Coffer Peach Tracker – pubs and restaurants saw sales up 1.9% in June: Britain’s restaurant and pub groups saw collective like-for-like sales increase 1.9% in June, against the same month last year. Total sales, including the impact of new openings, were ahead 4.8%, according to latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. “The figures follow a 1.2% like-for-like increase in May, and suggests a real if modest recovery for the eating and drinking out market after a terrible weather-affected winter and spring,” said Peter Martin of Peach Factory, the business intelligence specialist that produces the Tracker, the sector’s most comprehensive performance barometer, in partnership with Coffer Group, Baker Tilly and UBS. “However, the London market proved to be the star-performer with collective like-for-likes up 5.1% in the month, while the rest of the country had an essentially flat June, with LFLs edging up just 0.5% on last year,” added Martin. Last June’s figures were distorted by the Queen’s Jubilee holiday, as well as football on TV, which was generally good for pubs but hit casual dining business, especially in London. On the weather front, June 2013 was close to the long-term average for the time of year. “London saw strong trading from both chain restaurants and managed pubs. Outside of the capital, however, pub sales were flat, with drink-led pubs seeing a like-for-like sales decline. Food remains the growth driven in the managed pub sector,” added Martin. “People are continuing to go out to eat and drink, but there is no single narrative for the market. Behind the headline figures, which show that year-on-year like-for-like sales across the Tracker cohort were running at 1% up at the end of June on the previous 12 months with total sales ahead 4%, there are real and important differences regionally and between types of operation. It points to a still highly-competitive market, with operators needing to keep close track of changing customer habits,” he concluded. Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure, said: “Drawing direct comparisons with June 2012 is extremely difficult because the Diamond Jubilee and the rain made for a unique month. That said, these like-for-likes are overall relatively disappointing – especially in the provinces where there has generally been improved confidence, which we would have expected to see in the figures. We should see these numbers improve over the coming months.”

Jamie’s Italian, Wagamama and Wetherspoon top league table of healthy kids meals: Jamie’s Italian, Wagamama and JD Wetherspoon have ranked first, second and third in a league table of best options for families. The Out to Lunch report by Organix and the Soil Association found that eight out of 21 major chains surveyed did not include vegetables or salad in the majority of their children’s meals and only 11 out of the 21 told the report’s mystery diners if the food was freshly cooked and where it came from. Only one, Jamie’s Italian, could say where the meat came from. Wetherspoon was praised for British-sourced food and serving vegetables with very meal. Giraffe, PizzaExpress and Zizzi were criticised for lacking fruit and vegetables, or offering chips with everything in the case of Giraffe. Of individual chains, inspectors said: Burger King – tempted children with toys to pick from menu devoid of healthy choices; KFC – no vegetarian option and children’s food of a lower quality than adults; Prezzo – one portion size only for children’s meals and no indication of which are healthy meals; Brewers Fayre – no fruit on menu and no flexibility on sizes of meals; Zizzi – no vegetable or salad-based meal; Pizza Hut – unlimited fizzy drinks and only ice cream for pudding; PizzaExpress – no vegetables with most meals, no fruit for pudding; Beefeater – a predictable menu; Giraffe – healthy options not part of the children’s meal deal and chips on offer with every meal; Hungry Horse – little choice beyond the ‘usual suspects’.

Zomato to expand into Birmingham and Manchester: Online restaurant listings firm Zomato is to expand into Manchester and Birmingham after a successful launch in the London market at the start of the year. The site will cover some 2,000 restaurants in Manchester and 1,000 in Birmingham. In London, its business currently attracts 500,000 users a month, covering 17,000 restaurants – the largest proliferation of any of the current listings and review sites. Zomato reports advertising revenue is already at a healthy level six months into the UK operation and that an initial phase of free online promotions to restaurants in return for covers has been reduced.

More than half of (best) coffee baristas not up to scratch: Research from the Beverage Standards Association (BSA) has revealed that over half (54%) of baristas fail to meet acceptable standards in creating espresso coffee. The survey was compiled from the first 100 self-nominated entries assessed by BSA assessors on entries to the 2013 BSA Awards on ‘mystery shopper’ visits. Of those not meeting standards, 47% failed due to under extraction and 7% to over extraction. The worst example was extraction times as low as seven seconds. BSA member and independent barista trainer Jon Skinner, said: “These figures are appalling and show a complete lack of baristas monitoring their extraction times. Bear in mind that this information is drawn from operators who have entered the BSA Awards intended to identify excellence. They are likely to be better than average so the quality factor with most coffee shops will be lower.”

