Coffer Peach Tracker – pubs and restaurants saw 2.2% rise in like-for-like sales in October, 4.1% inside the M25: The London economy remains the main driver of growth in the eating and drinking out market. Nationally restaurant and pub groups saw collective like-for-like sales grow 2.2% in October against the same month last year, while inside the M25 that growth was 4.1%, according to latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker data. Peter Martin, vice-president of CGA Peach, the business insight consultancy that produces the Tracker in partnership with Coffer Group, Baker Tilly and UBS, said: “Managed pubs in London had a particularly good month, as they have had for most of the year. Casual dining chains in the capital also traded strongly. But while the London market is getting better same-store growth, the chains, and in particular casual dining brands, are increasingly investing in opening new sites outside the M25,” Martin said. “That expansion is reflected in the total sales growth across the 29 restaurant, bar and pub companies in the Tracker sample. Nationally, total sales were ahead 5.7% on last October, with restaurant group sales up 11% on a year ago outside of London, largely as a result of that extra site capacity,” he said. “Overall, the groups are seeing steady, consistent growth in eating and drinking out, which now stretches back 19 months,” Martin said. “Looking at the underlying trend, the year-on-year like-for-like rate is running at 2.9% up on 2013, with London up 3.7%.” Pubs and bars outside of London remain the weakest part of the market, the data shows, with like-for-like sales essentially flat in October, much the same as they were in September. Trevor Watson, director at Davis Coffer Lyons, said: "The October figures highlight that, in the corporate casual dining market, the rate of new store opening is significantly greater away from London, largely because of greater availability of sites and the improved returns available in these areas. The London market is vibrant with rents at record levels, with overseas and independent operators dominating. This is typical for this phase of the cycle. Trading performance continues to be strong both in the capital and across the country as economic recovery strengthens and the prospects of an imminent interest rate rise recede." Paul Newman, head of leisure and hospitality at Baker Tilly, said: “Having 19 consecutive months of like-for-like growth for the UK eating and drinking out market is a fantastic achievement. However, as always the devil is in the detail. As we turn towards the longer, colder evenings, it is the managed pub chains that still appear to be leading the way and we expect to see this run of form continue into the winter months. Innovative fit outs incorporating comfortable surroundings with a wide selection of craft beers together with a quality food offering is driving this resurgence, particularly within London and larger cities around the UK.”

 

FSA – more than 3,000 London restaurants below par on hygiene standards: Figures published yesterday show that 3,112 restaurants in the capital have been warned to improve by hygiene inspectors. This is almost double the national average, according to the Food Standards Agency. The watchdog also revealed that 1,729 restaurants in London are rated 0 or 1 — the lowest possible rankings for food hygiene. The FSA has launched a campaign calling on would-be customers to do their research in the run-up to the party season. This means going online at food.gov.uk/ratings to check a restaurant’s hygiene score before booking. The majority of restaurants in the capital are deemed up to standard. More than 15,000 have a rating ranging from 3, which means “generally satisfactory”, to 5, which is “very good” under the Food Standards Agency’s Scores on the Doors scheme, which all local authorities in London are signed up to. However, other restaurants have been told by inspectors they must improve hygiene standards. The London Evening Standard reported that La Forchetta in Upper Street in Islington, the Sports Bar and Grill at Marylebone station, Golden Pagoda restaurant in Gerrard Street and Caffe Ritazza at Euston station are among 205 in the capital given a 0 rating on the FSA website.

Land Securities – we are focusing on assets that offer 'dominance, experience and convenience': The shopping centre landlord Land Securities has reported that rapid changes in consumer behaviour is shaping its property strategy. Of its strategy in the past six months, it said: “In retail, we have continued to reshape the portfolio, acting decisively in response to rapid changes in consumer behaviour, with over £1.4bn of transactions since 1 April. Our focus is on assets that offer dominance, experience and convenience. We were delighted to acquire a 30% stake in Bluewater, Kent, along with the management rights. Bluewater is the pre-eminent shopping centre outside London. Elsewhere, since 1 April, we have sold retail assets in Sunderland, Bristol, Exeter and Hull and acquired the remaining 50% in Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow. The portfolio is now in much stronger shape. We are also working on the final details of our plans for the development of Buchanan Galleries and Westgate, Oxford.”

