Jamie Rollo – managed pubs worst hit by a 5% rise in wage bill through National Minimum Wage: Morgan Stanley leisure analyst Jamie Rollo has argued that the UK’s managed pub operators would be worst hit by a 5% rise in their wage bill following on from a possible 50p to 70p rise in the Minimum Wage. He said: “There has been growing speculation that the UK government is considering a significant increase (of circa 50-70p versus £6.31 per hour currently) in the minimum wage in October 2014. In the run-up to the UK General Election (scheduled for May 2015), the plight of those in work but still struggling to cope with the rising cost of living is becoming a topic of focus for politicians on all sides. We show what impact a 5% increase in UK labour costs might have on the main UK leisure operators. We see a 10%+ potential hit at the managed pub operators followed by a 5-10% hit at other leisure operators.” The actual impact from a UK Minimum Wage increase would depend on the percentage of employee costs on the minimum wage and how a minimum wage increase would affect the pay grades above that, he argued. Rollo claimed that JD Wetherspoon would be worst hit with a circa 20% impact on its Earnings Per Share, followed by Spirit (circa 15% impact on its EPS), and then Mitchells & Butlers (circa 12% impact on EPS). Alex Crooke, manager of Bankers, a global growth investment trust, has reduced his holding in JD Wetherspoon and Greene King ahead of a possible increase in the Minimum Wage. “(These) pub companies would be quite challenged by a rise in the Minimum Wage,” he said. Crooke has managed Bankers for more than ten years – over a decade the trust has generated a 188% total return for shareholders.

Ready meals to carry Red Tractor logo: For the first time, ready meals are to be branded with a Red Tractor logo to reassure consumers that the meat they contain is from a UK farm. The new stamp has been devised as a pledge that 100% of the meat used reaches certain farming standards. Previously, the Red Tractor logo has never appeared on ready meals as their ingredients were deemed too complicated. Supermarket chain Asda will launch the logo on its chilled beef ready meals shortly with plans to roll it out to other products over the course of the year.

Entrepreneurs launch Feast Express: Two entrepreneurs, Croydon businessmen Mathew Gomes and Hurshkumar Donde, have launched Feast Express, a mobile-only takeaway and restaurant booking service. They believe the app can compete in a very competitive market because it offers something different from websites like Just-Eat and Hungryhouse. “It’s a crowded market but we’re providing something that’s really unique,” Gomes said. “Businesses like Hungryhouse and Just-Eat started in the dot-com era. They are more focused on their websites while we are mobile-only. That means you can load up the app and order food or find a restaurant on the go and all in one place.”

Itsu reports turnover passes £50m mark: Itsu, the brand led by Pret A Manger founder Julian Metcalfe, saw sales rise 23% to £55.5m in the year to 3 January 2014 with earnings before interest, tax and other charges up 68% to £5.5m. The 44-strong brand plans to add ten new outlets in 2014, with provincial towns and cities such as Leeds, Cambridge and Brighton being targeted after its first opening outside of London, in Oxford, in October last year. Itsu reported turnover rose 22% to £45.25m in the year to 3 January 2013. The turnover growth was underpinned by “impressive like-for-like maturing store sales growth of 8.3%”. 

Coffee Republic signs Oman franchisee, three new UK franchised sites to open: Coffee Republic has signed a master franchisee for the Sultanate of Oman. The unnamed Oman organisation involved has an extensive background in food and beverage franchising and plans two sites in the capital Muscat, one opening in the Spring and another in September 2014. Propel reported a master franchisee for Qatar was signed a fortnight ago. In the UK, three new franchised sites are due to open in the next few weeks, the first in The Queensmere Shopping Centre in Slough, with others to follow shortly in Hounslow and Sutton – another three new locations are in the pipeline, and the company plans five new franchised stores opening each quarter. Coffee Republic currently operates five company-owned sites and 21 franchised stores, with 23 operated under franchise internationally.

