Mitchells & Butlers loses four senior executives – two to join Tesco: Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has been hit by four unexpected senior resignations with two of the four set to join the burgeoning foodservice division at Tesco. Tom Crowley, who was retail director for the company’s Premium Country Dining Group, is leaving to join Giraffe, which is owned by Tesco. James Pavey, who is director of operational services, is leaving to join Tesco’s unbranded restaurant division. Yesterday, Propel reported that Adam Fowle, former M&B chief executive and now chief executive of Tesco’s Family Dining Group, believes there are 750 Tesco sites that will eventually accommodate a foodservice offer. Pavey worked for Fowle earlier in his career at Sainsbury’s. Meanwhile, Miller & Carter retail director Adrian Frid is leaving to take up a position at Caffe Nero and Tony Palmer, head of acquisitions at M&B, is also leaving the company. One source said: “Once, people tended to stay with M&B for their entire careers – now there are high quality alternative career options available.” Robin Young, operations director at M&B, said: “Over the years, we have developed a group of very talented and ambitious directors, many of whom are keen to progress to the next stage of their career as quickly as possible. With a finite number of more senior director roles available, we do appreciate their reasons for pursuing external opportunities, we wish them every success and we sincerely hope they will rejoin us at some point in the future. We have a strong pool of internal talent which means we have a good succession plan in place.” Martin Nelson will move from his role as retail director for Crown Carveries to retail director for Premium Country Pubs. Sue Walsh will be moving from her role as a retail director for Vintage Inns to retail director for Miller & Carter. Sarah Reid, currently an area manager with Castle, has been promoted to the role of retail director for Vintage Inns and will succeed Sue Walsh. Sam Wignell will be moving from his role as a retail director for Harvester to take on the role as director of operational services to succeed James Pavey.

The first Propel Multi Club Conference of 2014 open to bookings: The first Propel Multi Club Conference of 2014, to be held on Thursday 13 March at the Lancaster London Hotel, Lancaster Gate, central London, is now open for bookings. Multi-site pub, restaurant and foodservice companies can claim up to two free places each. E-mail jo.charity@propelinfo.com to reserve places.

Two more Belfast pubs close after licences expire: Two more pubs in Belfast have had to close because their drinks licences have expired. According to the organisation Pubs of Ulster they are the Great Eastern and Cock and Hen bars in the east of the city. On Friday, Mitchells & Butlers’ historic Crown Bar in the city centre did not open after its licence expired in what was described as an administrative oversight. It hopes to have the issue resolved by next Friday. All three premises have different owners. Colin Neill of Pubs of Ulster said: “We’ve seen three so far and I suppose I do expect more. We’ll be putting out an appeal to all licensees to double check [their licences]. It could possibly be a sign of the recession, where more publicans have been hands on in the last few years. Putting in 80 hours a week behind a bar and maybe paper work slips, and maybe here we’re seeing the results.”

US restaurant like-for-likes fell 2% in December: US restaurant sales fell 2% on a like-for-like basis because of severe winter storms and a shortened shopping season due to a late Thanksgiving. The December results for the Restaurant Industry Snapshot, published by Black Box Intelligence and People Report, released this week, show December pushed fourth-quarter same-store sales performance into negative territory. Victor Fernandez, executive director of insights and knowledge for TDn2K, parent company of Black Box Intelligence and People Report, said: “On an aggregate level, 2013 was not a good year for the industry, which posted slightly negative same-store sales, but more importantly suffered through its third consecutive year of deteriorating same-store traffic growth.”

Sales of ‘restaurant and pub’ cheese soars after Jamie Oliver plug: Sales of the East Midlands cheese Colwick have soared after a plug by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Oliver and his farmer sidekick Jimmy Doherty made it their mission to revive the almost-forgotten cheese on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, which aired last Friday. The cheese, which is light and curdy, dates back to the 1600s. It went out of production in 1993 before making its comeback at the Melton Mowbray Artisan Cheese Fair in May. It is made in the Belvoir Ridge dairy at Crossroads Farm in Eastwell, Leicestershire, owned by Alan and Jane Hewson. They use the milk from Red Poll cows at their farm to make the cheese. “We are in a state of shock,” Jane said. “We had to make some more on Sunday for the first time because they are running out. We’ve had 30,000 hits on our website since the show with people from all over the world – it’s been crazy.” Jamie described Colwick as a “great cheese” on the show. He says: “This is not a cheese for a supermarket, this is a cheese for butcher’s shops, delis, restaurants and pubs. I’m excited to communicate this story, this is just a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