 

Luke Johnson travel business set for 40% sales surge: The online holiday website Cruise.co.uk, backed by sector investor Luke Johnson, is on course to see sales surge by 40% to £90 million this year. The firm, which is majority owned by Johnson’s Risk Capital Partners, is also planning to expand to Ireland and Australia. Managing director Seamus Conlon said: “We are seeing high growth, particularly from the over-45s. We have nine million users a year and river cruises are gaining in popularity. In three years, we want to be making £200 million in sales.” Cruise’s community of users spent 575,000 hours researching trips on their website last year. Risk Capital traditionally invests in restaurants but Johnson’s majority stake, purchased last year, marked the firm’s first foray into the travel sector. Conlon said: “Luke and Risk think travel is a high-growth market. We want to expand into Australia and Ireland first because they are English speaking, but we will also look at other countries when the time is right.”

BrewDog opens Liverpool site today with vintage arcade games and push-button service, sixth UK opening this year: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog is opening its Liverpool site today (Wednesday 12 November), its sixth UK opening this year. It will have pouring 30 taps and is located in the Ropewalks area, at Manolis Yard, Colquitt Street. The company said: “It’s an area of the city long known for having an independent feel, so we’d like to think we’ll fit in perfectly. Situated between Wood and Seel Streets, Manolis Yard is a perfect location for our sixth new UK bar this year, in a city in which we’ve long wanted to play a part. Aside from the great selection of craft beer, there will – of course – be a few extra touches in the bar. If your thumbs have had it too easy for too long, we’ll have vintage arcade games on site to give them a full and thorough workout. To bring interactivity into a new era, we’re debuting a ‘press for beer’ button in each booth.”

 

Coach House Pub Company opens fifth site: Coach House Pub Company has opened its fifth site, The Barrel, in Tunstall, Staffordshire, which was previously called the Crown & Anchor and had fallen into disrepair before shutting. Company director Simon Wall said: "I've had the Coach & Horses round the corner since 2008 and thought this spot was great. My dad used to run a shoe shop in Paradise Street and would drink at this pub. It's got a lot of memories for people."

PubLove confirms sixth site, begins funding talks: PubLove, the five-site London pub and hostel group founded and led by Ben Stackhouse, is expanding with a new Enterprise Inns site in Euston due in January. PubLove has begun talks with a variety of funders and reports being ‘impressed’ with options presented by Lloyds Bank, as well as its existing high street bank NatWest. The company is also in funding talks with Metro Bank. Stackhouse told Propel: “I’ve been blown away by everyone’s confidence in our concept – boutique hostels above quality pubs – and particularly impressed with the banks’ willingness to support our growth and expansion plans. They clearly have an appetite for investment.” PubLove have also hired award-winning design and build firm Concorde BGW to roll out its fully-realised brand concept in the new flagship Euston site. Stackhouse added: “We’ve also been grateful for the flexibility and cooperation shown by Enterprise Inns over the past few weeks in relation to the new site.” The company’s expansion plans are the next step in a company-wide rebrand, with a new company website launching next week. It has also refocused its drinks offer to include more London-based products and continue to grow their pop up food offer, Burger Craft. The new site will be the company’s fourth Enterprise inns site.

Carluccio’s lines up two more UAE openings for the end of 2014: Carluccio’s will open two new outlets in the UAE by the end of the year, at The Beach in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai in November, and the newly opened Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi. The Italian chain's new Dubai branch, part of the Landmark Group, will cover 658 square metres, with 250 seats and a terrace that can accommodate 150 people. This will be the largest Carluccio’s in the world to date. The Yas Mall restaurant, Carluccio’s third outlet in Abu Dhabi, is also due to open in November. It will cover 293 square metres, and include al fresco seating. The two new launches bring the total number of Carluccio’s outlets in the UAE to ten, with existing outlets situated in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, Mirdif City Centre, the Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Deira City Centre, Dubai Airport Terminal 3, The Galleria Mall, Abu Dhabi and Eastern Mangroves, Abu Dhabi.

