Whitbread reveals hub by Premier Inn requirements – and unique features: Whitbread has revealed more details of the requirements of its new hub by Premier Inn format, which debuted in St Martin’s Lane, Central London a fortnight ago and is achieving 100% occupancy. The company held an event on Wednesday evening where it outlined its strategy and requirements for the new brand. The room size is 11.4 sq m, against 21.3sq m for a standard Premier Inn room. Initially, a hub room will be priced at about 20 to 25% cheaper than a Premier Inn room. Although only one site is currently open, the secure pipeline already has at least 1,700 rooms with seven sites in London and three in Edinburgh. To begin with, the concept will be limited to those cities but it is likely to roll out to other major cities in due course. Build costs per room (because you can fit more rooms into a building) are some 25% below a Premier Inn room, making viable sites that are more expensive in acquisition terms The company said that, on check in, customers’ room numbers are communicated by text to their mobile. When customers download the hub app, they can control the temperature of their room, the lighting settings, the do not disturb sign and the TV. Rooms have a copyrighted interactive map: point a phone at the map, areas of London can be selected and attractions in the area searched for. Hub sites will be developed in tandem and in some cases adjacent to Premier Inns. Edinburgh Caltongate is an existing example, with two sites licensed side by side. Whitbread currently operates 56,000 bedrooms and plans to increase this number to 75,000 by 2018.

London freehold let to Enterprise is sold for £1.78m: Prideview Properties, represented by the property agent Savills, has sold the freehold of the Bell on Bush Lane, near Cannon Street station in the City of London, for around £1.775m to a private investor, representing a net initial yield of 5%. The Grade II listed mid-terrace public house with bar on the ground floor and private dining room on the first floor is currently let to Enterprise Inns on a 35-year lease expiring in 2045, at a current rent of £95,000 a year. Nick Lyell, an associate in Savills' leisure and trading team, said: “This was a rare opportunity to purchase a sizeable asset in the City and this was reflected in the high amount of interest we received.”

  
Government to invest through Crowdcube: The crowd-funding website Crowdcube has revealed that the government is to start investing through its platform. Co-founder Luke Lang said: “We’re proud to formally announce that we have been chosen as one of only six competitively selected partners by the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF), and the only crowdfunding platform to be on the list of VCs, angels and other investors. As a result, the UK government is set to invest £5m through Crowdcube, alongside the crowd, in companies within the technology, digital and science sectors over the next three years. The LCIF, Established by Funding London and Capital Enterprise,  is a new government-backed fund designed to address the funding gap faced by start-ups, and will see £25m invested in 156 seed-stage companies within technology, digital and science over the next three years. The £25m is being contributed by the Mayor of London through the London Enterprise Panel’s Growing Places fun'. For the government to invest in London’s top start-ups through Crowdcube, alongside the crowd, is an exciting prospect and underlines Crowdcube’s reputation as an effective way for high-growth tech firms to raise finance.”
 
Ed's Easy Diner opens at Barclaycard Arena: The retro American restaurant chain Ed's Easy Diner has become the first company to open in one of the retail units at the newly redeveloped Barclaycard Arena (formerly the National Indoor Arena) in central Birmingham. The new outlet fronts onto the canal leading up to Brindleyplace. Phil Mead, managing director of the Arenas business at the NEC Group, owned of the Barclaycard Arena, said: “It’s fantastic that Ed's Easy Diner has chosen to open a new restaurant as part of the refurbished Barclaycard Arena. They will not only add to the experience for our customers through their food and beverage offer but they will create a natural link between the venue and the city centre for passers-by, really taking advantage of the Arena’s prime location." Andrew Guy, chief executive of Ed's Easy Diner, said: “We're delighted to be the first outlet at the new Barclaycard Arena and excited to be opening another Diner in Birmingham.”
 
