Enterprise cuts business failures among its publicans by 21%; Tuppen reports “lot of opportunities” to be considered post retirement: Enterprise Inns has cut business failures among its publicans by 21%, from 734 in 2012 to 579 in 2013, the company told analysts yesterday. Simon Townsend, Enterprise’s chief operating officer, said: “The biggest cost and most damaging aspect to our P&Ls over the past few years has been associated with abandonments, bankruptcies and breaching terminations. Unfortunately, often other suppliers, most notably utility suppliers and HMRC, suddenly take definitive action to secure moneys owed to them, and we have a costly disaster on our hands. We spend much thought, time and money [on] those businesses where we perceive a risk of business failure, addressing such matters as statutory compliance, property condition, continuity of utilities supply, and installing financial controls, to the extent that we are more proactively able to manage the outcome. This year we have seen a 21% reduction in the number of all types of business failure, and we’ve been able to reduce the P&L impact of failure as a consequence.” Enterprise reported that the average cost of an individual pub failure to the company had reduced to £14,000 this year from £18,000 last year. The company indicated that a 15% per annum change of licensee was a healthy level, given retirements and assignments. Meanwhile, Enterprise Inns’ chief executive, Ted Tuppen, has reported that the succession of Townsend to chief executive next year has been carefully planned. He said: “Succession is a very important issue if you’re a founder – you think about it carefully, long and hard because succession needs careful planning. I didn’t want to leave the business until it’s in a strong position. Simon has been with the business since 1999, and we’ve built the strategies for the business together. We’ve spent the last couple of years in anticipation of the change. We have three managing directors, who, over the last 18 months, have grown into sector chief operating officers.” Asked about his plans after retirement, Tuppen said: “I’m looking at taking a break, although there are a few projects I’m working on.” Tuppen also indicated that there are “lots of opportunities” that he was considering.

Handful of places left at Multi-Site Masterclass: A handful of places remain for the Propel Multi-Site Management Masterclass, launched last Thursday in partnership with Professor Christian Edger. The one-day masterclass, to be held on Thursday 9 January, will provide insights on the skills required for effective multi-site management. Professor Edger’s seminar, which will include input from industry leaders, looks at how the UK’s most admired companies operate multi-site units effectively and what winners do and losers don’t. The seminar also examines the essential practices of effective multi-site managers and how successful multi-site companies accelerate the development of multi-site managers. Propel managing director Paul Charity said: “The content of this day-long event is absolutely first class – and will shape company strategies for years to come.” Tickets are £295 for ALMR members and £345 for non-ALMR members. To book or find out more, e-mail jo.charity@propelinfo.com. The event will be held at Tanner & Co, 50 Bermondsey Street, London SE1.

New Casual Dining reports 1,000 pre-registrations: Casual Dining, the new trade event from lunch! organiser Diversified Communications UK, has secured nearly 1,000 pre-registrations in just a few weeks. It launches next year at the Business Design Centre, Islington, in London, on 26 and 27 February. Brian Whiting, owner of the gastro-pub group Whiting and Hammond, said: “I think Casual Dining has found a necessary niche in the market. I very much look forward to becoming a regular visitor to the show.”

Fairfax buys majority stake in Canadian steakhouse chain: Fairfax Financial Holdings, the firm that earlier this month led a $1 billion investment in the ailing phone manufacturer BlackBerry, has acquired a majority stake in the high-turnover Canadian-headquartered steakhouse chain Keg Restaurants. Fairfax has bought a 51% stake from Keg’s chief executive, David Aisenstat, who will keep the remaining interest and stay at the helm of the company. Fairfax did not say how much it was paying for the stake, but noted that the steakhouse chain’s 100 sites in Canada and the US produce roughly $500 million in annual sales.

Burger King forms JV to enter India market: Burger King has formed a joint venture with Everstone Group to take the fast food chain to India. Everstone, a private equity and property firm in India and South East Asia, signed a long-term master franchise and development deal that includes sub-franchise rights for all of India. Over the next few months, Everstone will work together with BK AsiaPac to set up a supply chain in India and work on a roll-out plan to establish Burger King restaurants across the country. The parties did not reveal how many locations they intend to open. Elias Diaz Sese, president of BK AsiaPac, said: “India is a market with huge potential for Burger King restaurants and we have the chance to offer the unique Burger King brand proposition to its consumers with our own local twist to the menu.” McDonald’s entered the Indian market in 1996 and has about 240 locations.