Absolute Pubs changes name to Authentic Pub Co: The expanding operator Absolute Pubs is changing its name to Authentic Pub Co after a strategic review of its business, now five pubs strong and looking to grow further. The new name was chosen after an analysis of the company’s pubs, based in Surrey and Middlesex. Director Simon Bailey said: “We acquired our fifth pub this summer and decided it was a good point to take stock of the business. Most of our pubs, such as the King's Arms next to Hampton Court Palace, are in areas that attract a lot of visitors from abroad looking to visit an authentic English pub. Changing our name to Authentic Pub Co helps to communicate our core strengths and helps our performance in online searches.” Opening a fifth site was also the trigger for Bailey to appoint an operations manager to take on aspects of running the business and help the general managers in each pub. Monika Trasz joined the company in 2010 as a team member at the King’s Arms, Hampton Court, Middlesex, moving up the career ladder to deputy and then general manager before promotion to operations manager. Trasz has a degree in hotel management from her native Poland, and ran a B&B in Italy before moving to England. Bailey said: “We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved so far. With a new company name that better reflects our values, and with Monika taking on much of the day-to-day operation, we are well-placed for the next stage in the development of the Authentic Pub Co.” Bailey and wife Sarah founded Absolute Pubs in 2008 when they took on the King's Arms at Hampton Court, a Hall & Woodhouse tenancy, followed by the Bell Inn at Hampton, Middlesex, with Punch Taverns, the Waggon & Horses in Surbiton, Surrey with Young’s and the Flower Pot in Sunbury, Middlesex with Brakspear. All Authentic Pub Co pubs offer freshly cooked dishes in a relaxed environment, with high standards of customer service. Two of the pubs, the King's Arms at Hampton Court and the Flower Pot, also have letting rooms.

 

Spirit Pub Company to re-open Northampton grill house as Flaming Grill site: Spirit Pub Company is to re-open a former grill house in Northampton, which has been closed for more than two years, as a Flaming Grill site after a £325,000 investment. The Walter Tull, formerly known as West Coast Grill and located on Walter Tull Way at Sixfields Leisure Park, will employ around 35 people and open on Monday 1 December, with what the company has described as a new "flame grill inspired"’ décor, new furniture and kitchen equipment, as well as a new chargrill menu. The pub has been named after Walter Tull, who played more than 100 matches for Northampton Town FC and became the first Afro-Caribbean outfield player in the top division of English football. The Walter Tull’s namesake was also the first Afro-Caribbean infantry officer in the British Army.

 

Tens of thousands miss out in online ballot for Fat Duck tables: Tens of thousands of people missed out in the online poll for tables at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck residency in Melbourne, Australia, which begins in February next year and lasts for six months. Demand for a table at the restaurant was so high that potential diners were asked to enter an online ballot system last month. Successful applicants were then “indiscriminately selected” by an independent third party. Blumenthal said he was completely overwhelmed by the response from fans when he announced the restaurant was opening at Crown Resort, and that the only fair way to run reservations was to institute a ballot system. Crown Melbourne said it received 89,179 entries worldwide in the online ballot. On an average three person per table booking, that equates to 267,537 people. Only 14,000 diners were chosen to dine at the restaurant when it opens on 3 February.

 

Burger King UK launches app that proved successful in Spain: Burger King has launched a new app in the UK to give customers the opportunity to get hold of digital coupons, peruse the chain’s menu and locate the nearest restaurant. Developed by US-based Tilster, the rollout follows a successful launch in Spain, where the app has now been downloaded 1.8m times since emerging in April, with the promise of further features to be added later. Bruno Lino, vice president and general manager, north division for Burger King EMEA, said: “Burger King is firmly committed to the mobile channel and we are constantly looking for ways to offer great value to our customers and encourage trial among new customers. This hassle-free and intuitive application gives our customers access to exclusive, personalised offers and provides another channel to maximise our customers’ experience.” The new app is available to download now for all Android and Apple handsets.

