Marco Pierre White – I’m looking to add more Wheeler’s Inns after first hotel: Celebrity chef turned restaurant entrepreneur Marco Pierre White has told Propel he is looking for more Wheeler’s sites as he opened his tenth last week, The Rudloe Arms in Corsham, Wiltshire, the third Wheeler’s Inns outlet in the county. He told Propel: “Loads of places come over my desk every week. You’ve got to look at them and see if they make sense.” The Rudloe Arms, rebranded from its previous incarnation as The Rudloe Hall Hotel to make it sound “more friendly”, according to White, is the first hotel in the group, with 40 rooms. However, White said, an accommodation offer would be essential for any additions to the Wheeler’s Inns estate. “You want a minimum of eight rooms,” he said. “We’re not like Prezzo or Ask – we’re not a chain and I would never want it perceived as a chain. We are a group, but each restaurant is an individual restaurant. I think that’s really important. Each one has got their own individual personality: even though they’re all siblings, they’re individual. I like to make them quite eclectic. So every one is different, but because of the way they’ve been put together, you know it’s a sibling to the others.” White said that although the Wheeler’s Inns group had a majority of its outlets now in the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire/Gloucestershire/North Hampshire area, with two more in East Anglia, there was no geographical restriction to the area where he was looking for more outlets, though he ruled out going to the north of England, and he reported wanting one near Salisbury, his current home. 

Tesco reveals the extent of food waste: Tesco has revealed that two-thirds of all salads it sells ends up being wasted. Almost half of all the items in its bakeries are also thrown away, as are 40% of all apples, a quarter of grapes and a fifth of bananas. Tesco will also end multi-buy deals such as two for the price of one on large bags of salad, which critics claim encourages food waste. Tesco will also reduce the amount of bread on display in store to reduce waste. Waste advisory body Wrap reports that the average family throws away £680-worth of food a year and 52% of bagged salad is thrown out.

Subway advertising in the US tops survey of best-perceived advertising: Subway’s long-running marketing campaigns with spokesman Jared Fogle and athlete “famous fans” pushed it to the top of a new study of the best-perceived brands in the US. According to a report from Technomic and its Consumer Brand Metrics subsidiary, Subway led all restaurants in a composite score of consumers’ ratings for its advertising on three attributes: “has memorable advertising”, “has advertising I can relate to” and “has advertising that makes me hungry”. Other brands could learn from Subway’s success in using a spokesperson to show how they relate to real people, Technomic’s study found, but only if the fit is authentic.

Chipotle to raise menu prices for the first time in three years: Chipotle Mexican Grill said its third-quarter earnings jumped 15% as more customers visited its restaurants, boosting sales to help offset higher food costs. The company also said it plans to raise menu prices across the country next year by anywhere from 3% to 5% for the first time in three years as it expects further food inflation and incurs additional costs associated with changing genetically modified ingredients. In March, Chipotle became the first US company to inform customers which menu items contain genetically modified ingredients by posting the information on its website. Like-for-like sales climbed 6.2% in the latest quarter, beating analysts’ expectations of 4.8% sales growth. Restaurants that have been open for at least a year now average $2.1 million in sales per year.

Soho House reports Ebitda and profit down after heavy investment in personnel: Restaurant and private members’ club company Soho House has reported pre-tax profit of £1,280,776 in 2012, down from £6,071,183 the year before after heavy investment. Ebitda was £8,977,324 compared to £10,755,432 the year prior. Turnover nudged up 2.2% to £65,339,275 from £63,944,961. The company spent £7.9m refurbishing Electric House after a fire in June 2012 that kept the site closed for six months. It is also spending £5.8m on a refurbishment of Shoreditch House due to be completed later this year and finished a £3.6m refurbishment of Babington House in March this year. The company reported Ebitda growth at most of its sites: Soho House up 17%, Shoreditch House up 11%, Pizza East Shoreditch up 24%, Pizza East Portobello up 304% in its first full year of trading, High Road House up 33%, Dean Street Townhouse up 21% and Hoxton Grill up 27%. The company reported that Ebitda conversion declined to 13.7% from 16.8% and operating profit margin dropped to 6% from 10% after the company expanded its central teams to support the growth of the worldwide group. It added: “This has involved bringing additional elements of development – architects, surveyors and designers – in house rather than paying external suppliers.” The highest paid director earned £640,000 compared to £400,000 the year before. The company has a new £130m debt facility after refinancing £115m of senior secured notes and signing a £25m revolving credit facility.