City Pub Company launches £10m fund-raising: City Pub Company, led by Clive Watson and chaired by David Bruce, has launched its fourth round of fund-raising, seeking to raise £5m each for its subsidiary companies, City Pub Company West and City Pub Company East. Shares will cost 120p on or before 10 January and 125p afterwards. Bruce told shareholders that a trade sale or a flotation on AIM were the planned exit strategies. He said: “The companies have been trading since the first half of 2012 and are seeking new funds to expand their pub portfolios. The directors of the companies have invested approximately £1.48m so far. Clive and I founded the Capital Pub Company in December 2000, which achieved for its original EIS shareholders a total return of £2.43 per £1 invested (excluding tax relief). This represented for those original EIS investors a threefold return on their net-of-tax investment, equivalent to a net IRR of approximately 12%.” The minimum investment in the new offer is £12,000.

Hard Rock Cafe open site in Glasgow: Hard Rock Cafe has opened in Glasgow, the 139th site around the world and the second in Scotland. The venue occupies the former Athenaeum Theatre on Buchanan Street. In the first 24 hours of a recruitment drive to find 80 “passionate, rock ’n’ roll characters”, more than 4,000 people applied. The application process closed when 5,560 would-be staff members applied to the chain.

Jimmy’s World Kitchen set to open tenth site, four more planned: Jimmy’s World Kitchen is set to open its tenth site, in its tenth anniversary year, at the Wembley Designer Outlet in North London on Thursday 28 November. The brand features more than 100 dishes from around the world spanning Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese Italian and Mexican cuisines. The 550-seater Wembley restaurant is the latest site to open alongside the group’s existing restaurants in the O2 in London, Peterborough, Bath, Staines, Luton, Derby, Epsom, Watford and Wimbledon. Four more restaurants are due to open in Brighton, Coventry, Newcastle and Stevenage over the coming months.

Koh Thai Tapas wins Bath award: Koh Thai Tapas has won Best Tapas Restaurant at the Bath Good Food Awards 2013. Andrew Lennox, chief executive of the restaurant group, said: “After only being in Bath for just over six months this is a fantastic achievement for our team. We are incredibly proud to know that Bathonians feel the same about us as we do about them – KTT and Bath seem a perfect fit.” 

Sale and leaseback of top Soho pub completed: Comptons, one of the best known pubs in Soho, central London, has been sold by Coffer Corporate Leisure on behalf of Kicking Horse Limited and its operating partner Faucet Inns. CBRE Global Investors, represented by IMPRO, paid an undisclosed sum for the freehold. Faucet Inn will continue to operate on a new 25-year lease at the pub, which is on Old Compton Street. Faucet operates 19 other sites across London and four in the south east of England, including the Warrington in Maida Vale, the Sir Richard Steele in Belsize Park and the Old Shades on Whitehall. Comptons currently has an internal area of 4,771 sq ft. As part of the transaction the tenant will develop the two upper floors of the building, renovating the second floor and restoring the third floor, which was damaged in the Second World War. Once completed these works will add 1,200 sq ft of new space and create three luxury flats. Steve Cox, chief executive of Faucet Inn, said “We are pleased to have been involved in the sale of the freehold to a long-term investor, and excited about our future operating this iconic venue for at least a further 25 years.” Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure, who acted on behalf of the vendor, said: “Comptons is an iconic venue in the very heart of Soho. It enjoys extremely strong trading, which, coupled with its location on one of the capital’s busiest thoroughfares and Faucet Inn’s covenant, makes it a sound investment.”

Alternative Croydon nightclub shuts its doors: The alternative Croydon nightclub Black Sheep Bar has closed. The club, on the High Street in Croydon, South London, was known for its alternative club nights and live music for older teenagers and 20-somethings. Paul Bossick had managed the club with his father Howard since 1997. In recent years the club had survived the tough financial climate which had seen a number of other town centre venues close. It won the best late night venue title at Croydon council’s Best Bar None awards in 2010. In March 2012, the Bossicks opened a second nightclub, Bad Apple, aimed at an older clientele.

