Convivial London Pubs – no sale for the time being: Convivial London Pubs, the eight-strong London pub company headed by Kris Gumbrell, has decided against selling the company in favour of building it to its full potential. The company is understood to have been on the market earlier this year with analysts suggesting it was worth upwards of £15m. The company has told shareholders: “In February we engaged a Rule Three adviser to assist us in reviewing our long-term options. This work is on-going but the impression reached so far is that, in the short term, we should focus on building the core estate to its full potential. We shall therefore concentrate on producing the best results from each pub via enhanced training, stronger marketing, mystery guest reports and team incentives. We shall also ensure that all the pubs are maintained in optimum shape." A Rule Three advisor provides strategic advice on taking a company to market. Meanwhile the company is installing a microbrewery at a second pub next week, The Barley Mow in Chiswick.  The microbrewery will be called the Lamb Brewery, a now defunct brewery that operated in Chiswick until 1922. A microbrewery installed at Convivial’s Botanist pub last September increased Ebitda in the six months that followed by 54 per cent. Ebitda at Convivial’s eight pubs is £775,000, up 22 per cent in the year to March this year. Capital Pub Company founder David Bruce stepped down from the Convivial board in July. Gumbrell added: “The company has continued to show significant growth through the summer. We completed our major investment to renew the infrastructure and added eight bedrooms to the 16-bedroom Mitre hotel and we hosted the Saudi Arabian Equestrian team during the Olympics, which made for a rather successful period.”

ALMR - ten-minute rule bill to ban glasses “not a serious attempt at legislation”: Ian Lucas, the Labour MP for Wrexham, has raised a 10-Minute Motion calling for the House of Commons to enact a Bill banning the use of glasses and glass bottles in pubs and clubs with a history of violent incidents. The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) strategic affairs director Kate Nicholls said: “This is not a serious attempt at legislation but simply a Parliamentary device to raise awareness about the issue. The ALMR is proactively lobbying MPs about this issue. Conservative MP for Shipley, Phillip Davies, opposed the Bill in strong terms, claiming that it was ‘dealing with the issue in completely the wrong way’.”

Luke Johnson – planners are “unimaginative bureaucrats”: Private equity investor Luke Johnson has welcomed the government plan to relax planning rules. In his Management Today column he wrote: “Many planning officers and councillors are unimaginative bureaucrats who do not understand business. Too often they inhibit investment and job creation by preventing development. At the same time, local authorities claim they want to help tackle unemployment and declining city centres. Quangos such as English Heritage make it harder to reinvent listed commercial buildings so they can actually find an economic use in the 21st century. I've refurbished many dozens of historic restaurants, pubs and even hotels, and often the busybodies have made the experience a nightmare. I look forward to a more business-friendly attitude from the civil servants if the new planning legislation becomes law.”

Starbucks offer on LivingSocial beats record: A Starbucks offer on LivingSocial for 50 per cent off a $10 Starbucks gift card has become the best-selling daily deal of all time. The offer, which ran last Wednesday, was sold out within a day with 1.5m gift cards sold. A LivingSocial offer of 50 per cent off a $20 Amazon gift card in January 2011 was the previous record holder by revenue, with 1.16 million sold.

Horizons names its top “bubbling under” brands: Foodservice research and insights firm Horizons has published its list of “bubbling under” brands – those with fewer than five sites but showing signs of significant growth in the future. Its Mexican burrito fast casual brands to watch are: Benito’s Hat, Mexican Kitchen, Burro Burrito, Chilango, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Freebirds World Burrito, Flying Burrito, Nineteen Ten and Poncho No. 8.  Its top “street food” bubbling under brands are: Daddy Donkey (Mexican), Luardos (Mexican) Mooli’s (Indian), NOW (Chinese), Street Kitchen (Various), Tuk Cho (Oriental) and Yalla Yalla (Lebanese). Horzons list of top premium tea bars offering an alternative to coffee shops are: Leaf Tea, Teacup, TeaSmith, Tea Monkey and Teapod. Its list of all-you-can-eat steakhouses and grilled poultry with a South American edge is: Bem Brasil, Cabana, Viva Brazil. On its list of brands serving British food with a contemporary twist are: Bumpkin and Union Jacks.  The Japanese quick service brands it tips as ones to watch are: Me Love and Mori Sushi. And finally, in the up-and-coming Spanish restaurants are Brindisa and Camino. On general market trends, Horizons Paul Backman said: “Quality food-on-the-go has become the key growth area in the UK’s eating out market with new concepts consistently emerging in transport hubs and shopping centres as well as high streets locations, as consumers increasingly eat when they want, where they want.”

