Exclusive – Byng to take the reins at Flat Iron: Tom Byng, the founder of Byron, is to become chief executive of Flat Iron, the eight-strong steak concept, backed by Piper Private Equity, Propel has learned. Byng, who has been an invest … view

McDonald’s reports like-for-like sales growth since August in the UK, 20% of sales were delivery: McDonald’s has reported that its like-for-like sales in the UK have been positive since August last year despite the imposition of restr … view

Scottish government’s Budget ‘provides platform upon which hospitality can build if chancellor steps up and delivers’: The Scottish government’s Budget “provides a platform upon which hospitality can build” – if the chancell … view

Oakman Inns reports ‘substantial pipeline of sites’: Oakman Inns and Restaurants has reported it has a ‘substantial pipeline of sites ready for development during 2021’. It stated: “In addition to existing sites in Buckingham, W … view

UKHospitality vows to work with government on sector reopening as PM hints at March lifting of lockdown: UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has vowed to work with the government to safely reopen hospitality after prime minister B … view

JDW founder Tim Martin sell shares worth £50,255,000, takes stake down to 21.88%: JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin has sold shares in the company worth £50,255,000, believed to be the largest share sale he has ever undertaken in the co … view

Christie & Co – expect deal activity in sector to ramp up imminently, pub prices fall 6.4%: Stephen Owens, managing director of pubs and restaurants at Christie & Co, has told Propel he expects deal activity in the sector to ramp up imm … view

City Pub Group – cash burn reduced to £300,000 per month, ample liquidity: The City Pub Group, the owner and operator of 48 premium pubs across southern England and Wales and a further four development sites, has reported its cash burn … view

Deliveroo – 85% of customers set to order delivery more often or the same than they did before pandemic: Deliveroo has launched a new report that found more than eight in ten (85%) of its customers are set to order delivery more often o … view

Mercato Metropolitano unveils £35m global expansion: London-community food market Mercato Metropolitano has unveiled plans for a £35m expansion into Europe and the US, with ten more markets creating 2,000 jobs, including three new Lon … view

Britain faces three-month ‘halfway house’ lockdown after Easter as over-50s wait for second vaccine: Britain faces a three-month lockdown ‘halfway house’ after Easter, with a full reopening delayed until all over-50s have had thei … view

Reilley – unhelpful speculation could easily send sector in an unrecoverable tailspin: Loungers chairman Alex Reilley has warned the government that hospitality is in a perilous position and unhelpful speculation could “easily send th … view

 

Over the past te … view

White Rabbit Projects signs F&B partnership with US firm Graduate Hotels: White Rabbit Projects, the Chris Miller-led business, has signed a partnership agreement with US firm Graduate Hotels to develop and operate a range of restaurants, … view

Kate Nicholls – ‘very little hospitality industry left’ if government waits until May before reopening economy: UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has warned there will be “very little of the industry left” if the gover … view

Loss of almost 6,000 licensed premises in 2020 will be ‘tip of the iceberg if we continue on current course’, warns UKHospitality: The number of licensed premises fell by a net figure of almost 6,000 in 2020 – a 5.1% contraction of … view

Chancellor considers furlough extension and revival of job retention bonus in Budget: Chancellor Rishi Sunak is weighing up another extension of the government’s furlough scheme as part of plans to support the UK’s covid-hit jobs mark … view

Operator behind Richoux, Villagio and The Broadwick brands placed into administration: Dining Street, the company behind the Richoux, Friendly Phil’s, Villagio and The Broadwick restaurant brands, has been placed into administration, Pr … view

JD Wetherspoon eyes London acquisitions with new funds: JD Wetherspoon’s share placing of 8.37m new shares has raised £93.7m and will allow the company to take advantage of property opportunities thrown up by the pandemic. It stated: � … view

Kate Nicholls – governments need to provide clear exit strategy from economic restrictions linked to vaccination of most vulnerable: UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has said governments need to provide a clear exit strategy … view

JD Wetherspoon to raise as much as £93.7m through further placing, burning £4.1m a week in closure: JD Wetherspoon is to raise a further £92.1m to £93.7m through a placing of new ordinary shares of £0.02 each in the capital of the co … view

Rooney Anand raises £200m to invest in pub sector: Rooney Anand, the former chief executive of brewer and retailer Greene King, has raised £200m to invest in Britain’s ailing pub industry, betting on the prospects of a post-pandemic r … view

Karen Jones sole hospitality sector representative on government’s new Business Council: Karen Jones, current chair of Prezzo, Hawksmoor and Mowgli, has been appointed as the sole hospitality sector representative on the government’s … view