Premium Bars Newcastle site closes: A nightclub that once stopped a Newcastle United owner from entering because he was wearing one of the team’s football shirts has closed its doors for the final time. Bambu, in the Bigg Market, Newcastle upon Tyne, has announced it is to cease trading with immediate effect. The club, owned by Premium Bars & Restaurants, has been part of the city’s nightlife since September 2002, when the former Binns store site was transformed into a 1,300-capacity club. A message on the website read: “This is a very sad day for us all. Today Bambu ceased trading from immediate affect [sic]. This was through no fault of its own but company problems out of our hands.”

Titchwell Manor hires Hoste Arms veteran: The Titchwell Manor Hotel in North Norfolk has hired Andrew McPherson as its new general manager. McPherson, previously director of the Hoste Arms in Burnham Market, Norfolk, replaces the award-winning hotel’s long standing general manager, Mark Dobby, who was at the hotel for ten years. McPherson started his career as a chef in Australia, and spent more than 20 years at the Hoste as head chef and then general manager. He said: “I’m thrilled to join the team at Titchwell Manor. Having spent over 20 happy years at The Hoste, I felt it was time to explore new pastures and take up a new challenge.”

150 Punch licensees sign up for Whisky Club: Punch Taverns has seen a 40% increase in partners signing up to its Whisky Club. Now in its second year, the Whisky Club offers two malt whiskies every three weeks from October to January. Registered partners received a point-of-sale kit to help promote their “Malts of the Month”, including a back bar display and whisky menu. In addition, they will also receive branded point-of-sale material for specific brands, such as glassware. Robin Chapman, Punch Taverns’ marketing manager said: “We introduced the Whisky Club last year and received really positive feedback from partners, who found that it helped them sell more malt whiskies. Like our Finest Cask scheme, we can offer access to whiskies not always available on our range. This enables our partners to offer their customers a more varied selection of quality whiskies each month, with support materials to help maximise sales on what is traditionally an additional purchase. We are really pleased with the amount of sign-ups this year, with more than 150 Partners partaking in the scheme.” 

Nine-bar ‘super venue’ to open in Strabane: Businessman Patrick Scullion will open a £1.5m “super-venue” in Strabane, Tyrone, Northern Ireland on Saturday 30 November. The venue, formerly known as Katy Daly’s, will re-open as Rubys Bar and Nightclub with the creation of up to 60 new full-time and part-time jobs. Rubys Nightclub will be on two floors, with a different music offering on each level, nine separate bars and an extensive beer garden. The Parisian-themed Rubys Bar will open seven days a week from Saturday December 14 and will be a live music venue that can accommodate up to 500 people for concerts and shows, or a function area that can cater for approximately 100 people for food and beverages.

Arran Brewery steps in to keep pub open: Arran Brewery has temporarily taken charge of the Pierhead Tavern in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, while owner Punch Taverns finds a new tenant. The brewer, which is based five miles away in Brodick, has stepped in to open the pub after it had lain empty for several weeks. It plans to stock the bar with its own range of beer and whisky, including Hofbrau lager from Germany, which it distributes in Scotland. A limited food offer will also be provided. Gerald Michaluk, managing director of Arran Brewery, said: “With so many community pubs closing and being lost forever, we decided to step in, somewhat reluctantly I might add because we are in the process of opening two bars on the mainland as well as a 30-plus bedroom hotel and building two new breweries and a distillery. However, after seeing first-hand the impact that a pub closure had on the tourist business in Whiting Bay we were determined not to see this happen in Lamlash, so as no one else has come forward we had to step in and ensure we keep this one open.” A spokeswoman for Punch Taverns said: “We are delighted to be working with Arran Brewery and protecting local jobs.”