Professor Chris Edger and Andrew Emmerson team up for book on franchising: The UK’s leading academic authority on multi-site management, Professor Chris Edger, who was formerly director of human resources at Mitchells & Butlers and now teaches at Birmingham City University, is to join the former director of business development at Domino’s, Andrew Emmerson, to write a book on foodservice franchising. The book, expected to be published next year, will be Professor Edger’s fourth book on multi-site management in four years. Professor Edger led last week’s Propel Multi Site Management Masterclass.

McDonald’s US franchisees provide negative feedback: McDonald’s owner-operators surveyed for the most recent Janney Capital Markets’ McDonald’s Franchisee Survey have given the most pessimistic outlook for the company’s domestic sales in the history of the quarterly study. Many of the 30 franchisees surveyed warned on harsh winter weather and expressed frustration with initiatives like the Dollar Menu. “At some point, [McDonald’s] is going to have to wrap their heads around the fact that we cannot be all things to all consumers,” one franchisee said anonymously. “In fact, I’m not sure what McDonald’s is supposed to be anymore. We must simplify our operations if we expect to retain our credibility in terms of convenience and thus value.” Another stated: “Our business is far too difficult to manage, especially for folks who are new to the system. This has significantly affected service times, employee morale and retention.”

Italian restaurant group plans 20 new outlets in 18 months: The entrepreneurs behind the Tony Macaroni restaurant and Nardini’s ice-cream cafe chains in Scotland are planning to open 20 new outlets by 2015. Six Tony Macaroni restaurants have already been lined up, two in Edinburgh and one each in Braehead, Cumbernauld, St Andrews and Lanark. The expansion will create a total of 300 new jobs. Sep Marini, managing director of Tony Macaroni and the Marini brand of fish and chip shops, and joint owner of Nardini’s with business partner David Equi, said: “Over the years we’ve established ourselves as Scotland’s leading independently owned Italian restaurant and ice-cream brand people have grown to love and trust. The next 18 months will be an exciting time for the company as we create an even greater choice of venues in new and existing areas, as well as creating a significant number of new jobs.” Last year Tony Macaroni secured a £1.5m finance deal with Bank of Scotland to help with the acquisition and fit-out costs of freehold restaurant premises in Dunfermline and the refurbishment of another new unit in Glasgow city centre. The bank also provided a further £1.5 million re-finance deal to assist with the transfer of the Nardini’s banking facilities. Nardini’s and Tony Macaroni currently have 12 outlets, including Glasgow city centre, Byres Road in Glasgow, Livingston, Largs, Motherwell and Dunfermline.

Patisserie Valerie to roll out sandwich delivery: Patisserie Valerie has launched an online sandwich delivery service in Central London after success with a trial in Leeds city centre. The delivery service menu includes platters of freshly made sandwiches on white, brown or multiseed bread, wraps or ciabatta. Fillings include the classic egg mayonnaise, cheddar and ham, goat’s cheese salad and chicken and hummus ciabatta, alongside Greek, chicken caesar and mozzarella salads. The menu also includes freshly baked pastries, muffins and filled croissants for breakfast events. Delivery is free for all orders over £15. Patisserie Valerie will expand the sandwich delivery service to Reading, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Scotland. Chief executive Paul May said: “We wanted to create the perfect platter our guests could order direct to their office, making their lives easier when they had an event to arrange. So far the feedback is superb and we’re thrilled and excited to bring this to more of our cafes this year.”