South Wales nightclub increases prices from 10p to 25p a drink: A nightclub in South Wales that sparked criticism last month for selling alcohol for 10p a drink has reacted to bad publicity by increasing prices to 25p. Mamas Paradise in Pontardawe was criticised for its “irresponsible” Hallowe'en Party drinks promotions. As a result the club said it has reviewed its pricing policy, but reassured customers that costs will be kept as low as possible to “defend people’s right to party”. While the 10p drinks promotion might have come to an end, the nightclub has dropped the price of Jagerbombs from £2 to 50p. A statement posted on the club’s Facebook page read: “Unfortunately, due to the publicity we had on Hallowe'en we can no longer do the 10p per drink. However, as you all know we used to charge 10p per drink and 10p per mixer between 10pm and 1am. We have to charge a minimum price now of 25p on most shots, but with a shot we will not charge you the dash. So, in effect, the price on most drinks will only go up 5p between 10pm and 1am.” The club is charging £12 for entry.

 

Nick Batram tweaks Domino’s UK forecasts higher: Peel Hunt's leisure analyst Nick Batram has tweaked his forecast for Domino’s UK higher, raising his target price for the shares to 665p from 591p. He said: “Although we still have much of November and all of December (where weather can be a factor) to come, we believe there is enough momentum in the UK business to suggest some room to tweak our forecasts higher. We also believe that our previous commissary assumption was too conservative, even accounting for the strategy of passing on food cost savings to franchisees and the impacts of food price deflation. Although there are important trading weeks still to come, we feel confident there is enough momentum in the UK business to nudge our forecasts beyond current consensus for 2014E. As well as sales, we have also taken a less cautious stance on the UK commissary. This has led us to raise our fair value price target, but not sufficiently so to change our recommendation.”

 

Frankie & Benny’s eyes second Cambridge site: The Restaurant Group’s Frankie & Benny’s brand is due for a second opening in Cambridge. A total of 50 new jobs will be created when the second site opens its doors at the Cambridge retail park on the Newmarket Road on Monday, 24 November. The brand already has a restaurant in Cambridge Leisure Park in Clifton Way. Hannah Board, area manager said. “We are really excited to be opening our newest restaurant in the area. The location is perfect for us.” 

Rick Stein opens new restaurant in Porthleven, Cornwall: Rick Stein has opened his new restaurant in Porthleven, Cornwall, a few weeks after signing the lease. A new general manager, Lee Williams, has been appointed and Bruce Rennie remains as head chef, with the support of executive chef Jack Stein. He and his father have been developing a new menu with a mix of sharing dishes including grilled scallops with hazelnut and coriander butter, sizzling prawns with garlic, chilli and olive oil and loc lac – chilli beef wrapped in iceberg lettuce. Porthleven will also be the first restaurant to incorporate some exclusive dishes from Stein's new TV series and book, due to be released next year.

 

Almost two thirds of Punch estate attend roadshow events: A total of 64% of Punch licensees, 2,331 publican, have attended one of Punch Taverns’ ten autumn roadshows, the most successful roadshow season in their 11-year history. The roadshow tour ran from 30 September to 30 October at ten venues across the UK, including the Rainton Meadows Arena in Durham and the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, which both hosted events for the first time. The season closed at Wembley, which was attended by 260 licensees, 28 prospective licensees and rock legends Status Quo, who made an appearance to promote their own real ale, Piledriver, named after their 1972 classic album. Punch’s external affairs and central operations director, Andy Slee, said: “In many ways the roadshows are a barometer for our improving relationship with our licensees. To have over 64% of pubs attending reflects the hard work that goes into them and more importantly the value that our licensees believe they deliver.” The shows also featured 135 industry-leading suppliers.