Simon French – Greene King past its low point: Cenkos Leisure's analyst Simon French has issued a "buy" note on Greene King shares, with a target price of 761p, arguing that the company is past its low point. He said: “Greene King has announced H1 results showing a 3.5% decline in adjusted profit before tax to £82.6m, reflecting the disposal of 275 pubs and margin pressure in its managed pub business; the retained business showed 3% growth in PBT to £81.6m. The interim divi has been increased 4.6% to 7.95p whilst return on capital increased 20 basis points to 9.2%. In Retail, operating margin declined 0.8% points, reflecting moderate LFL trading and cost inflation pressures. The group expects the margin decline to moderate slightly in H2 and highlights that Christmas bookings in Retail are up 7.2%. Pub Partners (tenanted and leased pubs) traded ahead of the group's expectations with LFL net income up 3.7% whilst Brewing profits were flat year-on-year. For the full year, we expect consensus expectations to reduce by circa 2-3% to £171m-£172m PBT, primarily reflecting the margin attrition in the managed pub business. We think Greene King has passed the low point in its trading cycle and performance should improve from here on in and we reiterate our 'buy' recommendation given the inexpensive valuation (CY 2015E adj EV/ebitdar of 8.7x and P/E of 11.3x) and uplifts post the Spirit acquisition.”
 
Greene King updates on value at Hungry Horse, broadening customer appeal and family dining initiatives: Greene King updated analysts on how it is broadening and improving its customer offer at key brands at yesterday’s results. The company said: “We relaunched our known value item (KVI) strategy across many Hungry Horse sites, offering customers enhanced value, including entry-price burgers at £3.99 and a kid’s meal deal for £2.99. We increased first-time product availability across Retail by 70bps, to 99.7%, we improved NPS and our average food hygiene ‘scores on the doors’ rating improved 4.7%. We also reconfigured the carvery layout in Farmhouse Inns to reduce queue times by over 60% and drive further improvements in consistency and quality. Further examples of quality developments in the period include the introduction of Red Tractor accredited sirloin beef in Eating Inn and a new meal quality guarantee in Hungry Horse. We constantly evolve our offer to ensure we stay relevant in an environment of increasing consumer choice. New product additions in the period included lighter snacks such as chocolate-coated popcorn and, in Old English Inns, we added separate evening menus including a new cocktail menu. In our Premium High Street and Premium Community pubs, we revitalised our weekly deals to include ‘Gourmet Burger’ nights. In Hungry Horse, new dishes included ‘Chicken Fingers’, while in Eating Inn we added freshly baked bread across the menu. Emerging consumer trends include a rise in inter-generational leisure occasions, an increase in the use of and access to technology in leisure, and eating-out becoming an all-day occasion. We continue to promote family dining in our sites, with the roll-out of our ‘two courses for’ ‘Golden Years’ offer to further brands across the estate, and in Eating Inn where we have added additional vouchers for children in our Christmas voucher booklet. Also, following the launch of a breakfast offer in Hungry Horse last year, breakfast sales in the brand grew by 23%.”
 
Wetherspoon public relations guru named in PR most influential list: The public relations expert Eddie Gershon has been named in the PR Week Power Book, the "guide to the most influential people in UK PR". Gershon is described in the guide as “a no-nonsense, efficient and affable comms man". Gershon, a hospitality and leisure specialist, has represented the pub operator JD Wetherspoon for almost a quarter of a century, and other clients include the restaurant groups, Prezzo, Chimichanga and Vapiano, as well as VAT Club Jacques Borel.

Les Deux Salons sold to Prescott and Conran: Les Deux Salons, the Covent Garden, Centreal London bar and grill owned by chef Anthony Demetre, who also runs the Michelin-starred Arbutus and Wild Honey restaurants, has been sold to Sir Terence Conran and his business partner Peter Prescott, who run three Lutyens wine bars and two Albion restaurants in the capital. Announcing the sale on Twitter, Demetre said he had  mixed emotions" but it was "time to move on".