Geof Collyer – Greene King has set the pace for quoted pub groups: Deutsche Bank leisure analyst Geof Collyer has argued Greene King has set the pace for fellow quoted pub groups, with 6.3% like-for-like over the key Christmas fortnight. He said: “A very strong festive period boosted the third quarter 2014 performance for all three divisions from the position after the first six weeks of the quarter. This backs up our view of the consumers spending freely over the Christmas/new year period when they were at their most price-insensitive – as discussed in last week’s pub sector preview (Private company performances underpin trading expectations, 9 January). As a result, we expect trading to be flat for the sector until half-term in February. In three of the past four years, March and April have provided significant surprises for Greene King – mainly weather-related – so we can understand management’s reticence on guidance, which remains positive but unchanged. That said, January and March were the only two negative months for industry like-for-likes in 2013, so comps are soft (Greene King Retail was -1.7% in Quarter 4 2013 and the group has an April year-end), so we see potential upside risk to forecasts with the pre-close.”

Professor Green closes West End nightclub after four months: Professor Green has closed his West End nightclub, Ink, after four months but is lining up a new site elsewhere. Ink opened at One Leicester Square in central London in September. The owners have temporarily closed it down so that it can reopen in a brand new venue. The move was announced via the club’s Twitter account: “We’re temporarily closed as we have now left Leicester Square. We’re moving to an exciting new venue. We’ll be announcing our new home as soon as possible.”

Loughborough nightclub acquired out of administration: A bar and nightclub in Loughborough is set to reopen under new management. Vice Versa has been closed for the past week after its previous owner went into administration. An offer to buy the business has now been made to administrator Zolfo Cooper. The potential new owner has not been named and there is no date for when the High Street venue could reopen. Vice Versa has been a popular venue for more than 15 years, and was previously known as Busters. A spokesman for Christie + Co, which is overseeing the sale, said: “We are going through the legal process. We haven’t got a date at the moment, but the aim is to reopen it. Hopefully, we will see some re-investment and re-invigoration there.” Vice Versa had been owned by MKAP Leisure, which went into administration 18 months ago. Vice Versa had continued to trade up until late last month. MKAP also owned nightspots in Peterborough and Essex.

Fifth Rancho steak house opens: The fifth Rancho South American Steak House has opened, a 100-seat site in a former building society building in Fareham, Surrey. Owner Giash Uddin said he was delighted to be open in Fareham after eight months of renovation work, which cost nearly £350,000. He said: “I want to serve the best steaks to the meat lovers in Fareham. We have a saying, ‘If you are hungry, grab the bull by the horns and come to Rancho’s’.”

New chairman for Luminar: The nightclub company Luminar Group has announced that Alex Geffert will be stepping down from his position as chairman on 16 January 2014. The nightclub veteran, who will continue as a non-executive director of the company, was instrumental in working with chief executive Peter Marks to buy the former Luminar Leisure out of administration and save the company from being broken up. In the past two years, he has overseen the turnaround of Luminar and its return to profit, creating a robust platform for the future. Geffert will be replaced as chairman by the former group managing director of Whyte & Mackay and William Grant Distillers, Bob Brannan, who will join the Milton Keynes-based nightclub operator on 16 January. Luminar’s chief executive, Peter Marks, said: “Alex has always been at the forefront of the late-night leisure sector, running some of the most successful nightclub companies in the UK. Alex brought stability and direction to the company and without him Luminar would not be in the position it would be in today, proving that there is still a positive future for well-run and well-invested venues. We are delighted that Alex will continue to play a part in the business as a non-executive director. We are equally thrilled that Bob, who brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the product and service sectors with a proven track record in value transformation, will be joining as chair.”

Malhotra Group to invest £100m in care and leisure sectors: The Malhotra Group has announced plans to invest £100m in the care and leisure sectors over the next five years after securing a multi-million pound bank deal to support ambitious growth plans. The Newcastle upon Tyne–based firm, which owns and runs divisions specialising in care, leisure and commercial property investment and development, has secured a £25m deal using the Funding for Lending Scheme structured by RBS, a facility it is now using to develop areas of the business and fund a major restructuring operation of the group itself. The group, which has a consolidated turnover of around £40m and is involved in more than 100 properties and numerous businesses, has now consolidated all the Malhotra holdings into one formal group, which in due course will obtain PLC status. Developments are also due within the leisure division, which already operates Osborne’s, Scalini’s and the Three Mile Inn. Meenu Malhotra said: “This is a very exciting time for the Malhotra family and all our divisions. Our achievement and growth would not have been possible without the hard work and loyalty of our dedicated staff. We are also very appreciative of the support from RBS, Sintons and Ernst & Young.”