Cains Brewery Village gets go-ahead: Construction of a new tourism, leisure and retail attraction in Liverpool will start within a year after councillors approved plans for the £150m development of Cains Brewery Village. The first phase of the new one million sq ft development, which will secure the Cain’s beer brand and Cain’s Grade II listed brewery, is expected to be complete by summer 2016. Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson described the project as an exciting and transformational development which would breathe new life into the city’s Baltic Quarter. The city’s planning committee approved the scheme and granted listed building consent at a meeting yesterday (19 November). Cains’ owners, the Dusanj brothers, are now seeking development partners and operators for the hotel and independent cinema elements of the scheme, as well as an upmarket quality supermarket operator for the food retail element. The scheme will secure and create in the region of 800 full-time jobs and is expected to attract 2.5 million visits a year.

Benito’s Hat to open fifth site in London: Benito’s Hat, the burrito concept founded by former City tax lawyer Ben Fordham, will open its fifth site in St John Street, Farringdon, North London on Monday, 25 November. Anyone sporting a moustache will be given a free burrito between 12pm and 3pm. Other Benito’s Hat sites are located at Goodge Street, Covent Garden, Oxford Street and Kings Cross in London.

TCG reports 30% sales boost from cask ale campaign: The managed pub and bar group TCG is extending its cask ale loyalty scheme into 2014 after seeing strong sales growth during its latest Proud of Our Ale festival. Sales of cask ale grew by 30% across the six weeks of the campaign, which was launched at the start of Cask Ale Week in October, with many of the 45 pubs taking part seeing even higher rates of increase. Spurred by the success of Proud of Our Ale, TCG is launching a Christmas beer festival, the Twelve Ales of Christmas, and extending its cask loyalty scheme and discount for Camra members into the new year. Nigel Wright, chief operating officer at TCG, said: “Proud of Our Ale is now in its third year and it’s a tribute to everyone involved that we continue to drive high levels of growth. Our regular celebrations of Britain’s national drink are helping to build our pubs’ reputation as the best place for cask in their area, not just during the festivals, but right through the year. Many of our pubs have increased the number of permanent handpulls on the bar, as well as building close relationships with nearby microbreweries and their local Camra branch.” A Twelve Ales of Christmas campaign will see TCG’s Proud of Our Ale loyalty scheme extended, allowing customers to claim a free pint for every six they buy. The 20% discount on all cask ales offered to Camra members will also continue.

Couple open second Miaitalia: Husband and wife team David and Katy Waddington are opening their second Miaitalia pizzeria, coffee house and gelateria in Bolton-le-Sands, Lancaster next week. The new outlet, which will occupy the site of the former Hawthorns restaurant, will sell authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, coffee and ice cream. The Waddingtons first launched the brand in 2010 when they opened a coffee bar and retail premises of the same name in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria. David said: “Katy and I have always had a passion for all things Italian – my grandmother Gina is originally from Italy and moved to England after the Second World War. The response to Miaitalia in Kirkby Lonsdale was fantastic and we’re hoping to match our success here, especially now that the business has developed so much, from mobile coffee shops, to retail, to a pizzeria.”

Prezzo wins marketing award: The Italian restaurant group Prezzo won the award for best marketing campaign for its Healthy New Year campaign at the Pizza, Pasta and Italian Good Industry Awards (PAPA) 2013. The campaign centred on Prezzo restaurants offering a range of meals that were 600 calories or less throughout January. These included two “super food” salads, two light pizzas and roasted tomato soup. The marketing campaign was driven by point-of-sale in the restaurants and advertising via the web, email and social media. Prezzo’s marketing director, Christian Poole, said: “It is very rewarding to be recognised by our industry peers for our work. The Healthy New Year campaign was a great success and resulted in great sales for the restaurants and very positive customer feedback.” Prezzo was competing against Domino’s, Ask, Pizza Hut and Divino Enoteca for the award.

Warsteiner sponsors Christmas market: The premium German beer Warsteiner is to sponsor one of Europe’s largest festive gatherings, “Edinburgh’s Christmas”. The deal, which has been secured by Warsteiner’s UK distributor, Thwaites, will also see fellow German lagers Kaltenberg and Konig Ludwig available on draught at the city’s Christmas Market, which will return to the Mound Precinct area and East Princes Street Gardens. Revellers will be able to purchase special festive schooners (two thirds of a pint).