Two Enterprise pubs make first Time Out Love London awards: Two Enterprise pubs, the Hootananny, Brixton and the Garden Shed, Wimbledon, have been named winners in the inaugural Time Out Love London Awards 2014. The awards prompted 65,000 Time Out readers to vote for their favourite independent restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and shops. The Hootananny was described as "bring[ing] the festival vibe to Brixton … great for dancing to live music", while the Garden Shed was praised for its "comfy" sofas, gourmet pizzas, and large beer garden and conservatory area. Enterprise regional manager Suzanne Delaney said: “Congratulations to both the Garden Shed, and the Hootananny for winning in the first year of the Love London Awards. We’re delighted that not one, but two of our pubs are loved by Londoners.”

Elite Pubs reopens Poacher and Partridge after seven-month refurbishment: Elite Pubs has reopened the Poacher and Partridge in Tudeley, Tonbridge, Kent, after buying it earlier this year and putting it through a seven-month refurbishment. Works on the ground floor included the installation of reclaimed tiled flooring from a French chateau, new ceilings and the creation of a theatre-style kitchen with a large wood fired oven. New fixtures and fittings including a bar and fixed seating were installed, together with a new sound system and new toilets.. Elite Pubs, which now has six outlets, is headed by Martial Chaussy who financed his first pub, the Great House in Hawkhurst, Kent, ten years ago by borrowing against his house.

Top London Greek restaurant set to become craft beer bar: A top-rated restaurant in the "Pelopponese Triangle" area of Camden, North London, so called because of the number of outlets selling Greek food in the vicinity, is set to be turned into a craft beer bar. The Alexander the Great, on Plender Street, which is ranked 135th out of 17,623 restaurants in London on the TripAdvisor website, putting it in the top 1%, is in the process of being sold to new owners, who applied this week for planning permission to convert the ground floor and basement bar into a new pub. A planning application filed for the Alexander the Great site, by the would-be new owner, Jeremy Sirrell, says they want to serve a range of cask and bottled beers. The applicant states that Mr Sirrell’s son will be the licensee and is experienced in running craft beer pubs. The current interior, with its classical statues of Greek figures, taverna-like stonework and climbing indoor plants, will be ripped out, while the kitchen, with its charcoal barbecue, will be removed and replaced with casks of beer. The application adds: “The existing building has been modified on many occasions internally over the years in its life as a fish shop, fish takeaway and Greek restaurant.”
 
Boom Burger to open second site in Brixton: Boom Burger, the Jamaican-themed restaurant in Portobello Road, Notting Hill, West London founded by the Jamaican-born young chef Josh de Lisser is to open a second site in Brixton Station Road, South London. The restaurant's menu includes dishes such as jerk chicken and plantain fries, as well as burgers, including the signature Boom Burger, covered in cheese and bacon jam. The Notting Hill site opened earlier this year, after a number of pop-ups, in premises previously occupied by the burrito operation El Camion.

Ambitious frozen yogurt cafe opens in Newcastle: What is claimed to be the North East of England’s first dedicated frozen yogurt cafe and shake bar has opened in the Newcastle upon Tyne suburb of Jesmond, with the founders saying they have ambitious plans to grow their new Iglouu brand both organically and through franchising opportunities. School friends Michael Carling and Simon Coward, both 24, have launched Iglouu, with help from TEDCO, the Jarrow-based Tyneside Economic Development Company, and its Ready for Business programme, as well as Virgin StartUp, a not-for-profit organisation launched in October 2013 to provide low-cost business loans and mentoring support to entrepreneurs across the UK. Carling said: “We originally had the idea for a shake bar years ago but decided to head to university instead. However after graduating we were both hugely underwhelmed by our chosen office-based professions and decided the time was right to set up our own business. We had watched with admiration some similar chains in London and Leeds and were pretty confident that we could roll out our concept across the North East. Frozen yogurt is a fast-emerging market and is big business in other countries and cities owing to its indulgent taste yet low fat qualities." The first Iglouu cafe, in Brentwood Avenue, Jesmond, sells more than 30 different kinds of milkshake, 12 different smoothies, waffles, hot chocolate and tea, as well as frozen yogurt.
 