Two Bramwell sites in the Wirral close their doors: Two former Bramwell Pub Company pubs on the Wirral have called last orders after bids to find a buyer failed. The Chronicle, in Bebington, and the Ravenscroft, in Heswall, both closed their doors for the last time last week in the wake of Bramwell Pub Company falling into administration in October last week.

Chelsea pub to re-open after three-year closure: A 300-year-old pub in Chelsea, West London is to reopen two years after it was boarded up and squatters took it over. The Cross Keys in Chelsea, between King’s Road and Cheyne Walk, opened in 1708 and served its last pint in 2012. Andrew Bourne, the pub’s last owner, boarded it up after it lost money despite hiring a Michelin-starred chef. The sale of the freehold had been completed through Colliers International for £3.9m to Parsons Green Land, which plans to “refurbish and reinstate” the pub and turn the upper floors into accommodation. Tom Ainsleigh Jones, director of Parsons Green Land, said: “It will 100% reopen as a pub, we’re keen to return it to the community. We have a number of respected local pub owners who we want to take over the ground and lower floors.”

Las Iguanas lines up second Scottish opening: Las Iguanas will open its first Glasgow outlet next month, doubling it presence in Scotland after a successful launch in Aberdeen’s Union Square. Bristol-based Las Iguanas, which has 33 outlets across the UK, brought a long search for premises in the city to an end by signing a 25-year lease on a property on West Nile Street. The restaurant, which is expected to employ 50 full and part-time staff, is located across from a branch of Carluccio’s. The Las Iguanas site, which is currently being refurbished, will be spread across two retail units formerly occupied by Aspecto and the Sony Centre, with the restaurant offering 180 covers over 5,500 square feet. Katrina McGrath, marketing co-ordinator at Las Iguanas, said the presence of a branch of Carluccio’s across the road had been a factor in the decision to move to the area, with the restaurant’s proximity to the shops on Buchanan Street a further attraction. She said: “We like to be around restaurants we consider to be on the same level. You want healthy competition. And the fact we are so different means that people are not going to be coming for the same evening out. If you go to many of our other competitors we have a totally different offering.”

Pub People Company to convert Doncaster pub to ‘Fresh and Local’ brand: Pub People Company, the 50-strong East Midlands operator led by Kevin Sammons, is to convert the Marr Lodge, on Doncaster’s Barnsley Road, Doncaster to its Fresh and local brand. The move follows success with the brand at the Bull in Lincoln and The Dukeries Lodge in Mansfield. The Marr Lodge transformation will take seven weeks with the pub due to reopen on March 11, creating around 20 part time and full time jobs. As well as Pub People’s 2 Meals for £10, the menu will include a variety of local steaks and grills, a range of vegetarian and gluten-free meals and a daily carvery.

The Lazy Cow Group reports December like-for-likes up 2.4%: The Lazy Cow Group, the operator led by Ross Sanders, has reported a 2.4% increase in like-for-likes in December. Sanders told Propel: “(This) has set us up well for 2014 (with) some new sites on the horizon and some significant investment into our outside trading spaces, particularly at Warwick and Stratford sites. We are also expanding our ‘Shed’ burger concept this year into pop-up and static locations.”

Howard Nye becomes operations director at Anglian Country Inns: Howard Nye has been appointed operations director of Anglian Country Inns Ltd (ACI). The appointment sees Nye, already a director with the business, move from general manager at the Hermitage Road Bar & Restaurant in Hitchin, Hertfordshire to a group-level role. His first priority will be masterminding the company’s new acquisition, Water Lane Bar & Restaurant in Bishops. Nye said: “It is fantastic to be working in the family business whilst being able to progress my career.” Nye studied hotel and restaurant management at Oxford Brookes University, which included a year’s placement at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons under the auspices of Raymond Blanc. After graduating in 2007, he spent four years travelling, holding positions at the five-star Vamizi Island Lodge in Mozambique, and in South Africa. He returned to the UK in May 2011 to help establish Hermitage Road Bar & Restaurant for the family business. James Nye, managing director at ACI: “I’m very excited to have my brother contributing at a group level within the business and look forward to seeing his influence throughout the rest of the ACI sites.”