Hawthorn Leisure founders and ex-Ei Group director to launch new pub company: Gerry Carroll and Mark McGinty, who co-founded Hawthorn Leisure, are teaming up with James Croft, ex-group strategy and retail director at Ei Group, to launch a … view

Alex Reilley – let’s give the entrepreneurs and job creators of the future one last shot of support: Loungers chairman Alex Reilley has called on the government to give the entrepreneurs and job creators of the future one last shot of … view

 

Britain’s managed pub and restaurant sales drop 72.6% in December: Britain’s managed pub and restaurant groups saw total sales drop 72.6% over the festive season, in what should have been the sector’s busiest trading period of the y … view

PizzaExpress fell to £350m loss even before pandemic: PizzaExpress reported a £350m loss even before the pandemic restrictions impacted the businesses. In its accounts for 2019, the chain also warned that the coronavirus crisis had “a … view

Marks – ‘government has acted like a triage department’, company looking at growth opportunities: Peter Marks, chief executive of Rekom UK, formerly Deltic Group, has accused the government of acting like a hospital triage departmen … view

Monday, 4 January 2021, served to be the first working day of the year for many people. Children returned to school and the welcome relief of a new year kicked things into swing. Hope, op … view

More than £300m a month would be wiped from Britain’s takeaway trade if rest of UK follows Scotland’s lead and bans click and collect: More than £300m a month would be wiped from Britain’s takeaway trade if the rest of the UK foll … view

Nightcap to begin trading on AIM today: Bar company Nightcap will begin trading today on AIM. Upon Admission, Nightcap will acquire the London Cocktail Club for an initial consideration of £5.7 million. The initial consideration is being … view

US restaurants and bars able to apply for loans that convert to grants under revamped Paycheck Protection Programme: US restaurants and bars are able to apply for loans that will convert into grants under the revamped Paycheck Protection … view

Byron paying all rents in full, as it changes its whole supply chain and closes in on six new sites: Simon Wilkinson chief executive of Byron, which was acquired via pre-pack administration by investment vehicle Calveton UK under newly fo … view

MPs rally behind industry's calls for further financial help as they support dedicated hospitality minister petition: MPs across the political spectrum have backed sector calls for an extension of the VAT cut and the business rates holida … view

Electra Partners to sell TGI Fridays this year: The Times has reported that the private equity owner of TGI Fridays in the UK plans to put the bar and restaurant chain up for sale this year as it winds down its portfolio. The Times report … view

Leading chefs and 200,000-plus more back hospitality ahead of vital debate in parliament: TV chef Angela Hartnett is spearheading a new campaign to help champion millions of hospitality workers hard hit by the pandemic. Alongside fellow c … view

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Patisserie Valerie liquidators sue Grant Thornton for £200m: The liquidators of Patisserie Valerie are suing auditors Grant Thornton for £200 million for its role in its collapse. Liquidator FRP Advisory has launched a claim against the … view

Scottish Hospitality Group says ‘worst December trading in living memory’ will hit sector until 2022, trade down 80%: The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) has said the “worst December trading in living memory” will continue to hit … view

Deltic sold out of administration for £10m: Nightclub company Deltic Group was sold out of administration to Scandinavian company Rekom Group for £10m, an administrator’s report has stated. Rekom bought 44 venues out of its 55 sites. … view

Greggs – it will be 2022 at the earliest before profits return to pre-covid levels, loses up to £15m in 2020: Greggs has reported its total 2020 sales were £811m (2019: £1,168m). Fourth quarter company-managed shop like-for-like sale … view

Borg-Neal – Five key steps needed to ensure that hospitality can play a lead part in a post-covid economic recovery: Peter Borg-Neal, founder and chairman of Oakman Inns, has set out the five key steps that are needed to ensure that hos … view

Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils one-off grants of up to £9,000 for struggling firms: Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help busine … view

Pubs and restaurants banned from serving takeaway pints in latest lockdown: Pubs and restaurants have been banned from selling takeaway alcohol under the latest lockdown rules announced by the prime minister last night. All restaurants, p … view

Douglas Jack – many private companies could run out of liquidity in the Spring: Peel Hunt leisure analyst Douglas Jack has forecast Quarter One of 2021 will be liquidity crunch time for many private companies. In a note, he stated: “W … view

UKHospitality calls for roadmap to recovery and pledges support for vaccine roll-out: Following respective statements strengthening covid restrictions in England and Scotland, UKHospitality has called for a road map to recovery and has co … view

Operators offer up premises as vaccination centres: Sector operators, including BrewDog and Loungers, have offered up their sites for use with the roll-out of the covid-19 vaccine. Chief executive and co-founder of BrewDog James Watt twee … view