JD Wetherspoon submits plans for Fraserburgh pub; confirms interest in fourth Isle of Wight pub: JD Wetherspoon has submitted plans to convert the derelict Saltoun Arms in Fraserburgh, north-east Scotland (population: 12,630) into a pub with ten bedrooms. The company wants to convert the second and third floors of the building, which already has planning permission from the council, into ten guest bedrooms. Meanwhile, Wetherspoon has confirmed its interest in opening a new pub in a former Isle of Wight police station, the former Cowes Police Station. The company is to open its third Isle of Wight site in the former Temptations on St James’ Street, Newport shortly. The company already operates Fowlers in Ryde and The William Coppin in Newport.

Wagamama set to open fourth Massachusetts restaurant: Wagamama will open its fourth site in Massachusetts on Wednesday, 30 October. Along with Japanese style noodle dishes and other cuisine, the restaurant will also include a fresh squeezed juice bar. It will be located at 1800 Market Street, Lynnfield, close to a Panera Bread location. Wagamama in Lynnfield will have 130 indoor seats and 28 outdoor patio seats in a 3,400 square feet space with 55 employees. This will be the fourth Massachusetts location for Wagamama, which has restaurants in 17 countries around the world. 

Costa plans bespoke £1m site at London Heathrow Terminal Two: Costa Coffee will open a £1m outlet at London Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2 in June 2014 with a bespoke design and unique features. The 3,000 sq ft store will have a dedicated iPad station for customers’ use. The counter and service points form a central focal point and have been designed to maximise efficiency and speed of service, the company said. Said Costa head of UK acquisitions and estates James Hamilton: “Airport customers are looking for convenience, great coffee and food and quick service. By working closely with the Heathrow team we believe that the new store layout will clearly reflect our travelling customers’ needs whilst creating a sleek, modern feel.”

Campaigners look to run Mitchells & Butlers pub as a co-operative: Campaigners are planning to run Mitchells & Butlers’ Bohemia site in North Finchley as a co-operative – it was occupied by squatters after previous tenant Gregagrious, who acquired the site out of the administration of Antic Limited, failed to agree terms on a new lease at the site. The campaigners have succeeded in including the pub on Barnet Council’s register of assets of community value. A petition, launched by campaign group Bring Back The Bohemia, has attracted nearly 1,000 signatures. Alon Or-bach, who launched the petition, said he hoped the development would help protect the pub’s long-term future. He said: “For us it was about having a safety net for the long-term. It is recognition of what The Bohemia was doing for the community. It was a long-term measure that should there be a sale, we have got time to see what options there are.”

Second Jamie’s Italian opens in Dubai: Jumeirah Group’s Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai is set to launch a franchised Jamie’s Italian, the second Jamie’s in Dubai. The first Jamie’s Italian opened in Dubai Festival City in 2011. Since then it has opened outlets in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Former Peach Pub Company partner to re-open the Imperial: Former Peach Pub Company partner Alan Turtill, who ran The Old Mill in Berkhamsted in partnership with Peach, is to re-open The Imperial Arms in Chelsea next month in partnership with Kate MacWhirter. Turtill has run The Paramount for the past three years. The pair will invest around £180,000 in the site with backing from private investors. The venue will have a 50-cover dining area offering a menu of international dishes.

YO! Hotel plans first site in the north: YO! Hotel has submitted plans to build a 258-room hotel in the middle of Piccadilly in Manchester – in what could become the first ‘Yotel’ in the north. The company operates ‘Yotels’ in New York and at Heathrow, Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports. It wants to operate a 20-storey version complete with ground floor bar and lobby. If the plans are approved the Manchester Yotel will be built between 12-16 Piccadilly, and will be one of the first buildings people see when they enter the city from Piccadilly Station. 

Giggling Squid plans February 2014 opening in Horsham: Giggling Squid plans to open in Horsham, its ninth site, in February 2014, after securing the former Giraffe site in East Street. Co-founder Andy Laurillard told West Sussex Today: “We love Horsham, we have good friends in Horsham and go out for a bite in the evenings. We always thought there was a gap in the market in the town and we’ve been looking for a site for the last two or three years.” He added that Horsham was a great place to be and the recent changes in East Street had made it one of the most attractive eating venues in the Weald, rivalling Brighton as a destination for food lovers.

Mitchells & Butlers to open new-build Harvester next month: Mitchells & Butlers will open a new-build Harvester Salad & Grill in Ipswich next month, creating over 40 jobs at the site in Nacton. The new Ravenswood Ipswich Harvester is due to officially open on Tuesday, November 19. Daniel Farnell, Ravenswood Harvester’s manager, said: “We are delighted to have secured such a fantastic site for our new-look Harvester Salad & Grill near Ravenswood Park in Nacton. The village has great potential and we’re confident that Harvester’s unique offering will prove very popular here.”

