has said the impact of the … view

Exclusive – Knoops strengthens leadership with COO and MD hires: Luxury hot chocolate shop brand Knoops has strengthened its leadership team with four new appointments, as it looks to accelerate its expansion plans here and abroad, Prop … view

Exclusive – Knoops strengthens leadership with COO and MD hires: Luxury hot chocolate shop brand Knoops has strengthened its leadership team with four new appointments, as it looks to accelerate its expansion plans here and abroad, Prop … view

Exclusive – Cornish Bakery to explore a sale of the business: Fast-growing independent brand Cornish Bakery has appointed advisors to oversee a sale of the business, Propel has learned. The 66-strong business, which was founded in 1994 … view

Broadwick Group acquires Camm & Hooper following restructure: Events and hospitality group Camm & Hooper has been acquired by the Broadwick Group, the music, arts and space management company, after undergoing a restructure. Propel revea … view

Gong Cha signs franchise agreement to open at least 225 new UK stores: Gong Cha, the fast-growing bubble tea brand headquartered in the UK, has signed an agreement with Jinziex – a new company led by Diljit Brar, chief executive of Gold … view

Exclusive – bulk of Bistrot Pierre business acquired out of administration for £2.73m: The bulk of Bistrot Pierre, the French restaurant group, was acquired out of administration earlier this month by Cherry Equity Partners, the new in … view

Exclusive – The Access Group sees FY turnover top £1bn mark, sees hospitality as a growth opportunity: Software firm The Access Group, the parent company of ResDiary, Wireless Social and Guestline, saw its turnover top £1bn for the fi … view

Exclusive – Blackstone invests in Little Houses Group: International investment firm Blackstone, which backs Merlin Entertainments and Village Hotels, has invested in Little Houses Group (LHG), the family members' club concept from Char … view

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London-based South American street food concept looking to expand across UK with long-term plans to go international: London-based South American street food concept Assenheims56 has told Propel it is looking to expand across the UK with … view

Papa Johns – we’ve been a smaller player in the UK pizza market and we’ve got big ambitions to change that, we really understand our audience now and know who to go after: Papa Johns has told Propel that it “has been a smaller pla … view

Itsu founder – our plan is to have three or four restaurants in New York in the next few years: Julian Metcalfe, founder of Itsu, the healthy Asian food brand, has said that company plans to have three or four restaurants in New York i … view

If there was one sliver of silver lining for the hospitality industry during the pandemic, it was the off-sales easement. Introduced under the Business and Planning Ac … view

The Gym Group – Next Chapter growth plan delivering; momentum building: The Gym Group has said that its Next Chapter growth plan is delivering after it reported strong revenue growth for 2024, up 11% to £226.3m, with average members u … view

Foodservice price inflation continues to ease but global uncertainties loom: Foodservice price inflation decelerated year-on-year for the 19th consecutive month in January 2025, according to the latest CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index … view

Exclusive – Yolk Brands signs 50-site franchise deal to bring chicken brand BonBird to UK: Dubai multi-brand operator Yolk Brands has signed a franchise agreement with City Restaurants Group, operator of the Afrikana brand, to launch Bo … view

Domino’s – 2025 has started positively in an uncertain market, Q4 lfl sales up 3%: Domino’s Pizza Group has reported that 2025 has started “positively in an uncertain market”, after it saw like-for-like system sales increase 0.7 … view

Oodles Wok to enter second international market later this year after signing 50-store agreement in Canada: Indo-Chinese brand Oodles Wok is set to enter its second international market later this year after signing a 50-store agreement i … view

MW EAT founder – American junk food chains are taking over Britain’s high streets: American junk food chains are taking over Britain’s high streets, the owner of the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant has said. Ranjit Mathrani, the fou … view

Loungers chairman – we're more confident about Lounge as a brand, looking at ways in which we could leverage that: Alex Reilley, chairman of the Fortress-backed café bar operator Loungers, has told Propel that the business is more conf … view

Azzurri Group-owned digital platform Openr secures investment from Imbiba: Serial sector investor Imbiba is to invest £3m into Openr, the digital platform owned by the Azzurri Group, which is designed for operators in the hospitality ind … view

JD Wetherspoon ‘exploring other opportunities’ in the franchise market: JD Wetherspoon has told Propel it is “exploring other opportunities” in the franchise market – adding to its current handful of holiday park and university … view

Black Sheep Coffee to ‘ramp up’ its overseas expansion in 2025, US stores generating higher sales than UK average: Black Sheep Coffee has said it is set to “ramp up” its expansion in the US and GCC in 2025, and that its US stores … view

RedCat CEO – business ready to return to the acquisition trail: Richard Lewis, group chief executive of RedCat Hospitality, the recently rebranded operator of Coaching Inn Group and RedCat Independent Pubs, has told Propel that after a … view

Revel Collective CEO – first acquisitions post-restructure to focus on Peach and Founders & Co, ‘we still believe in the late-night market’: The Revel Collective chief executive Rob Pitcher has told Propel that its first acquisition … view

Krispy Kreme seeking master franchisees for international markets, including the UK: Krispy Kreme, the doughnut retailer, has said it is seeking master franchising partnerships across seven international operations, including the UK, to b … view

Extra costs holding back hospitality sector, says Whitbread CEO: The chief executive of Whitbread has warned about the growing number of government interventions putting pressure on the hospitality industry as MPs call for tighter employm … view

Exclusive – Benito’s to return to London after parent company signs multi-site franchise agreements: Mexican brand Benito’s is to make its return to the capital after its parent company, Elangeni Hospitality Group (EHG), signed an a … view