Michelin-starred pub applies for more bedrooms: Tom and Beth Kerridge have applied to add four more guest bedrooms at The Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, a Greene King leased pub. The business has applied for planning consent to convert an existing small house on the high street into accommodation. The Hand and Flowers currently has four cottage suites close to the pub. The new rooms are expected to open later this year.

Barrow Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre to open next month: A new Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre are due to open in North Road, Barrow in Furness on February 17 after a £5m investment by Whitbread. The company said around 65 jobs had been created, but was unable to confirm how many applications were received. Nicholas Johnston, acquisitions manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “We are excited to be opening our new Premier Inn in Barrow. The new 62-bedroom hotel alongside the new Brewers Fayre restaurant will create 65 new jobs for the local area. The new hotel will also draw new business and leisure travellers to the area, giving the local economy a healthy boost.”

Plain Ales brewery bought out of administration: Plain Ales, the Wiltshire-based microbrewer that collapsed with debts of more than £200,000, has been bought out of administration in a deal that ensures control of the business remains with the same family. Bow House Brewery, based in Warminster, which traded as Plain Ales, and brewed beers such as Innspiration, Inntrigue, Inncognito and Inndulgence, entered administration on January 3 2014, when Peter Hall of the eponymous Hampshire-based insolvency practice was appointed administrator. James Timoney is the sole director. Hall has now sent a report to creditors of the company saying that the draft accounts showed the business made a net profit of £35,500 for the year ending 31 December 2012 and £25,000 in the previous year. However, the report says, the profits were insufficient to meet losses that had been brought forward and dividends drawn in excess of available profits, resulting in a trading deficit of £35,800. The report shows Bow House is £115,000 in arrears with HM Revenue & Customs. Trade creditors, meanwhile, are claiming £37,000, while the company has a loan due to HSBC of £23,000 and a further loan with Lloyds of £43,000. “In addition, there is a director’s loan account due from the company’s sole director, James Timoney, of £64,900 as shown in the draft accounts. The director has advised that this has since increased and estimates that the amount now due is likely to be in the region of £133,000,” the report says. “The director has advised that he is not in a position to repay the amount due to the company.” Bow House Brewery Ltd, including all its plant, vehicles, contracts and stock, has now been sold to a newly incorporated company, Plain Ales Brewery Ltd, for £26,000. Plain Ales Brewery is wholly owned by James Timoney’s mother-in-law, Maureen Stokes, while his brother Robert is the sole director of the new company.

Columbo Group buys two more London sites: The London-based bar and restaurant group Columbo Group has bought two of East London’s more renowned venues, the Cat and Mutton on Broadway Market and Bar Music Hall on Curtain Road. These latest acquisitions bring the business’s portfolio of restaurants, bars, clubs and live music venues in the capital to eight. The Columbo Group, founded in 2006, operates neighbourhood venues including Paradise By Way of Kensal as well as hip venues such as The Nest in Dalston. The group, which has an annual turnover of £18m, and employs around 300, purchased the lease for the Cat and Mutton for £430,000 and for Bar Music Hall for £1m.

Giggling Squid in talks on six more sites: Giggling Squid, the fast-growing restaurant chain which introduced the “Thai tapas” concept to Britain, is in advanced negotiations on six more sites. The company already plans to open in Marlow, Buckinghamshire next month, with openings in Horsham and Maidstone to follow. It wants to become the first national Thai chain in the UK, with a portfolio of 80 properties inside seven years. Giggling Squid already operates successful venues in Brighton, Hove, Crawley, Tunbridge Wells, Henley-on-Thames, Reigate and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Manchester bar owners plan two new venues this year: Manchester bar owners Karina and James Hitchen, who operate the New York City-inspired Neighbourhood and the Texan-inspired Southern Eleven in Spinningfields, are planning three more openings this year. They plan a “secret speakeasy” bar to open in Spinningfields in March, as well as a new American Brasserie at a new location in Manchester set to open in September. They are also expanding Southern Eleven into the Brooks Brothers unit that it backs onto on The Avenue, due to be ready by the end of March. The couple are also investing in a development kitchen and hiring a new executive chef to work on the new menus and concepts, as well as a central point for smoking meat. Karina Hitchen said: “We like to do individual concepts to keep them interesting and innovative for our customers so we don’t want to keep repeating the same ideas. There are so many exciting concepts and ideas out there to be developed.” Southern Eleven and Neighbourhood Restaurant & Bar are believed to be on target to reach £5m in annual gross sales trading this year and the owners are keen to build on their American-inspired concepts in Manchester.