Ping Pong signs franchise agreement to build eight restaurants in the Middle East: Dim sum brand Ping Pong has signed a franchise agreement under which Al Khayyat Investments (AKI) will open eight franchised restaurants in the United Arab Emirites region over the next eight years. Ping Pong’s existing franchised site in the Dubai Mall, which opened a few years ago, has been transferred to AKI. Gordon Drakes, of Field Fisher Waterhouse, which advised Ping Pong, said: “This deal demonstrates Ping Pong’s growing international reputation.” Ping Pong’s interim chief executive Art Sagiryan said: “We are thrilled to have secured this partnership in the UAE and are incredibly grateful to Field Fisher Waterhouse for its assistance.”

Simon French – we think Whitbread is too optimistic about Premier Inn growth prospects: Panmure Gordon analyst Simon French has issued a ‘Sell’ note on Whitbread shares, with a price target of 2644p, ahead of tomorrow’s interim results. He said: “We believe consensus is too optimistic on RevPar growth at Premier Inn given the increasingly strong performance from Travelodge and Accor (Ibis). We also think management is too optimistic on the long-term growth potential for Premier Inn. The group will present its updated growth plans for Costa Coffee at the December investor day but we think the group is approaching saturation in the UK whilst the international business is being deprived of the investment needed to capitalise on the growth opportunity. We forecast circa 9% growth to £211m PBT (89.9p EPS) assuming 12% revenue growth and a diluted operating margin reflecting a higher proportion of Costa profits and lower WHR margins due to a higher proportion of leasehold openings. The current share price can only be justified by putting Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants on the same multiple as InterContinental Hotels and Costa on the same multiple as Starbucks. We think both constituent parts should trade at a discount to these peers and therefore reiterate our ‘Sell’ recommendation and 2644p Target Price implying circa 19% potential downside.”

Simon French reiterates ‘Buy’ recommendation on Spirit shares: Panmure Gordon leisure analyst Simon French has reiterated a ‘Buy’ recommendation on Spirit shares, with a Price Target of 110p, ahead of tomorrow’s full year results. He said: “Consensus forecasts are for £55m profit before tax (6.4p EPS). The current trading update should show further progress in both managed and leased pubs and we forecast 1.0% like-for-like sales growth in managed pubs and 0.5% like-for-like net income growth in leased pubs. The stock is the least expensive amongst the pub and restaurant companies trading on a CY 2014E adjusted EV/EBITDAR of 7.5x and yielding 3.4%. We reiterate our ‘Buy’ recommendation and 110p Target Price implying circa 53% potential upside.”

Loungers plans to open 15 sites in 2014: Loungers, the cafe bar concept headed by Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, is planning 15 openings in 2014. The company is understood to have secured sites in Glossop, Torquay, Shirley in Birmingham, Letchworth and two sites in Brighton already. The company opened its 39th site, Otto Lounge, in Heswall last week after a £425,000 investment into a unit created from the redevelopment of a former Kwik Save. Otto Lounge is 4,800 sq ft and comprises of 130 covers and is the group’s second site in the Wirral following the opening of Marino Lounge in New Brighton in December last year. A site, Milo Lounge, opened in the Liverpool suburb of Aigburth in September after a £400,000 refurbishment of a former restaurant premises. Reilley said: “We’re delighted to have opened two more sites in the north west, where we now have a total of five sites with another two to follow in the next three months. Milo is on the ever-popular Lark Lane in Liverpool, which is a quirky, bohemian street where we feel we complement the existing offer, which is largely independent, extremely well. Otto is centrally located in Heswall, which is a lovely town with a fairly affluent catchment. In many ways the two locations are very different, which very much demonstrates how scalable the Lounge concept is.” Loungers is due to open Haro Lounge in Formby in November and Truro Lounge in Truro by the end of the year.

High profile Northern Ireland nightclub goes on the market: Well-known Northern Ireland nightclub The Coach in Banbridge, Co Down, is on sale for the first time in over a decade. The venue, which includes a successful restaurant, has been put on the market by owners the Quinn family with a guide price of £975,000 – along with their other businesses – Harry’s Bar at £475,000.

Nightclub chain’s plans for third site fall through: Plans for a nightclub chain to open its third East Lancashire venue have fallen through. Leon Kelly, owner of the Level One clubs in Accrington and Burnley, had hoped to take over Madison’s Wine Bar in Rawtenstall. But the entrepreneur said talks with Punch Taverns, which owns the Burnley Road nightspot, have now broken down. Kelly said the setback was ‘just one of those things’ and that he hoped to open a third club soon, with Darwen one of his potential targets. 