Lord Aberdare speaks in favour of lower VAT in the Lords: Lord Aberdare has raised the issue of lower VAT in hospitality to attract more tourists in the House of Lords. He said: “Other countries, including competitors such as France and Germany, have gained additional investment, employment, particularly of younger people who are disproportionately represented in the tourism sector, and growth through applying reduced VAT rates in this area. It has been calculated that every pound invested by the Treasury in this way would generate £18 of extra inbound tourism revenue and other significant growth benefits.” Baroness Northover, responding on behalf of the government, said: “The Treasury could not see a causal link between VAT rates and tourism levels, so I’m afraid the Treasury is thus far not persuaded. No doubt, it will note what the noble Lord has said.”

Innventure pub appears in new Simon Pegg film: The Broadway Hotel, the pub operated by six-strong Innventure in Letchworth, features in the new Simon Pegg film, The World’s End. The film, due to be released today (17 July), is about a pubcrawl and was filmed in the town where licensed premises were originally banned. The film tells the story of five school friends who reunite after 20 years for a pub crawl with the aim of reaching their final stop, The World’s End, for the first time. Innventure managing director Chris Gerard said: “They used bits of our buildings as sets. The World’s End crew used our staff house lobby as their B&B reception, with the front of the staff house and garden as their B&B entrance. They also used the Broadway bedrooms and corridors for five days filming - and used the Broadway as their base for some of the street scene work, booking out all of the hotel for noisy 4am street scenes!” Until 1960, Letchworth was a dry town, with the only inn, The Skittles, selling soft drinks.

Abokado reports double digit like-for-likes: Abokado, the healthy eating chain led by Mark Lilley and backed by Kings Park Capital, has reported that the company is seeing double digit like-for-like sales growth. Lilley told Propel: “We’ve just opened our 15th Abokado on Theobalds Road. London. Our next store will be opening on Great Portland Street in August or September and we are in the build stage on two other shops, one in the City and one in Victoria. Our nineteenth store, also in the City, has also just signed. So we are well on our way to achieving our ambitious goal of 24 sites open by March 2014, which is the end of our financial year.”

Stephen Thomas – landlord is making a contribution to revamped Oceana in Wolverhampton: Stephen Thomas, who runs the ten-strong No Saints nightclub company, has revealed that the landlord of its newly acquired Oceana in Wolverhampton is making a contribution to the £500,000 refurbishment of the premises. Thomas told Propel: “This is one of the sites that Luminar would have preferred to keep. The current landlord approached us and said we’ll make a contribution (to re-opening it). We’ve not taking the bar area downstairs and will turn the site into a twin scene nightclub – we’re running a local competition to find a name for it.” The site will be the second Oceana that No Saints is running – it picked up the Milton Keynes site last year. Thomas said: “I’m cool with Milton Keynes – it’s trading profitably although it could do with taking another £10,000-a-week. You have to look underneath the hype in the nightclub market at the moment.”

Free-of-tie lease on Cos Bar sells for £395,000 in six weeks: Cos Bar, the London bar owned by the former Wishing Well Pub Company father and daughter team of Terry O’Sullivan and Charlotte Labbett, has been sold by agent Christie + Co in six weeks. The free-of-tie leasehold interest in the bar, situated near Blackfriars Station in Queen Victoria Street, has been acquired by Philip Ashby-Rudd for £395,000 – the freehold is owned by The City of London. Ashby-Rudd is a hotelier who owns and runs hotels in Lulworth Cove, Dorset, but lives in London and has fulfilled his wish to run a business in the City. Stewart Harkness, of Christie + Co in London, said: “The swift sale of Cos Bar and the high price it achieved demonstrates once again the bullishness of the London pub property scene – across both leasehold and freehold sales – when compared with the rest of the UK. The appetite amongst investors for pubs situated in London, particularly the centre of the City, has remained undimmed during the last few years of economic turmoil. And as we inch towards recovery, I think this sale suggests that pub property prices in the capital look set to soar even further.”