Nathan Outlaw’s former head chef opens ‘gourmet burger and fish’ restaurant: A former head chef at Nathan Outlaw’s Seafood & Grill restaurant has opened a gourmet burger and fish outlet in Padstow, Cornwall. Burgers & Fish, founded by Lithuanian Redas Katauskas and his wife Terese, sits close to Padstow Harbour. All meat and fish is cooked on a charcoal grill, and the menu currently includes a range of nine gourmet burgers from £9 to £11, whole sea bream with tomato and cucumber salsa, flat-iron steak and pork chops. The restaurant also serves a range of craft bottled beers. Katauskas, who was the head chef at the two Michelin-starred Seafood & Grill in Rock for six years, said he endeavours to use mainly local food producers.

Upham Brewery buys Punch Taverns pub: Upham Brewery has bought the vacant freehold of The Wheelwright Arms in Havant, Hampshire for £500,000 from Punch Taverns. The three-storey property totals 2,975 sq ft (268 sq m) within a prominent roadside 0.3 acre (0.1 hectare) site. Adam Bullas, associate director of agent Savills, said: “The Wheelwright Arms offers well-configured space and Upham Brewery is confident that, with refurbishment, the pub can attract positive support from local trade. We are pleased to have secured the sale which ensures the continued use of the pub, reflecting the current positive sentiment in the industry.” Upham Brewery was unrepresented.

Microbrewer seeks to open brewery tap in Gloucester Docks: Gloucester Brewery, which began brewing in an old warehouse in Gloucester Docks in 2011, has put in a planning application to convert the former Bridge House next door in Llanthony Road to a brewery tap. The brewery’s owner, Jared Brown, said the plans were at an early stage. “Obviously we are excited about the prospect of opening our own brewery tap in the building adjoining the brewery,” he said. “However, we are still very much in the early stages and this is an exploratory application to give us a good idea of what might be possible. We have not yet signed a lease agreement with the landlord, the Canal and River Trust. Also, the old Bridge House is a Grade II listed building so we are working closely with the council planning and conservation officers to ensure any potential works that are carried out conserve the original style and character of the property.” The old Bridge House, built in 1852, is next to the Llanthony Road swing bridge, opposite the outlet shopping centre. The brewery’s application is the second current attempt to open a new pub in the area. Inn The Round Trading Ltd has applied for permission to convert the former Cash-It building at the corner of Southgate Street and Llanthony Road into a micro-pub. Eighteen months ago, Marston’s Inns opened The High Orchard pub nearby in St Ann Way.

Indigo Pub Company plans Spring opening for pub in Brighton regeneration area: Indigo Pub Company has acquired The Hare and Hounds in Brighton’s London Road. The refurbished pub is set to reopen in the spring in Indigo’s signature style with a range of craft ales. Popular Mexican street food restaurant La Choza will run the kitchen. The current regeneration of the London Road area in Brighton comes five months after the launch of a £83,000 Portas Pilot scheme – one of 15 across the country. The unit vacancy rate in the area has gone from 16% in 2012 to 9% in 2013 with at least nine notable businesses opening. These include burger restaurant MEATLiquor, Moe’s@TheCircus café, opened in Clyde Road, and Loungers is also due to open Alcampo Lounge in London Road.

D&D Restaurants re-opens Avenue site in London’s St James’s: Quaglino’s operator D&D’s Avenue restaurant in St James’s has re-launched with a new look and a menu inspired by New American cuisine created by head chef Michael Blizzard (previously at Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental London, The Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne, Kent, and three Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel, New York City). Open for lunch and dinner, Avenue stocks an extensive range of iconic and lesser-known American wines and its bar features cocktails and both British and US craft beers.

Faucet Inn sale to Tesco stirs opposition: The sale of a former Evening Standard Pub of the Year by Faucet Inns to Tesco has prompted fierce opposition from locals. The Prince of Wales in Battersea Bridge Road won the award in 2000, when it was called The Settle Inn and under different ownership. But earlier this month, Faucet Inns sold the property to Tesco for an undisclosed sum. Peter Webber, who is spearheading the campaign to stop Tesco opening there, said: “This will destroy the character of the area. We already have excellent shopping just a few minutes’ walk in any direction.”