Roger Protz – Cameron should introduce minimum pricing: Beer writer Roger Protz will call for prime minister David Cameron to introduce minimum pricing in the foreword of Camra’s Good Beer Guide, due to be published this Thursday. According the Sunday Mirror, the guide calls on Cameron to deliver on his pre-election pledge to introduce minimum pricing on alcohol, to close the gap between cheap supermarket booze and the cost of a pub pint.

Forbes magazine names US’s top-grossing restaurant: Forbes magazine has named Bob Chinn’s Crab House in Wheeling, Illinois as the US’s top-grossing restaurant with annual sales of food alone of $24m. The restaurant serves 2,500 customers on an average day, seats 700 and employs 300 staff. He has a company in Honolulu that buys the best fish in the fish market each morning and send it to his restaurant.

Marco Pierre White – nothing wrong with mass-produced food: Chef Marco Pierre White has mounted a defence of mass-produced non-organic food products. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said: “I don’t like preaching to people. Take McDonald’s. If I’m driving down the road and my daughter is tired and hungry, and it’s grid-locked, what’s wrong with pulling into the forecourt and buying her a box of six chicken McNuggets and a milkshake?” 

 

Kentucky Fried Chicken reports turnover and profits rise; retains position in Propel profit list: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), owned by US-based Yum Brands, has retained its place as one of the ten most profitable licensed retail and foodservice brands in the UK with a rise in pre-tax profit to £47,232,000 in the year to 4 December 2011, up from £38,389,000 the year before. The profit figure confirms KFC’s position as the ninth most profitable company in the Propel UK Foodservice Market Profits List and closes the gap on the Restaurant Group, which is one place above it.  KFC’s top ten position indicates good profit conversion rates because its fifteenth on the Propel UK Foodservice Market Turnover List. The company saw turnover increase by around £23m, or six per cent, to £394,244,000 in the most recent year from £371,215 the year before. Only McDonald’s UK ranks higher than KFC in turnover and profit terms in the  quick-service market. KFC reported that global increases in food commodity prices had pushed the cost of sales to 52.3 per cent of turnover, up from 51.6 per cent. However, administrative expenses were reduced by £1.1m to £143.2m. The company stated: “We have launched a new design concept during 2012 which changes the look and feel of our assets and we continue to develop new products to offer excitement and choice to the customer.” Company store sales were £360.7m while franchise royalties and fees were £33.5m. The highest paid director earned £485,000, down from £557,000 the year before. A dividend of £32.2m was paid - a dividend of £27.9m was paid the year before.

Alistair Darby becomes M&B chief executive: Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has appointed Alistair Darby, currently chief operating officer at Marston's, as its new chief executive. Darby will take up his role as chief executive on 8 October 2012.  Following a short period of induction and handover, Bob Ivell will revert to the role of non-executive chairman. Ivell said: "The board and I are all delighted to announce the appointment of Alistair as Chief Executive following an extensive and rigorous search process.  I am confident that we have secured the right person for the role and that drawing on his wealth of operational and brand experience, Alistair will contribute greatly to M&B's continued strong performance." Darby said: "Mitchells & Butlers is a market-leading business with tremendous potential that is well advanced on a transformation programme.  I am excited by the opportunity to lead the company and, together with the management team, to build on M&B's strong estate, brands and operations."

Propel Opinion: Alastair Darby fits the mould of the kind of candidate that M&B shareholder Joe Lewis is known to favour – someone with plenty of direct operational experience. He has spent 15 years working at Marston’s, gaining experience in each of the major divisions, with extended periods running the brewing and tenanted parts of the business. He was elevated to chief operating officer in October last year, a move that was regarded by observers as making him the favoured candidate to replace chief executive Ralph Findlay at some stage. It’s his 11 months as chief operating officer, overseeing the managed pub division, and his earlier time working in the company’s managed division under Derek Andrew that provide the most relevant experience for the M&B top job. Marston’s has been opening 25 new-build pubs, many with a carvery offer and has its own premium bar brand, Pitcher & Piano, that’s not dissimilar to All Bar One; these areas all provide strong overlap with parts of the M&B estate. The M&B chief executive job is the most prestigious position in licensed retail and, in the normal course of events, the opportunity to run the UK’s largest foodservice company would be an enormous honour, quickly accepted. Darby,will have come to terms with the realities of his move: Marston’s provides a straightforward corporate culture where the senior executives have worked together for years and are personal friends; M&B has been a hall of mirrors where a dysfunctional share register has created a distinctly difficult environment for a succession of executive and non-executive directors. Darby will have sought assurances, I’m sure, about being allowed the normal operational freedoms a chief executive would expect and I wouldn’t be surprised to find he has negotiated a parachute of unusually large proportions in his contract should things not work out.