YO! Sushi founder eyes Manchester hotel site: Simon Woodroffe, the founder of the YO! Sushi, is eyeing a disused former bank building in Manchester city centre for a new 258-bedroom hotel and bar. Woodroffe’s Yo! Company operates Yotel sites in New York and at Heathrow, Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports. New plans have been submitted to the city council to completely renovate the four-storey, former Union Bank of Manchester building at 12 Piccadilly. In addition, a new 20-storey tower would be constructed on the neighbouring vacant plot at 14-16 Piccadilly to create the hotel and bar, which would carry the Yotel brand, according to submitted documents.

Grillstock pop-up opens permanent site: Grillstock, which has operated as a pop-up at Bristol music festivals for five years, has opened a permanent home for its slow-cooked meats and Deep South cuisine – Grillstock Smokehouse has opened at Triangle West, Park Street, Bristol. Grillstock’s Ben Merrington said: “We wanted to instill the spirit of barbecue in each element, through authentic low and slow cooking techniques and flavours, combining our food with the music that inspired it and the people you share it with. Quite simply we wanted to condense the festival experience into our restaurant. The walls are even decked with festival memorabilia from the past that makes us a bit different and underlines our authenticity. We live and breathe this stuff and I think that really comes across in the smokehouse.” Design is by Simple Simon.

Andy Murray’s new Dunblane hotel receives a Wimbledon bounce: Interest in Andy Murray’s Cromlix House Hotel, close to his hometown of Dunblane, acquired in February, has increased since he won Wimbledon. The site is being refurbished and is scheduled to reopen next spring ahead of the Ryder Cup. It will feature ten luxury bedrooms and five suites named after great Scots from the past and present, as well as a restaurant overseen by chef Albert Roux. Hotel managers Inverlochy Castle Management International launched a website and online booking for the venue on Monday. Managing director Norbert Lieder said: “There has been a huge amount of interest in Cromlix ever since Andy bought it and made his plans for the hotel known. That has intensified since his wonderful win at Wimbledon.” The hotel is already fully booked for next year’s Ryder Cup, which is being staged a short drive away at Gleneagles.

Arkells Brewery calls time on coaching inn: Arkells Brewery has called time on The Rising Sun in Woolhampton. The historic coaching inn is currently boarded up and there are no plans to reopen it. The pub was hit by an articulated lorry and mobile home that jack-knifed into the building in April – it has been boarded up since. Brewery director George Arkell said: “It is with regret that, following the lorry crash into The Rising Sun at Woolhampton further investigations has led it to the conclusion that the pub is no longer able to be run as a going concern. The brewery is now considering the future of the building but has not made any firm decisions.”

Douglas Jack – we’d be adding Marston’s shares: Douglas Jack, leisure analyst at Numis Securities, has issued an ‘Add’ note on Marston’s shares with a target price of 165p, ahead of the company’s third quarter results on 25 July. He said: “We expect trading to have picked up, aided by easier comps and more favourable weather. Thus, it should be close to our full year assumptions (2.5% like-for-like sales in Premium & Destination and stable like-for-like profits in both Taverns and Leased), with reasonably easy comps to come in Q4. We believe Marston’s is well placed to accelerate growth with interest costs starting to fall next year and only 1% price increases needed to offset lower inflation. Our 2013 forecasts imply a 14% underlying profit before tax growth rate (pre snow and higher securitisation costs), which implies upside for our 7% 2014E PBT growth forecast, given £1.5m of additional cost savings. The shares are attractive, in our view.”

Miramar set to take over Shoreditch nightclub: West End late licence operator Miramar has applied to take over East Village nightclub in Shoreditch, linked to an alleged £5.5 million drugs and prostitution money laundering scam. East Village in Great Eastern Street was shut down suddenly last month when Hackney Police’s licensing unit demanded an urgent expedited review. Gavin Jones from Miramar, which operates three West End bars, including Bar Rumba in Shaftesbury Avenue said they want to brighten up the “dark and dingy interior space” in East Village. “On the mezzanine level there are private rooms and we want to open up the whole space to make a light, bright, female-friendly area,” he said. Miramar plans to move away from the drum and base scene to playing commercial music for the 25 plus age group.

McDonald’s to open in Vietnam: McDonald’s will open its first restaurant in Vietnam after awarding the franchise to the son-in-law of the Communist-ruled nation’s prime minister. The company is a relative latecomer to Vietnam with Starbucks, Subway and Pizza Hut already operating stores. The company said it had chosen Henry Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American investor and the son-in-law of Vietnam’s prime minister, as the main franchise partner based on a “rigorous” selection process. Nguyen was quoted as saying that a stint at McDonald’s was one of his first jobs as a teenager in the United States.