JD Wetherspoon plans second Corby pub: JD Wetherspoon is planning to open a second pub in Corby town centre (population: 62,400) in a move that would create 40 jobs. As a £10m eight-screen Vue cinema scheme in the town moves ahead, JD Wetherspoon has revealed plans to invest £1m to convert the former Westgate Department store in Elizabeth Street. Company spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “Wetherspoon has exchanged contracts to purchase the site and is pleased that planning has now been submitted. We await the outcome of the planning application. Wetherspoon still needs to obtain planning and licensing permission before completion can take place. We are extremely keen to open our second pub.”

Greene King lines up Havant Farmhouse Inn opening: Greene King is to open a Farmhouse Inn site in the Havant area of Portsmouth this Spring, creating 70 jobs. Farmhouse Inn is the company’s new name for the Cloverleaf business the company bought in 2011. It is under construction at Langstone Road, adjacent to the Langstone Technology Park. Planning permission has also been granted for a budget hotel at the same site. Construction of the hotel will begin at a later date.

Colliers markets closed Ilfracombe hotel for £450,000: A substantial 38-bedroom closed hotel near the Harbour in Ilfracombe Crescent House Hotel on Fore Street, is on the market through Colliers. Under instructions from joint receivers Jon Cookson and Harry Dunger, the 19th century hotel has been put on the market at £450,000 freehold. Spokesman Simon Wells said: “This is a well-situated hotel in a popular seaside destination and really is a blank canvas for new owners. The building has already had consent to convert just under half the property into flats, retaining the rest as a smaller hotel, so this offers tremendous flexibility for new owners.”

M&B pub in Belfast cited as block for office building: The historic Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast, run by Mitchells & Butlers, has become embroiled in the refusal of planning permission for a 14-storey office building on its mosaic doorstep. The Department of the Environment’s planners have cited the potential impact on the iconic pub as they put the brakes on the proposal, which includes replacing Brennan’s Bar – the former Beaten Docket pub – on Great Victoria Street and Amelia Street. Applicant Fisherwick Inn will this week appeal the DoE’s recommendation to refuse planning permission at an informal hearing before the Planning Appeals Commission. Planners said Fisherwick’s plans would “adversely impact on the character of the area and would not relate sympathetically to its immediate surroundings, including the listed Crown Liquor Saloon”.

Welcome Break cuts customer queuing times with unified payments system: Welcome Break, the UK motorway services operator, has seen “massive” improvements to transaction speed at the point of sale after it upgraded to a unified payments system. Previously, the cashier would have to enter the amount to be paid by card manually through the EPoS till, then go to the bank terminal, effectively entering the information twice, and the bank terminal then used a phone line that was very slow. David Willock, IT director at Welcome Break, said: “It was incredibly slow compared to where we are now. During peak periods there were enormous queues and it was impacting our throughput capacity – some customers would drop off or not join a very large queue to begin with.” Meanwhile, Welcome Break is in discussions with Starbucks to allow customers to use their Starbucks discount cards and mobile wallet apps in the Starbucks outlets at Welcome Break sites. Willock said: “When you walk into a Welcome Break, you don’t differentiate from another Starbucks. Customers want to be able to use their Starbucks card and get frustrated when they can’t.” Willock said he hopes that later this year customers will be able to use a Starbucks card at Welcome Break Starbucks.

KFC holds public forum over proposed Aldershot drive-through: KFC has taken the unusual step of holding a public information evening over its plans to open a drive-through restaurant in Aldershot. The company has not yet put in a planning application for the site, on an industrial estate, and faces a fight with the local council because the area is designated on the local plan as an important area for industrial use and a key employment site. The site KFC wants to develop is currently home to a van hire company that is relocating. The building it occupies, in North Close, off North Lane, would be demolished under KFC’s plans and replaced by the drive-through, which would also contain an eat-in seating area. KFC management is hopeful that, if and when an application is submitted, Rushmore Council can be persuaded to overlook the criteria, and argues that the 50 jobs created would be a vast improvement on the small number of jobs currently based at the site. Keith Holland, the council’s head of planning, said this task was “not impossible” but the onus was on KFC to produce a compelling argument. KFC already has a restaurant in Union Street, Aldershot which will remain open if the drive-through is approved. A formal application from KFC for the North Close development is expected next month.