UK marketer takes global Coca-Cola role: Coca-Cola’s vice-president of global advertising strategy and content excellence, Jonathan Mildenhall, has been promoted to a role leading design and integrated marketing in the company’s North American business unit. Mildenhall’s role is similar to that of his previous global position, but it now involves additional marketing responsibility for Coca-Cola’s biggest regional division. Coca-Cola North America generated $5.7bn in revenue in the three months to 27 September, while the company’s next biggest geographic region, the Pacific, posted $1.5bn in the quarter. Coca-Cola poached Mildenhall from its UK creative agency, Mother, where he was head of strategy, to become the drinks company’s vice-president of global marketing in 2006.

Sbarro to launch first fast-casual brand: Sbarro, the US operator of 1,100 restaurants, is to launch its first fast-casual pizza brand, Pizza Cucinova in Columbus, Ohio, The company’s chief executive, David Karam, said: “This is truly a Neapolitan-style pizza. We use imported flour from Italy, which is the finest-milled flour you can buy. All the toppings are freshly prepared, and most of them are locally sourced. We make thin-crust, artisan pizzas that cook in three minutes in very hot ovens. We use non-traditional toppings, such as wild mushrooms, white truffle oil, potatoes and gorgonzola cheese. We have five on-trend salads, as well as a prosciutto board. And we have one dessert item – cheesecake served only on the day it’s made.”

Enterprise Inns to explore managed division: Simon Townsend, the chief executive designate at Enterprise Inns, told analysts yesterday that the company was considering turning pubs towards the upper end of its estate into directly managed operations. Townsend, currently chief operating officer at Enterprise, who was announced yesterday as the company’s next CEO when Ted Tuppen steps down, said in a conference call for analysts that Enterprise bosses “continue to believe that the leased and tenanted model still provides the best alignment of the interests between the entrepreneurial flair, energy and enthusiasm of individual publicans and the experience, support and resources of a national company committed to the long-term ownership of pubs. This remains core for the majority of our pubs.” However, he added: “We need to explore alternative methods of operating, which could require us to take more control of pubs, as we’ve done to a limited extent in the Beacon estate [Enterprise’s ‘intensive care unit’, which sees the company take greater operational control of the retail offer in some 250 to 300 pubs in return for bigger discounts].” Developing a managed division would mean developing “a greater back-office capability than we have traditionally provided through the leased and tenanted model,” Townsend said. The company is looking at “alternative income models, such as franchises, turnover-related rent, or even directly managed operations, particularly at the upper end of our estate.” He warned that “continual campaigning by certain parties is at least raising the possibility of regulatory intervention, and may again make the leased model unattractive to the very best operators, particularly if it’s likely to mean more pubs being operated under commercial leases, where the balance of risk and reward can be so much more onerous for the individual publican.” By taking greater control of its pubs, Townsend said, “we are managing levels of business risk, where we know that greater levels of intervention give us greater control, and as a result we’re more likely to be able to utilise our purchasing leverage to reduce some of the more significant pub operating costs, which is utilities.” Townsend’s remarks come as at least one well-known restaurant brand has been in talks with the company over how its offer could be rolled out by Enterprise. Meanwhile, the company was already making big savings for its publicans through the Sports TV packages launched with Sky in May, which “have proved extremely valuable, saving on average around £3,000 a year for each pub, both existing subscribers and new subscribers,” Townsend said, with 495 new pubs signed up to the service, while Enterprise now has a “market-leading” deal with BT Vision, “adding further variety and content options to our publicans”. He also revealed that more than 1,500 publicans had signed up to Enterprise’s free Wi-Fi offer, worth £500: “Easily accessible, high quality and completely free Wi-Fi is fast becoming an expectation among consumers, and our free Wi-Fi service, provided by Arqiva, is proving extremely popular.” Townsend said Enterprise also offered the biggest selection of drinks products available in the UK, with beers from 489 brewers and more than 1,400 cask ales, “all of which can be ordered via one phonecall and delivered on one vehicle. And in the year ahead we will launch our new digital platform, which will enable on-line ordering, payment transactions and communications.” The company is currently receiving 70 enquiries a week from would-be licensees, up from 55 last year. Yesterday, Propel reported that Sapient Corporate Finance founder Peter Hansen told the recent Propel Multi Club Conference that he expected much more use of hybrid managed models among the top end of the larger tenanted pub estates.