KFC ice cream climb 345% in July: Sales of ice cream at KFC have increased by 345% this month compared to the same period last year thanks to the hot weather. The brand is rushing to launch a new ice cream on Monday 22 July when the Summer Fruit Meringue Kream Ball will be introduced, featuring summer fruit sauce, dairy ice cream and meringue pieces. Jennelle Tilling, vice president of marketing, KFC UK and Ireland, said: “We’ve never seen anything like this. Sales of ice cream are through the roof, so much so that we’re introducing a brand new flavour to keep up with the demand.”

TCG reports advance bookings up 20%: Managed operator TCG has introduced a new party planning tool at a number of its sites with high levels of functions trade such as the Henry’s Café Bars in London. The tool helps to convert enquiries, particularly from corporate customers, into firm bookings. At the same time, TCG is rolling out its online reservation system through online booking and customer marketing specialist LiveRes across the entire estate, following a successful trial, which boosted bookings by an average of 20% per site. TCG chief operating officer Nigel Wright said: “We’re delighted with this level of pre-bookings with four months still to go before the start of the festive season. Many businesses want to have their Christmas entertainment plans for staff and clients in place in good time, and our investment in IT solutions that make it easier for the customer to book their festive event with us has been money well spent.”

Barclays boosts hospitality and leisure team: Barclays has strengthened its hospitality and leisure team with the appointment of Matt Walton as a new relationship director. Walton joins from RBS where he was responsible for a portfolio of 40 clients across the hospitality and leisure industry. In his new role, Walton will be focused on developing relationships with new and prospective clients. He is a member of the steering committee for the hotel industry group, the Next Generation Network, where he helps to coordinate events for young professionals in the sector. Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays, said: “The hospitality and leisure sector is a vital growth industry for the economy, and Barclays is committed to supporting it. Matt is a great addition to our team and his sector expertise will help ensure our clients have access to a first class service as they seek to grow.”

Cook and Indi’s World Buffet open fourth site: Cook and Indi’s World Buffet has opened its fourth outlet in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, catering for 300 diners. The concept offers five different cuisines (Indian, Japanese, Sushi, Chinese and Italian) and a choice of over 100 dishes. Cook Gill, co-founder of the company, said: “The idea behind our World Buffet is to bring together various cuisines from different parts of the world so that when families are dining out there’s no need for an argument about which restaurant to go to, because we offer food to suit everyone’s tastes.” At Bishopbriggs, Cook and Indi’s World Buffet has further expanded its worldwide offering to include a carvery and a special kids section. 

Frankie & Benny’s opens at East Midlands Airport: Frankie & Benny, The Restaurant Group brand, has opened an outlet at East Midlands Airport. The new venue is located in the departures lounge at the Castle Donington airport, which is owned by Manchester Airports Group.

Greene King marks ten years of trading with Peach Pub Company: Greene King has marked ten years of trading with Peach Pub Company by producing a bespoke branded beer. Peach took on the lease at The Fleece in Witney from Greene King in 2003. Peach has also gone on to run three further Greene King pubs – The Fishes at North Hinksey in Oxford, The Black Horse in Woburn and The Star & Garter in Leamington Spa. To mark the anniversary, Greene King has supplied a new bitter at The Fleece titled “Ten Sheeps to the Wind”. The ale is described as having an “excellent balance of sweetness and bitterness, combined with a subtle hop character”. Simon Longbottom, managing director for Greene King Pub Partners, said: “The people driving Peach forward are first class operators and do a fantastic job of running very good, and very popular, pubs. We are immensely proud to have been with them since the start and look forward to the next decade of business together.”

Costa Ice goes on tour for the second summer: A Costa branded vintage ice cream van will visit 16 locations around the UK this summer to give consumers a taste of Costa Ice – the second time the van has toured the UK during the summer. Mike Cutting, an event producer at Fisher Productions, said: “Last year’s focus was on getting as many people as possible to sample the range of drinks so we visited high footfall areas such as shopping centres and gave out more than 70,000 samples in four weeks. This year we’ll be visiting more parks and seaside resorts where we hope people will linger and take time to enjoy the whole Costa Ice experience.”