Wendy’s sells 70 restaurants to franchisee: The burger chain Wendy’s has sold 70 restaurants in the Dallas-Forth Worth area of Texas to a franchisee, part of a refranchising operation that will see it get rid of 415 company-operated restaurants by the end of the first quarter of 2014. So far, Wendy’s has sold 314 units. It expects to earn $235m from the sales of the restaurants. Wendy’s chief executive, Emil Brolick said: “We expect to generate a higher operating margin and stronger free cash flow, along with further enhancing the quality of our earnings with a more predictable revenue stream from a higher percentage of royalty and rent income.”

Brewery hotel opens doors for soft launch: The Loch Earn Brewery Hotel and Visitor Centre in St Fillans, in the Scottish Central Highlands, has opened its doors for a “soft launch” of the brewery tap. The Arran Brewery, maker of Arran Blonde, one of Scotland’s best selling ales, bought the former Drummond Hotel on the shores of Loch Earn in November with the express purpose of building a second brewery and visitor centre. Jeremy Osborn, general manager of the hotel part of the project, said: “We are selling mainly Arran beers until the Loch Earn brewery comes on line but we have a range of over 40 bottled beer from around 20 other Scottish breweries.” The second bar on site, The Loch View, will be opening for testing early next month, with a coffee shop and restaurant following on later in March and the hotel element coming online towards the end of April, in time for Easter. Subject to planning consents, The Loch Earn brewery will open in July.

Carlsberg UK launches Carlsberg ‘Blackcurrent’: Carlsberg UK is extending its Carlsberg brand by launching Carlsberg ‘Blackcurrant’ into the on and off-trade. Blackcurrant is a 2.8% ABV easy-to-drink lager blended with natural blackcurrants. It was developed by Carlsberg’s UK innovation team following the successful launch of Carlsberg Citrus in 2013, which sold over 50,000 hectolitres in its first year. The brand will be supported by a £3m investment into an above-the-line campaign across print and digital plus targeted opportunities around the summer and music. Dharmesh Rana, senior brand manager for Carlsberg UK said: “We’re working to be the best beer and beverage business in the UK by providing our customers with a range of beers and beverages that appeal to every occasion and every consumer.”

Orderella launches in rugby stadium: Orderella, the leading mobile ordering app which allows its customers to order and pay for drinks and food with their phone, launched at Rodney Parade, the home of Newport Gwent Dragons and Newport RFC, yesterday (Sunday 23 February), making it one of the first of its kind to be available at rugby stadiums in the UK. Supporters in the Bisley Stand will no longer have to queue at the bar during the match, or at half time, but can spend more time enjoying the game, simply picking up their order from a designated area at the bar when it is ready.

M&B HQ sold for £51m: Mitchells & Butlers’ headquarters building in Fleet Street, central Birmingham has been sold to LaSalle Investment Management for £51m. The building was sold by Richard Elman, a Hong Kong-based commodities trader and founder of Noble Group. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) acted for the buyer while GBR Phoenix Beard acted for the vendor on the off-market deal. Five years ago M&B took out a 35-year sale and leaseback on the building. There is also a five yearly rent review, linked to the retail price index. M&B’s lease agreement is unaffected by the deal.

£3m restaurant and banqueting suite opens: A £3m banqueting centre that can cater for more than 1,000 people has opened in West Bromwich. The new banqueting centre, in Lombard Street West, is spread over three floors and includes a ground floor restaurant. The man behind the venture is local businessman Jaswant Singh and his wife Jasvir Kaur, who own Desi Sweet Centre, a manufacturer and retailer of Indian sweets and savouries that has 14 shops around the UK. Funding for the deal has been supplied by Barclays. Jaswant Singh, a director of the centre, said the venue had already secured more than 30 bookings.