Restaurateur wins local authority contracts: A restaurateur in the North East of England has expanded his empire by taking over the catering at two council-run venues. Oldfields Events, recently set up by restaurant owner Bill Oldfield, has won the catering contracts for Peterlee’s Shotton Hall and the new £1m Seaham Town Hall. Oldfield, managing director of Oldfields restaurant in Durham, said he plans to build business at Seaham Town Hall by promoting it for weddings, conferences and events. He said: “The facilities are fantastic and the rooms are very versatile so we’ll be able to host a whole range of events there. We’ll also be offering the highest standards of catering with a first class food operation and we know this will be something that will not only bring business to the town hall but also to the town in general.”

Celebrity chef Gina D’Acampo sets sights up Manchester opening: Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo has revealed plans to open My Pasta Bar in Manchester. He told the local newspaper: “I think Manchester has too many restaurants that claim to be Italian, and that’s where the problem is. What Manchester needs is more proper Italian restaurants. Everybody tries to do an Italian restaurant, but I think they miss the understanding of what real Italian food is all about, it’s about simplicity, understanding flavours. But very soon it is going to happen. I have a restaurant in London, My Pasta Bar, and soon there is going to be one of them definitely in Manchester.” D’Acampo said he will be scouting locations in February. He said: “Once we get the building it will be a six-seven week revamp and then opening. Manchester should expect to see My Pasta Bar by the end of next year.”

 

Spirit backs LiveRES for leased estate: Spirit Pub Company has recommended the LiveRES reservations system to its leased pub estate. The 430-strong leased pubs will now be able to add an online reservations system to their operations as part of a push to secure more advance table bookings. From this month, Spirit’s business development managers will be working with LiveRES to offer the technology across the estate. Spirit Leased's managing director, Chris Welham, said: “We have been looking for ways to help our pubs improve footfall by harnessing technology and there is a growing trend towards implementing online reservations systems. LiveRES presented a compelling case and we are delighted to be able to work with them to implement their tailor-made systems in our leased pubs.” The managing director of LiveRES, Samantha Grocott, said: “It is great to work with such a prestigious company and the team is looking forward to helping Spirit Leased licensees make a smooth transition into taking reservations over the internet. Spirit gives us yet another huge endorsement for our increasingly popular product and our business’s reputation can only be enhanced by this latest deal.”

 

Wagamama opens in Uxbridge today: Wagamama is opening in the Intu Uxbridge shopping centre in Middlesex today (Wednesday 12 November), creating 45 jobs.“We’re looking forward to introducing a new style of dining to Uxbridge,” said restaurant general manager Antonello Totaro. “Intu Uxbridge is a great place to be, especially as we know we have lots of excited Wagamama fans eagerly awaiting our opening!”

Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville’s Hotel Football is delayed by three months: The opening of Hotel Football, backed by Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville and situated opposite Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, has been delayed for three months. The 133-bedroom hotel, due to open on 8 December, is now expected to launch on 2 March 2015. The hotel is owned and operated by GG Hospitality, which is headed by Giggs and Neville alongside managing director Stuart Procter. A spokesperson for GG Hospitality said the delay will allow more time to develop “unique features” beyond original plans. “We will be enhancing the conference and banqueting facilities and will also be extending our rooftop five-a-side football pitch and event space by over 50%. We want to ensure the supporters and hotel guests have an unforgettable experience when they visit us and this additional preparation time will ensure this.” 

£17m plan for Morecombe with pub and hotel gets planning approval: A £17m plan to redevelop the old Frontierland site in Morecambe has been given the go-ahead by city councillors. The Wild West-themed amusement park site on Marine Road West has been derelict since it closed in 2000. The proposal for a new retail and leisure park submitted by landowners WM Morrisons in partnership with Opus Land North also includes a hotel and pub. Frontierland, which was run by Blackpool Pleasure Beach Company, was opened in 1987. The Polo Tower, a remnant of the theme park, will be demolished under the redevelopment. Lancaster City Council approved the planning application and it will now go to the Secretary of State for final approval. A previous scheme to build a factory outlet on the site fell through, shortly after Frontierland closed.