Pub People Company buys two freeholds: Pub People Company, the 50-strong East Midlands multiple headed by Kevin Sammons, has acquired two freehold pubs. The pubs are:  the Great Northen, Langley Mill from Greene King and The Steam Packet, Swanwick from the Punch disposal estate.  Operations director Andy Crawford said the company trades new acquisitions for a few months before investing in them – refurbishments are likely to take place in January 2013. On the market for buying pubs, he added: “You’ve just got to keep looking for rough diamonds. Nobody is giving away decent pubs – you’ve just got to use your experience to find pubs that will provide a good return with judicious capex.” Pub People re-opened Punch Taverns’ Bridge at Sandiacre three weeks ago after a refurbishment. Crawford said: “It’s exceeded expectations on both wet and dry sales – it’s a success for Punch and Pub People.” On trade generally, he added: “Our food pubs are trading well and above expectations. It’s fair to say our smaller community pubs are less consistent.”

Simon French – Wetherspoon discounting aggressively: JD Wetherspon, which reports results this Friday, began discounting a range of products last week, selling them for £1.99 each. Panmure Gordon analyst Simon French said:  “We think there is underlying top-line momentum in the business and margins should stabilise as the 176 pubs opened over the last four years mature and the drag from new pubs diminishes as the number of openings is reduced. However we note the group is aggressively discounting certain products (cider, wine, spirits and cocktails) between now and the end of November, which could depress gross margins. We expect the group to have traded relatively well over the first six weeks of the 2013 financial year reflecting indifferent weather and an unchallenging comp of 0.4 per cent. We look for news on plans for the redeployment of capex from the scaled-back opening programme. We think increasing dividends faster than earnings would be particularly well received by the market.”

D&D Restaurants to open in Leeds: D&D Restaurants, which operates London restaurants such as Quaglino’s and Pont de la Tour, is to open a restaurant in the Trinity Leeds shopping centre next March. The venue will occupy the top two floors overlooking Leeds’ Holy Trinity Church. Meanwhile, the company has reported good progress on its sale process. Chief executive Des Gunewardena told Caterer magazine: “We’ve had a lot of interest, ranging from people you might expect such as UK private equity houses, to quite a lot of people from overseas. We’ve had interest from America, from Hong Kong, the Middle East and India. We’re now in the process of evaluating the bids and in an ideal world, we’d like to make a decision at the end of the summer.”

Revolution vodka bar Privilege Club re-launched with bigger discounts: The Revolution vodka bar Privilege Club card has been re-launched to offers 25 per cent discount on selected products. Customers who buy the £4 privilege card also get “more love” when they register online - a free cocktail when they register their membership online. Privilege Club members receive a free drink each week, a “disco riot” megamix and the chance to win a trip around the world.

Little Chef to launch franchise: Little Chef is set to sign its first franchise operator, expected to be based in East Anglia, this autumn, according to the Mail on Sunday. The company, led by Graham Sims, is also refurbishing its 90-strong estate, with 15 sites completed so far.  From November, Little Chef will start displaying calorie counts on menus.

St Vibes crowd-funding scheme raises more than £210,000: St Vibes, a new restaurant and bar, planned by chef Isaac McHale and restaurateurs Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith for Shoreditch Town Hall in London, has raised £211,000 so. The fund-raising has set a deadline of today to raise £250,000 through “crowd-funding” on the Crowdcube website.  A total of 39 investors have offered the money, which is 84 per cent of the target.  

MP opposes Hungry Horse plan because of entertainment aspect: MP Kerry McCarthy has voiced opposition to a proposed Hungry Horse family dining venue in the Brislington part of Bristol on account of its desire to have a later entertainments licence. The MP has told planners: "Let's be clear, Brislington does not need a late-night entertainment venue that entices customers with cheap alcoholic drinks. This is a largely residential area, which is home to a lot of families with young kids; the local community does not want to be disturbed by late night drinkers. The application to build a Hungry Horse is unwelcome and inappropriate. A 'family friendly' venue would have no need for a late entertainment licence and residents feel strongly late night drinking should not be encouraged in this part of the city."

M&B launches offers at Miller & Carter and Sizzling Pub Company: Mitchells & Butlers has begun offering seven menu items at its Sizzling Pubs value brand for £2.99 between noon and 5pmn, Monday to Friday.  The menu items are: cheeseburger, veggieburger, sausage and mash, tipsy steak pie, barbecue smothered chicken and 7oz gammon steak and pineapple. For £1 more customers can order a 4oz classic rump steak. Meanwhile, at the Miller & Cater steakhouse brand customers are being offered a complimentary starter or desert for customers ordering a main course up until 28 September.