Rethink may see hotel on Blackpool Yates’s site: Work has stopped at former Yates’s Wine Lodge, where a branch of the Pan Asian banquet chain Cosmos and a Tesco supermarket were meant to take the place of the burnt-out bar, amid reports that a five-storey, 100-bedroom hotel could be built on the site. David Owen, chairman of Blackpool Council’s planning committee, told The Blackpool Gazette: “We are in discussions with the developer and will no doubt get an application in the coming weeks. They are looking to put a hotel on there. We have always been concerned about the low rise of the application granted last time for a restaurant and Tesco. We never thought it was sufficiently high enough to complement other buildings in Talbot Square. So from that point of view, we would appreciate a higher elevation but it has to be of quality in its external cladding and must fit in with other existing buildings. However the developers are still weighing up their options.” Fred Jackson, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, told a meeting of the full council: “There is a further application going to go before planning to have a much bigger development on there than originally went through planning. I believe more development is expected on the site which will improve the whole site.” A formal planning application is expected to be submitted in the next six weeks. A spokesman for Reco Build, which began work on the supermarket-and-restaurant plan in September, said the company did not want to comment at this stage, but it is believed the developers are in talks with a potential operator. The Yates’s was destroyed in a suspected arson in February 2009. TGI Friday’s was originally lined up to take space in the redevelopment, but pulled out.

Nicholson’s promises new bar range every week in spring festival: Mitchells & Butlers Nicholson’s chain of pubs is promising cask ale drinkers a month of constantly changing beers for its spring beer festival, which runs from 24 March to 19 April. The 20 different beers come from brewers including Liberation, Inveralmond, Butcombe, Oakham, Adnams, Fuller’s, St Austell, Ilkley and Great Heck.

Nottingham cafe entrepreneur opens third site: A Nottingham cafe owner is to open her third site in the city, at the Forest Recreation Ground pavilion. Jasmin Barlow-Wilkinson already runs two sites, in Pelham Street, in Nottingham city centre, and Mansfield Road in Sherwood. An agreement between Homemade and Nottingham City Council was signed last week for the cafe operator to run the cafe being built in the pavilion building, along with a community centre and new toilet. The grade two-listed lodge, off Mansfield Road, will also be refurbished. Barlow-Wilkinson said she cannot wait to get the new cafe opened. She said: “When we opened our second venue in Sherwood last year, I said that I was happy to stop at two, but this project was too tempting to turn down. We pride ourselves on providing a cosy, family-friendly home-from-home. It is all about delicious homemade fresh food, sourced from local producers and local independent businesses.”

Whyte & Brown launches new menu with ‘early bird’ offer: The central London chicken dish specialist Whyte & Brown, based just of Carnaby Street, is launching its new menu with an ‘early bird’ offer that gives diners who order two main courses the cheapest dish free. The offer, which runs until 2 March, is valid for orders made between 12noon and 1pm and between 5pm and 7pm. The new menu includes chargrilled Korean wings, craft beer mussels, king prawn & chicken laksa, and chocolate & salted caramel fondant.

Storms put plan for new Premier Inn hotel on hold: A plan to convert a derelict building into a 63-bedroom Premier Inn hotel on Aberystwyth seafront has been put on the back burner after the heavy storms that battered the town’s promenade. The developer behind the plan, Opus North has decided to withdraw the planning application to convert the former Bay Hotel to a Premier Inn for now and “take stock” of the situation. However, it said it intends to resubmit the application within the next two months. An Opus North spokesman said: “We decided to withdraw the planning application for now because we wanted to take stock of the situation and ensure we can reincorporate the design to prevent flooding. We intend to resubmit the application within the next two months.” The Yorkshire-based company intends to buy the building from Ceredigion Council on condition that plans to build the hotel and restaurant are approved. Nick Johnston, acquisitions manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “We anticipate the new application will be submitted in the spring and, if approved, hope to open to our guests early next year.” The former Bay Hotel has been boarded up since 2009.

New nightclub owners hopeful after closure of rivals: The new owners of a Burnley nightclub say the closures of the Level One and Luminar’s Lava and Ignite venues in the town have left a gap. The Alter Ego, club in Hammerton Street has been acquired by Pure Events Ltd and will be split into two separate venues, Pure Nightclub and Sugar Lounge, when it re-opens next month. Eddie Down, a business partner in Pure Events Ltd, said the firm hoped to capitalise on the recent closures. He said: “That’s definitely an incentive. It’s left a gap in the market. We’re spending big money on decor, a new sound system and a bigger stage area for live acts. It’s going to be a big employer – we’re looking at creating 15 new jobs.” Alter Ego opened on the site of what was formerly Panama Joes in December 2012 after a £250,000 makeover.