North East microbrewery plans production increase: A North East of England microbrewery has plans to expand in 2015 after doubling its production over the past year, Inside Media has reported. The County Durham-based Sonnet 43 Brew House brewed 512,346 pints (1,779 barrels) in 2014, which is almost double the 264,644 pints produced in 2013, with three weeks of trading still to go. The 2014 figures mark the close of a "successful and award winning year" for the company, which sells its range of craft ales across the UK. Sonnet 43, which was recently included in Mitchells and Butlers' list of recommended beers for the first time, has claimed a number of accolades in the past 12 months, including two star Great Taste Awards for its American Pale Ale and Bourbon Milk Stout. Sonnet 43’s founder, Mark Hird ,said: "Since its launch in 2012, Sonnet 43 Brew House has experienced strong growth, with demand continuing to climb across the UK. This has already allowed us to double production, with plans for further expansion now in place for 2015 and beyond." The company currently produces a core range of five beers, which is sold in pubs and online.
 
Bibigo to take Alan Yau site for second London opening: The Korean restaurant brand Bibigo is to open on the site of Alan Yau’s former Naamyaa brand on St John’s Street in Islington, North London. There were plans to relaunch the site as Busaba Eatai, which have been scuttled. It will be the second Bibigo in the UK after its restaurant in Soho in Central London. The group also operates restaurants in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam and Los Angeles. The 130-cover Bibigo Angel will have an open Korean grill barbecue allowing diners to see head chef Yongjae Cho preparing dishes that include chilli barbecued pork and squid and kimchi rice with chicken and fried egg. The restaurant will open in January.

Brewer Innis & Gunn promotes lower Scottish drink-drive limit with labels saying 'Innis & None': The Edinburgh brewer Innis & Gunn is promoting the new lower Scottish drink-driving limit, which comes into effect from this Friday, 5 December, by changing the label on its lager bottles to read "Innis & None". The new maximum blood alcohol level for drivers in Scotland will be 50mg/100ml down from the previous limit of 80mg. However, the brewer's message goes a step further, telling drivers that it is best to abstain completely. In addition to bottles, the label will also appear on beer mats in outlets serving Innis & Gunn, as well as featuring at events organised by the Scottish government and social media channels managed by Road Safety Scotland as part of a wider national campaign. Innis & Gunn's founder and chief executive, Dougal Sharp, said: “We feel it’s important to help spread the word that the new drink-drive limit is so low that even one drink risks pushing you over the legal limit." Gwen Hamilton, team leader for Safer Scotland Marketing, said: “The support from Innis & Gunn is particularly significant as it allows us to reach people in a pub environment who might be tempted to have a drink before driving home.”
 
Restaurant booking company sells system to Denmark: ResDiary, the restaurant booking specialist, has agreed a deal to take the system to Denmark. The cutting edge reservation system, that allows restaurateurs to manage covers, take bookings, and drive business by analysing reservation patterns, announced the deal while on a trade mission to India to talk with operators about its technology. ResDiary have teamed up with Crunch IT to deliver the system locally in Denmark. Mike Conyers, chief executive of ResDiary, said: "There is a huge amount of interest in the ResDiary system globally, but we’re delighted to be taking our technology to Scandinavia. We’ve earned a reputation for a product that is not only fully featured but is very easy for restaurateurs and their staff to adopt within their operations. The system is simple to use, endlessly efficient and a tribute to the hard work of our developers and the innovative thinking at ResDiary HQ that has gone into making the system a global success story."

Stoke gets first micropub: The first micropub in Stoke-on-Trent has opened in a former wine bar. The Bursley Ale House is based in the former Chambers Wine Bar in Wedgwood Place, Burslem. Business partners Darren Bailey, Alan Collinson, Chris Myatt and John Slack have spent thousands of pounds on two months of renovation work before opening the new venue. Myatt said: "We were quite lucky, because the structure of the building was refurbished when it was still Chambers, so we didn't have to do too much work to make it good inside." Collinson, who lives in Spain and came over for the pub's opening, said: "All of us were talking about it with John's wife Sheila, who owns the building, and when she said she was getting a bit fed up of it we thought about opening it up as a new pub. It didn't take long for us to discuss it, so we chipped in a bit of money and sorted it out quickly. We all like our beers, and we hope this will be a great success." The micropub is the second in North Staffordshire after Bridge Street Alehouse launched in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
 