Mitchells & Butlers invites customers to add 50p to their bill this Christmas to help lonely older people: Mitchells & Butlers Ember inns brand is inviting customers to add 50p to their bill until the end of December to help lonely older people. The company stated: “Ember Inns are an important part of the community, and that's why Ember Inns are raising money to help their new partner charity The Silver Line provides information, friendship and advice to older people, 24 hours a day, every day. The Silver Line is the only free confidential helpline of its kind. The helpline receives about 900 calls a day, and more than half of callers say they have nobody else to speak to.”

Service station and hotel entrepreneur win Investec food and drink award: Cumbrian businesswoman Sarah Dunning has been crowned “best retail entrepreneur” at the Investec Food and Drink Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Dunning, 44, is chief executive of Westmorland Ltd, which operates Westmorland Services at Tebay on the M6, and Rheged visitor centre in Penrith. She received the award – in the category for businesses turning over more than £20 million a year – from Luke Johnson at a ceremony in the House of Commons. The Food and Drink Entrepreneur Awards were launched this year to celebrate the people behind the industry, which is worth £92bn to the UK economy and employs 400,000 people. The judges included Lord Bilimoria of Cobra Beer, Julian Metcalfe of the sandwich bar chain Pret a Manger, and Sahar Hashemi of Coffee Republic. Westmorland was founded more than 40 years ago by Ms Dunning’s father, John Dunning, a farmer who seized the opportunity when the M6 was built across his land. As well as the service area and Rheged, which opened in 2000, the company also runs the Westmorland Hotel at Tebay and J38 Truck Stop. A second service area on the northbound M5 in Gloucester opened in May – the southbound follows next year. Like its Cumbrian counterpart, there are no franchised concessions and the restaurant and farm shop champions local produce. Dunning told the awards’ audience: “We viewed the M6 not as the death of a farm, but the beginning of a whole new chapter in how we ran the farm."

 

Head brewers collaborate in celebration of Celts: Brewers from across the Celtic regions and nations have descended on Cornwall to visit St Austell Brewery to create a unique new beer to celebrate the shared history and identity of their regions. The new Celtic Cross beer was the brainchild of St Austell’s head brewer, Roger Ryman, who enlisted the help of fellow head brewers from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Brittany to help him create the new beer which will be launched at this year’s Celtic Beer Festival. Ryman was joined in the St Austell brewhouse by Fergus Clark, head brewer of the Inveralmond Brewery in Perthshire, Scotland, Flo Vialan from Brittany, head brewer for the Purity Brewing Company, Daire Harlin, head brewer of the Brú Brewery in Cork and Buster Grant, one of Wales' best known brewers and head brewer at Brecon Brewing. The day before brewing, the brewers gathered at the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestow, 31 October, the last day of the Celtic calenda, to concoct the recipe. A formula for a Celtic Red IPA was created, including roasted malts and generous additions of hops to complete the Celtic theme. Each brewer brought with them a handful of ingredients that best represented their region. Flying the flag for Cornwall, Ryman incorporated saffron, while Clark brought rowan berries from Scotland, Harlin added shamrock, Vialan contributed wild garlic, and Wales was symbolised with the inclusion of Welsh apples.

 

