Restaurant Group reports LfLs up 2.5%, aims to open 50: The Restaurant Group has reported sales rose 10% to £635m in the year to 28 December 2014. Ebitda was up 8.5% to £117m and profit before tax rose 7.4% to £78.1m. A total of 40 sit … view

CGA Peach – consumers paid 165m visits to pubs and bars over Xmas: Consumers paid a total of 165 million visits to pubs, bars and clubs over Christmas – 15 million more than in the previous festive season. That is one of the headline … view

CGA Peach – eating out sector primed for growth: The eating and drinking out market is primed for growth in 2015 thanks to the popularity of flexible formats, barbecue food and craft drinks. But soaring property costs and the risk of sa … view

Whitbread reports 5.8% LfL growth in past 11 weeks: Whitbread has reported 5.8% like-for-like sales growth in 11 weeks to 12 February. Premier inn was up 8.6%, restaurants grew sales by 0.6% and Costa was up 6.9%. Chief executive Andy Har … view

Loungers investor sells hot dog business: Piper Private Equity, which has investments in Loungers, Turtle Bay and Hickory’s, has sold Rollover Hot Dogs to Kerry Foods for an undisclosed sum. Since investing in 2006, Piper has turned the … view

Richard Negus – rent per square foot has doubled in suburban London locations: Richard Negus, a partner at London property agent AG&G, has reported that rent in some traditionally cheaper London suburbs has doubled as operators, struggl … view

Revolution vodka bar operator to float: Revolution vodka bar operator New Inventive Bar Company is to seek an Initial Public Offering under the name Revolution Bars Group. The company has also announced the appointment of Keith Edelman as … view

New arrival, former business analyst, wins CAMRA National Pub of the Year award: The Salutation Inn, a rural freehouse in the small village of Ham, Gloucestershire, has won Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) National Pub of the Year Award, … view

First UK Project Pie opens on Valentine’s Day, a total of 60 planned for UK: The first Project Pie pizza restaurant in the UK opened in Dundee on Saturday, Valentine’s Day. The 60-seater, £500,000 restaurant, at 48-54 Reform Street, … view

Ted Kennedy – free-of-tie tenanted pubs work perfectly well: Industry veteran Ted Kennedy, whose career has involved running both Whitbread’s pub division and Mill House Inns, has broken ranks to argue that it is preferable to run ten … view

Geronimo reveals details of first “pub-on-the-go”: Geronimo Inns has revealed more details of its first “pub-on-the-go”, The Curious Pig, set to launch on 26 February at St Pancras International Station, London. Open from 7am to 1 … view

Camden Town Brewery defends £75m crowdfunding valuation: Camden Town Brewery has defended the eye-watering £75m valuation, more than 50x current Ebitda - it has placed on itself after launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise £1.5m in … view

Bill’s secures £37m new debt facility with HSBC: Bill’s Restaurants has secured a £37m facility with a new banking partner HSBC, according to accounts lodged at Companies House. The new facility, replacing an existing facility thoug … view

Ask Italian and Zizzi report record trading: Turnover at the combined Ask Italian and Zizzi businesses grew 9.6% to £119m in the 28 weeks to 11 January, it has been announced. Ebitda rose 21.1% to £17.6m. Ebitda margin grew from 13.4% t … view

Shaftesbury – restaurants and bars increasingly important to the West End: West End property landlord Shaftesbury, which owns 587 shops, restaurants and pubs across 14 acres of the West End, has reported that the variety and quality of … view

Sky reports 204,000 new customers in the UK: Sky has reported that it signed up 204,000 new customers in the six months to 31 December 2014, its highest number in nine years. Group revenue grew 5% to £5.604bn and operating profit grew 16 … view

Burger & Lobster founder hails automation and technology as key restaurant trends: Automation and technology are key future trends for the restaurant industry, according to Mikhail Zelman, founder of Burger & Lobster in London and the Go … view

Scottish brewers welcome tied pub ruling for Scotland: A group of Scottish brewers and organisations – including Tennent Caledonian Breweries, Harviestoun Craft Beers, Fyne Ales, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association and others – h … view