UK-based Hakkasan set for Las Vegas expansion: Hakkasan Group, the UK-founded restaurant and nightclub company, is buying The Light Group in the US, which operates 22 nightclubs, day-clubs and restaurants. Light Group owner New York-based Morgans Hotel Group is selling its 90% stake in the company in a deal expected to complete next month. The remaining 10% owned by The Light Group’s founders is also part of the $36m acquisition price. Hakkasan Group chief executive Neil Moffitt said the deal would make his company the largest non-gambling entertainment enterprise on the Las Vegas Strip. “The acquisition of a majority stake in The Light Group is another step forward in our ambitious investment strategy to deliver exceptional guest experiences,” he said. Hakkasan operates eight nightclubs and day-clubs and seven restaurant brands worldwide. The purchase will add another 22 nightclubs, day clubs and restaurants to Hakkasan’s portfolio, including The Light Group’s 1 Oak in The Mirage and Light at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.Most of The Light Group’s nightclubs and dining outlets are inside the Aria, Mirage, Bellagio and Mandalay Bay hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. All of them are MGM Resorts International properties. The casino and hotel company combined forces with Hakkasan earlier this year to form MGM Hakkasan Hospitality to develop and manage hotels with the casinos worldwide.

Enterprise Inns chief executive sees annual bonus treble: Enterprise Inns chief executive Simon Townsend earned £880,000 in the year to 30 September, up from £620,000 the year before. His basic salary rose to £434,000 from £384,000 the year before. His annual bonus increased to £308,000 compared to £111,000 the year prior. Finance director Neil Smith earned £756,000 in 2014 compared to £581,000 in the year prior. His basic salary was £368,000 compared to £355,000 in the year prior with his bonus increasing to £269,000 compared to £110,000 in the year before. Former chief executive Ted Tuppen earned £480,000 compared to £1,024,000 in the year prior. Tuppen retired from the board on 6 February 2014 – and these earnings relate to this period. Following his retirement from the board, he continued as an employee of the company until 19 May 2014. Since then he was paid in lieu of notice on a monthly basis. For the period from 6 February 2014 up until the end of the 2014 financial year, Tuppen’s remuneration consists of £416,000 of salary or salary in lieu of notice, together with benefits of £30,000, salary supplements in lieu of pension contributions of £104,000 and a bonus of £150,000. The bonus related to the period up to 19 May 2014 only. The two sets of payments, those made whilst he was on the board and those since he stepped down, meant Tuppen’s total earnings were around £1,186,000.