Geof Collyer – Punch Taverns has re-emerged into the ring in better shape: Deutsche Bank leisure analyst Geof Collyer has issued a hold note on Punch Taverns, arguing that the company has re-emerged from its restructuring in better shape. He said: “It has taken Punch Taverns three years to finally complete its balance sheet restructuring, emerging back into the ring in fitter, leaner form, so that the market can look forward to viewing the group almost as a new stock. From here, we see the potential for the equity to benefit from significant transfer of value over the medium term from debt pay down, much like Enterprise Inns, though there may be some short term issues mopping up some of the debt funds that will be looking to exit the equity. We are effectively starting again with a ‘Hold’ recommendation, but see potential for greater upside, subject to Punch – like Enterprise – achieving absolute ebitda growth. The ability to generate growth will depend upon Punch’s ability to maintain like-for-like growth in its core estate (88% of ebitda) whilst ensuring that the progressive non-core estate (12% of ebitda) asset sell-off can both fund development capex and offset any earnings dilution. We expect Punch to report its last year pre restructuring (FY’14) on an actual and proforma basis, to provide clearer understanding of the dynamics of the group going forward. We would also expect that the group will have taken the opportunity of the balance sheet restructuring to review its asset values. Fixed charge cover remains a bit tight, and virtually all of the group cash flows are generated from its securitisations, so future flexibility to pay dividends and/or step up capex remains limited relative to Enterprise, its only direct quoted peer. We have reviewed all our forecasts in the light of the group’s re-emergence (and the) new price target is 180p. Using FY'15E, as a base, we derive our price target by applying the same 30% discount to NAV that we use to derive our Enterprise price target, plus adding back at cost the value of the group’s stake in Matthew Clark Wholesaling. Our new price target is an effective 8.0x FY’15E P/E. At the current share price, we estimate that Punch is trading at a -40% discount to our FY’15E Net Asset Value (NAV). (The) key upside risk (is) a pick-up in M&A activity elsewhere in the sector with participants paying asset value, thereby improving the perceived value of tenanted and leased pub estates – a five percentage point reduction in discount to NAV would add 8% to the share price. [The] key downside risk [is] an inability to generate enough free cash flow to fund the amortisation programme."

 

Elysium Group opens Hudson Bar and Grill: Elysium Group, the Essex-based boutique restaurant, club and bar operator, has opened the Hudson Bar & Grill, on the Head Street, Colchester. The restaurant has a members lounge and a steak restaurant called Steak etc on its top floor. Elysium was founded by entrepreneur Ash Afzalnia in 2000, when he opened a small coffee shop. It runs six outlets, including the “tropical beach bar” Waikiki and the Qube bar, both in Colchester.

 

Thai brand Giggling Squid re-opens Hove site: The Thai restaurant brand Giggling Squid, the restaurant that introduced the “Thai Tapas” concept to Britain in 2009, has reopened its 80 cover, two-floor Hove branch restaurant after a £150,000 refit. All four floors of the property were extensively damaged in July by a violent summer storm when thousands of gallons of rain water cascaded through roof. The chain, which currently operates ten restaurants, has three more openings scheduled for early 2015 and is in advanced negotiations on another six properties nationwide. It will open in Bristol in February and Salisbury in March. Contracts have also been exchanged on a site in Chichester, West Sussex. Group turnover doubled this year and is expected to redouble again in 2015. The company has been nominated for this year’s Sussex Business Times Entrepreneur of the Year category. It is co-owned by Pranee Laurillard and her husband Andy. 

24-hour London concept wins investment from Richard Northcott: VQ, the 24-hour London cafe & diner, has secured new investment from Richard Northcott, the entrepreneur who founded Dodge City (now B&Q) and Pet City (now Pets at Home) to power its expansion. VQ, led by managing director Simon Prideaux, has seen a 24% uplift in like-for-like sales on the back of its rebranding and refurbishment in 2012. The brand currently serves more than 5,500 customers a week in Chelsea and Bloomsbury and plans are under way to expand further across the capital. 24-hour or late-night licence sites in Shoreditch, Waterloo, Borough, Clapham, Notting Hill and Islington are being sought. The original VQ on the Fulham Road, has been open for 19 years. A second site opened on Great Russell Street WC1 last year under the 720-bedroom St Giles Hotel off Tottenham Court Road, complete with 45 foot glass frontage and 120 covers. Richard Northcott is a director of Cirrus Inns, which runs 14 pubs, and was previously with Geronimo Inns. He said: “VQ is a great concept with a terrific team. I think we can grow into a significant brand home and abroad.” Prideaux said: “Since becoming a totally independent company in December 2011, VQ has taken a huge leap forward. The rebranding and refurbishment of VQ Chelsea gave us a revitalised, modernised and strengthened concept as well as record results. VQ Bloomsbury has successfully tested the concept in a bigger site and in an area with a very different demographic, as well as show that the concept works successfully when linked to a hotel. Richard Northcott’s involvement is both well-timed and exciting, as his extensive experience in retailing will ensure we grow at a quicker pace, and become the market leaders in 24 hour and late night dining both in London and further afield.”