Premium Bars and Restaurants transfer management of eight nightclubs to LT Pub Management: Premium Bars and Restaurants (PBR) has transferred the management of eight late-night venues to LT Pub Management, the specialist out-sourced management company led by Billy Buchanan. The venues have been operated by Eclectic Bars, for the past 14 months. PBR non-executive director Gavin Gracie said: “Eclectic Bars has done a first-rate job running these sites for the past year or so. The transfer to LT Pub Management will allow Eclectic to focus on rolling out its core brands. We chose LT Pub Management to take over the management because of the company’s extensive experience in the nightclub sector.” LT Pub Management chief executive Billy Buchanan said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by PBR to manage these eight sites and look forward to building the performance, in partnership with the staff during the remainder of the sale process.” The management change follows the sale by PBR of the 13-strong Living Room brand in August to Stonegate Pub Company. Previously, Propel reported that LT Pub Management, the industry’s leading provider of out-sourced management and back office administration for pubs, hotels, restaurants and nightclubs, is in talks over a number of new contracts that are expected to lead to a substantial increase in the portfolio of assets it runs. The company operates more than 1,000 properties for third party owners and others, has invested in strengthening its management structure as it gears up to take on the additional work for companies looking for bespoke solutions for managing assets or reducing costs. Buchanan told Propel: “The business continues to do particularly well. We’ve invested considerable amounts this year in positioning the company for expansion, with additional staff and systems strengthening. We expect the current financial year will provide a substantial boost in turnover and profits as we take on new business.” 

Anglian Country Inns reports turnover and profit boost: Four-strong gastro-pub and restaurant operator Anglian Country Inns, led by James Nye, has reported a boost to turnover and profit in the year to 31 March. Turnover rose by 22% to £6,035,638 driven by a “strong first full-year performance” at its Hermitage Road site in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Pre-tax profit rose to £244,575 from £91,841 the year before – Ebitda for the most recent year was around £650,000. Dividends of £112,500 were paid compared to £130,900 the year before. Executive chef Harry Kodagoda joined the board in February this year. The company stated: “Operating margins have been maintained at the same levels as 2012 despite the continuing economic pressures perhaps reflecting that the group’s target market is more resilient to the difficult economic times.” Its accounts show that its flagship White Horse in Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk was valued at £3m by Colliers International in March 2011. Earlier this month, The White Horse was awarded a Cesar by the Good Hotel Guide – these are given to its choice of the ten best hotels of the year countrywide.

AMT Coffee reports 5.3% rise in like-for-like in 2012: Transport hub coffee provider AMT Coffee, owned by the McCallum-Toppin family, has reported sales of £22,898,344 in the year to 24 December 2012 (2011: £22,952,397). A rise of just over £1m in distribution costs saw pre-tax profit drop to £757,120 compared to £1,377,962 the year before. Consolidated underlying Ebitda was £2,191,889 compared to £2,773,406 with like-for-like sales, excluding closed sites, up 5.3%. During the period, the company recognised a profit-and-loss account charge of £225,000 relating to under-declared VAT. The company said underlying profit before tax was £982,120 compared to £1,377,962 the year prior. Of the company’s turnover, £20,948,114 comes from the UK while £1,950,230 comes from branches in Belgium and Ireland - overseas income was down by £1.1m in the most recent year whilst UK income rose by £1.05m.

Hospitality wages outstrip inflation: Research by the ALMR shows that wage growth in the hospitality sector has outstripped inflation in each of the last three months on record. After a difficult start to the year when the sector was hampered by a poor weather and economic uncertainty, wages in the sector rose by more than the CPI rate of inflation in June, July and August, underlining the contribution made by the industry to economic recovery and the job-creating potential of the sector. Kate Nicholls, ALMR strategic affairs director, said: “These figures demonstrate that even in continuing difficult economic circumstances, retailers are managing to ensure that staff are rewarded. It confirms the finding from our 2013 Benchmarking Report, which showed that payroll now accounts for 25.4% of revenue, an increase on 2012.” Data from the ALMR’s October 2013 survey of wages reinforces the findings, with fewer workers being paid the bare minimum. The survey shows that the proportion of staff whose wages increased as a direct result of the October 2013 uprating of the National Minimum Wage declined to pre-recession levels, having peaked at 79% last year. Nicholls added: “These findings show clearly that when the market allows it, hospitality businesses focus on rewarding their staff.”