Brewery shuts pub across the street after ‘substantial’ losses: Moorhouse’s Brewery in Burnley is shutting the General Scarlett pub in Accrington Road, across the road from the brewery, after “substantial” losses. David Grant, the brewery’s managing director, said: “It is with great disappointment that we have been forced to close the General Scarlett. Our first pub, we invested in a major refurbishment a few years ago and have supported it in recent years, despite substantial losses, including more than £50,000 in 2013 alone. It will now be mothballed and its future reviewed subject to economic circumstances. With no catering possible and no outside smoking area due to its main road location, it has continually struggled to attract enough customers.” Grant said licensee Lynn Murton was being made redundant, but would continue to live in the pub “for the foreseeable future”. He said: “For local people wanting a night out, we can welcome them to the brewery for a series of events, including comedy nights, planned for this year, making the brewery open to the public for three to four nights each month.”

James Horler – Ego set to open in tenanted pubs: 3Sixty Restaurants wants to open its Ego Mediterranean restaurant and bar brand in tenanted pub company sites. The company, led by James Horler, has retained the property agency Collier to find suitable sites within tenanted pub company estates. Horler told Propel: “We think the Ego offer could work very well in pubs, so we’re currently talking to a number of pub operators about finding suburban sites. We’re happy to operate tenanted pubs, tied on beers, but where we put the Ego food offering in. We think we can drive numbers and we know with our marketing we can create a real following in an area and become the place to go. Ego has had a phenomenal 12 months and we’ve retained Colliers to talk to the pub companies. I have to drive five miles to get to a good pub, passing eight pubs to get to a good one – and that’s in Buckinghamshire. We’d like to open three pub sites within 12 months, and then more if it’s proven.” Last December, 3Sixty Restaurants, which is owned by sector investor Luke Johnson, ended discussions to sell the group, as offers “did not reflect the current performance”. The company reported turnover of £13.37m and profit before tax of £2.37m in the year ended March 2013. For the six months trading to the end of September 2013, like-for-like sales across Ego and the company’s other brand, Rocket, were up by 12%. Horler said at the time: “We have had a very strong start to the year, particularly with the Ego brand. Our development in quality, value, social media and people is now paying dividends and we are seeing strong demand. Ego now has more than 30,000 Twitter followers and 80,000 Ego Club members, which, for eight restaurants, makes it one of the country’s leading brands. There are many opportunities for expansion, across the UK for both brands and we have a strong balance sheet with significant net cash resources, which enables us to do so without raising equity or bank debt.” 3Sixty Restaurants is made up of eight Ego restaurants in the Midlands and north west and four Rocket restaurants, three in Central London and one in Nottingham. 3Sixty is looking for “small opportunites” for Rocket. “Nottingham has taught us Rocket will work outside of Nottingham and we have a very strong balance sheet after we sold our Mayfair site in 2012,” Horler said.

Sarah Weir joins Davy’s Wine Bars as new operations director: Davy’s Wine Bars has appointed the former commercial director at Bramwell Pub Company, Sarah Weir, as its new operations director. Weir joins the business as Davy’s Wine Bars looks to grow its business through site acquisition and capital development, as well as continuing the sales growth of the core business. A number of Davy’s Wine Bars have been identified as opportunities for substantial investment this year and further development of a number of new concepts is also under way. Weir joined the business on 6 January and will report to James Davy, chief executive and chairman of Davy’s Wine Bars. Last Friday Propel reported that Davy’s Wine Bars saw 18% like-for-like sales growth in December.