Patisserie Valerie prepares for float: Patisserie Valerie is planning a float that would value the company at more than £150m, according to The Sunday Times. A listing would deliver a large profit to Risk Capital, the investment business led by Luke Johnson. He acquired the business in 2006 when it was breaking even on sales of circa £5m and had just 11 sites in Soho. The business currently has circa 90 sites and is set to make £14m Ebitda this year. In November, Johnson wrote: “I continue to make long-odds wagers, knowing some will prove to be mistakes – but confident they occasionally pay off. Seven years ago when I bought Patisserie Valerie it had revenues of only £5m and was breaking even; most of the management were departing on the sale, and the accounts were rudimentary at best. This year we are projecting £14m of Ebitda on revenues increased 15-fold since purchase with staff numbers up 20-fold.” The Sunday Times reports that the company is working with stockbroker Canaccord Genuity and could list in late Spring. A Patisserie Valerie flotation would represent another hugely successful investment in the sector by Johnson. Propel Quarterly magazine asked his colleague James Horler what sets Johnson apart as an investor in the sector. Horler said: “I think Luke is the most insightful, decisive, visionary person of all the people I work with. Out of everybody I work with he is in a different league. I worked with him on 3Sixty Restaurants, Patisserie Valerie and on Red Hot World Buffet. One thing about Luke is that he will always the phone or rung you back within five minutes, guaranteed. I have sent him a complex email and his answer back was timed one minute before I had sent him my email – how that works, I don’t know!” See the forthcoming Spring edition of Propel Quarterly magazine for the full James Horler interview.

CGA Peach – transport hubs and premium formats will be growth areas: Transport hubs and premium formats will be among the big growth areas for casual dining and pub brands in 2014 – while barbecue and craft beer are the food and drink hotspots. Those are among the findings of CGA Peach’s annual Business Leaders’ Survey, sponsored by Omnico, which outlines the trends that senior executives will be keenly watching in the year ahead. The rising popularity of airports and major train stations as venues to eat and drink has pulled many restaurant and pub operators into the sector over the last couple of years, and the poll reveals that interest will continue to soar in 2014. Four in five leaders (79%) think they will be a growth area this year. With consumer confidence slowly returning, upmarket concepts are also widely tipped for 2014. More than half of leaders (58%) think premium casual dining and fast food will thrive in 2014. Flexibility has been a watchword for the sector lately, and a similar proportion of leaders (59%) think all-day formats will grow in 2014 too. Express and pared-back concepts, often spun off from full-scale dining brands, are tipped by slightly more (63%) – a big jump of 19 percentage points on last year’s Survey. Food-wise, business leaders sense a buzz around barbecue concepts of the kind being brought into the mainstream by Leeds and Manchester based Red’s. Half (50%) think it will make a big impact this year. Decent numbers think upmarket pizza (33%) is primed for popularity this year, with cheaper cuts of meat (34%) also identified. On the drinks side, more than two thirds of leaders (68%) think craft beer will be a significant trend. Good numbers believe craft cider (44%) and micro-distillery spirits (40%) will do the same, reflecting the growing demand for unique, artisan drinks over established brands. CGA Peach’s Peter Martin said: “Stations and airports are having a food and drink renaissance at the moment, driven by some terrific innovation by eating and drinking out brands, and our survey shows this mutually beneficial relationship will deepen this year. We have also seen big increases in the standards in casual dining and pubs, so it is heartening to see such confidence in premium concepts this year – and operators like Loungers have shown the value of flexibility too. With people travelling more than ever, increasingly pressed for time and demanding great experiences, speed, adaptability and quality will be three essential traits this year.” The Business Leaders’ Survey, sponsored by Omnico, drew responses from 172 senior executives. In-depth analysis of the findings can be found in the latest issue of Peach Report, out now. The full report is free to Peach Report subscribers and available to others to buy for £199. Email vicky.cooke@cgapeach.co.uk for more information.