Top chef to open Robinson’s pub: Chef Simon Rogan, whose L’Enclume restaurant received a perfect score from the Good Food Guide last month, is to take over the pub that is located in the same village, The Pig & Whistle in Cartmel, owned by Robinson’s. Rogan plans to introduce a traditional menu plus artisan ales and “a little L’Enclume flair” when it re-opens at the end of this month.

Honky Tonk to open in Chelea: A New York-inspired bar and restaurant, Honky Tonk, is to open in Chelsea's Hollywood Road. The venue is the brainchild of Supperclub London founder Mark Cutler who has been working with bar and restaurant consultants the Cocktail Service. His latest opening will offer an American menu inspired by Italian and deli offers.

Marston’s to open Gainsborough pub in November: Midlands-based Marston’s will open a new-build pub in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in  November. The Lincolnshire Otter is located off the A631 Thorndike way dual carriageway, at the entrance to the Somerby Park industrial estate. Gainsborough’s population is due to double to 35,000 in the next two decades.

Hummingbird Bakery signs Middle East franchise deal: Five-strong US-style cupcake concept Hummingford Bakery, founded in London in 2004, has signed a franchise deal with Middle Eastern franchise firm Daub Arabian, according to The Sunday Times. The deal will see 20 bakeries open across the Middle East in the next ten years.

Germany’s Motel One to open in the UK: The “upmarket” German budget motel chain Motel One is to open its first hotel in Edinburgh later this year.  Motel One Edinburgh-Royal will open on Market Street in December. The company is planning a second site in Edinburgh next year and an opening in London the year after. Motel One, which has 39 hotels in Germany and Austria, is described as offering “great design for little money” with prices starting at £69 a night.

Greene King sells two pubs to developer: Greene King has sold two Hampshire pubs to a developer who will turn them into housing. The Rack and Manger, located in the village of Crawley near Winchester, and former New Inn in Swanmore, have been sold to Ascot Trading. The Rack and Manger has a total site area of 0.6 acres including outdoor space used as a car park and adjacent garden. The former premises of the New Inn is a three-storey brick building on a site totalling 0.4 acres. Following the sale, Savills obtained planning permission to convert the site into four residential properties.

Loungers reports strong sales: Café bar concept Loungers has reported like-for-like sales growth of six per cent in the 17 weeks of its financial year to the end of August. Overall sales are up 43.4 per cent against the same period last year (£7.21m vs. £5.03m). Commenting on performance Loungers' managing director Alex Reilley said: "Our roll-out is beginning to gather some significant pace now and so it's logical that we should expect to see some big year-on-year growth. However, our like-for-like performance has been strong over a period that has seemed to be quite challenging for a number of operators and this is particularly pleasing.” Reilley confirmed that the group is on schedule to open Brasco Lounge in Liverpool and their fifth Cosy Club in Cardiff in November and that they hoped to open another Lounge in December, which would take the number of site opens for the year up to nine.

Bakery couple buy freehold pub: A couple who run a highly regarded bakery business, Mabel’s Bakery in Askam, which offers high quality takeaway pizza, Phil and Elizabeth Robinson has bought the freehold of the High Cross Inn, in Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria. The couple acquired the pub from Christopher and Andrew Burgess and will use their existing skills to develop trade at the High Cross Inn by providing a high quality food offering to complement the existing wet trade and letting rooms. Agent is Christie & Co. 

Starbucks to follow Costa Coffee into vending machines: Starbucks is to follow Costa Coffee’s successful development of vending machines. The first machines, which will offer 280 possible drink variations, will be sited in Sainsbury’s with petrol stations, airports and offices targeted for further expansion – the first four will be unveiled at Sainsbury’s next week. The price of a Tall will be £2.10 – five pence cheaper than its café price – and a Grande will cost £2.40, 10p cheaper than its café charge. Extra shots of coffee and syrups will be free compared to a cost of 35p in stores.  UK marketing vice-president Ian Cranna said: “We want to have thousands across the UK giving customers the opportunity to get Starbucks coffee wherever they are. It is a response to a clear need. The most common thing I hear from customers is that they want a Starbucks closer by.” UK managing director Kris Engskov said: ‘This is part of our wider strategy to have the best quality coffee available to our customers in all those places where customers want and expect to see us. We already serve over two million customers every week in our stores, and by increasing the places where consumers can buy Starbucks coffee means that we will tap into the huge opportunity around convenience and coffee away from home giving our customers the great quality coffee they know and love, wherever they may be.” The Starbucks vending machines will use 100 per cent Fairtrade Espresso coffee beans.