Wadworth launches 30-litre craft keg format: Wadworth, the Wiltshire brewer and pub retailer, has launched a range of four products in 30-litre kegs which are aimed at customers with limited storage facilities or smaller bar areas. The range includes Corvus Stout which has been available in a 30 litre keg since it was launched three years ago. Joining it are Bishops Tipple, Tucher Nurnberger Pilsener and Kingstone Press Cider. Wadworth's marketing product manager, Ellie Alderton, said: “Our drinkers love Corvus for its wonderfully smooth and rich taste, but our trade customers are telling us that they also appreciate it for its smaller format.”
 
Ex-Diageo boss lined up to chair Formula One board: The former chief executive of Diageo, Paul Walsh, is being lined up to become chairman of the Formula One board, a move that could signal the beginning of the end of Bernie Ecclestone's control of the motorsport. A board meeting is being scheduled for early next week to discuss Walsh replacing Nestlé chairman Peter Brabeck, who has been F1's board chairman for two years, the Financial Times reported. Brabeck has been undergoing several months of medical treatment.
 
Jones Bar Group marks 10th anniversary with celebration ale: Jones Bar Group, the Leeds-based operation run by brothers Matthew and Ben Jones, has celebrated its 10th anniversary by commissioning a celebration ale to be sold at the company's very first outlet, Bar 166 & Bistro, in Town Street, Horsforth. The company has now hit a turnover of £6.3m, from nine outlets at seven Leeds venues. It employs more than 100 full and part-time staff, and serves 280,000 customers a year. Matthew and Ben, now managing director and financial director of Jones Bar Group, were 24 and 19 when they launched the initial business, acquiring Stuarts Wine Bar, where they both worked, and turn it into Bar 166 & Bistro, with advice from their father, Trevor, a co-founder of the Leeds-based national wealth management company Pearson Jones. Their first year’s trading generated a £780,000 turnover. Further acquisitions came as the brothers grew their business, launching Jones Bar Group in 2009. Matthew Jones told BDaily: “We’ve had some knocks and failures in the last ten years but we have built the business to its current success through sheer determination, creating bars and bistros which we passionately believe in and which are increasingly popular."
 
Zonal wins family business award: Zonal Retail Data Systems is celebrating having scooped the Business Innovation Award at the Herald Scottish Family Business Awards. The awards, run in association with Business Gateway, recognise and reward family businesses of all sizes and sectors in Scotland, and are now in their third year. Edinburgh-based Zonal, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, was recognised for its technology that revolutionises the way orders are taken in hospitality businesses by its mobile solutions iServe and iOrder. Zonal remains a family business with founder Ralph McLean’s son, Stuart, now chief executive and five family members on the board.
 
Bispham Green Brewery returns to profit: Bispham Green Brewery, which runs hotels, pubs and restaurants in the north west of England. has reported a return to profit in the year to 28 February 2014. The company made pre-tax profit of £431,000 on turnover of £3,684,000. It made a loss of £49,000 on turnover of £3,606,000 the year before.
 
Saltaire brewhouse leader to start own brewery: Adrian Chapman, the brewhouse team leader at Saltaire Brewery in Yorkshire, is leaving the Shipley-based company to start his own brewery. The Wishbone Brewery in Chesham Street, Keighley, should be up and running within four months, with plans for a brewery tap on site. Chapman said: "As soon as the lease is signed I will be placing orders for my equipment and getting the builders on site to sort out the drainage and flooring. My wife Emma will be doing sales and event management for Wishbone." The new enterprise will be a ten-barrel brewery with four fermenting vessels in two sizes enabling it to make 40 barrels a week. Chapman said: "Most of the brew-kit is to be designed and built in Yorkshire, though my fermenting vessels will be built in and shipped from China. In the future I have plans for a brewery tap on site so beer lovers can come and sample brewery-fresh beers a stone's through from Keighley's other excellent pubs."