Richard Negus – rent per square foot has doubled in suburban London locations: Richard Negus, a partner at London property agent AG&G, has reported that rent in some traditionally cheaper London suburbs has doubled as operators, struggling to meet central London prices, seek expansion opportunities. Negus, writing for the Propel Quarterly magazine, also reported that 20 bottom-end Strada sites, sold as part of last year’s Tragus restructuring, sold for an average premium of £130,000. He stated: “The shortage of supply in London, high premium values/rents and strong competition are driving some branded restaurateurs to look to suburban locations and out-of-town leisure schemes for expansion opportunities where competition is weaker and rents lower. However, where rents were once £20 to £25 per square foot, restaurateurs are being forced to pay rents of £35 to £40 per sq ft in some locations, which ultimately dilutes profits for existing businesses, not only through the increased competition, but as a result of increasing rental values and therefore increasing costs to businesses. It is all very well if restaurants continue to trade profitably. However, a very serious risk with restaurant properties are the length of leases, often for terms of 20 and 25 years, which is considerably longer than all other commercial property (retail, industrial or offices) and is due to the length of time required by tenants to depreciate their substantial fit-out costs compared to retail and office users. If restaurants do not trade successfully then the leases with “upward only reviews” can become a burden rather than an asset.” Of the 20 Strada sales, he said: “The restaurants were sold individually to a variety of branded operators and some private restaurateurs. Their locations were mainly in provincial towns across the UK and in some London suburbs. The restaurants were on the whole “tired” and mostly smaller than the 3,500 sq ft/100 covers desired by the multiple restaurateurs. No trading information was disclosed to prospective purchasers and the premiums represented what the buyers were prepared to pay to secure the sites (key money) – none of the restaurants would continue to trade under the Strada name. The average premium paid for each restaurant was around £130,000, with the highest premiums being achieved in the London locations. An estimated £250,000 to £450,000 was spent by each purchaser refurbishing their restaurant.”

Minister opens Pub15: Pub15, the only dedicated show for the UK pub industry, held at Olympia in West London, was opened yesterday by the community pubs minister, Kris Hopkins. Of the industry, Hopkins, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Communities and Local Government, said: "It has a £22bn impact on the UK's economy and some 900,000 people are employed directly or indirectly. The government wants to support and continue to support the industry. It's a key part of our long-term economic plan. We've worked on business rates and under this government, beer is 8p cheaper and that's something we should celebrate. The pub is a treasured part of British life. People come from around the world to visit Buckingham Palace and they'll come and see the House of Commons, but they also want to come and see the pub. We treasure that and should make sure that we sell it as part of our great heritage."

Almost 4m Britons eat in same restaurant every time they go out: A quarter of all Britons have just two restaurants in their eating-out repertoire, and 3.8 million people eat at the same restaurant every time they go out, according to a survey commissioned by the same-day restaurant reservation app Uncover. The survey found more than three quarters of restaurant goers – 76% – said the reason they stuck to their favourite eatery was because they always got a table, or were worried that they would have to wait if they go elsewhere. Almost half a million people said they always went to the same restaurant simply because they fancied the waiting staff. Christopher Steinau, one of the founders of Uncover, said: “It’s easy to understand why so many people visit the same restaurant every time they eat out, there’s just so much on offer it can sometimes be overwhelming.” Uncover is a free app that curates short lists of top restaurants based on user location and preferences, and only shows restaurants that have tables available on the same day. Its partners in London include Nobu, Hakkasan, Pied a Terre and Hutong at the Shard.

James Horler – restaurants have to anticipate fluctuating tastes: Industry veteran James Horler has stressed the importance of restaurants evolving to meet changing tastes. In his Nottingham Post column, Horler, who oversees the Red Hot World Buffet, La Sala and Rocket restaurant businesses, said: “The most successful restaurants have to anticipate fluctuating tastes. For some, with a brand relying entirely on a single style, it can be trickier, but even they have room to manoeuvre. Red Hot World Buffet, for example, is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to dining style. However, over the festive period, chefs created specials like turkey pizza and Christmas pudding ice cream – not exactly the generic festive buffet offering. Sticking to the same menu format in every season might be easy, but it’s not always a safe bet to guarantee bums on seats all year round.”

Restaurant designed by Olympics genius scrapped in row over toilets: A plan to build a new restaurant in Shoreham, West Sussex, designed by the British engineering genius who designed the London Olympic cauldron has been scrapped – in a row over toilets. Thomas Heatherwick, creator of the London 2012 cauldron, had been lined up to design the new restaurant by a developer with whom he had previously created an acclaimed café in a nearby seaside town. But developer Jane Wood claimed that her Shoreham project had now ended – because of the local council’s insistence that the 70-seat venue has 12 toilets, not five. Wood had hoped the £1.5m design would bring “a bit of Thomas Heatherwick genius” to the town. Instead the site will remain in its current use – as a large public toilet. There had been hopes that she and Heatherwick might recreate the success of their East Beach Café in nearby Littlehampton. With Heatherwick’s design of undulating steel ribbons evoking images of “magically eroded objects”, the East Beach Café has won more than 20 design awards since opening in 2007 and been credited with revitalising Littlehampton. A council spokesman said: “Restaurants do need a certain number of toilets.”

Telegraph columnist – ‘New Inventive’s £130m valuation looks toppy to me’: Daily Telegraph business columnist James Quinn has argued that New Inventive Bar Company’s estimated £130m flotation valuation is “toppy” – and questioned backer Alchemy’s plan to exit the business. He wrote: “Tellingly, Alchemy has said it is planning to sell all of its current equity in the business. This is unusual to say the least – despite the length of time it has backed the business. Private equity backers tend to retain a rump during a stock market listing, as a way of showing to prospective investors they remain committed. Gone too are the founders, Roy Ellis and Neil MacLeod, who helped Alchemy take the business private, but have been replaced by a new management team, although the pair do retain a small economic interest. It is obviously up to institutional investors to decide what the business is worth. But the £130m potential valuation, based on a sector comparator of 10-times earnings multiple, frankly looks toppy; and, for my money, is hard to swallow.”

Jamie Oliver website hit by malware: Jamie Oliver’s website has been hit by a “malware problem”, a spokesman for the celebrity chef has acknowledged. Malicious code sought to exploit vulnerabilities in users’ systems and install malware, researchers found. If installed, that malware could give hackers control of users’ computers. According to a spokesman for Jamie Oliver, only ten users had written to the site about the issue in the past couple of days. He said that a “low-level malware problem” was identified and dealt with and that the site was now “safe to use”. The spokesman added: “The Jamie Oliver website is regularly checked for vulnerabilities by both our in-house team and an independent third party, and they quickly deal with anything that is found. The team is confident that no data has been compromised in this incident, but if anyone is worried do please use the contact form on the site. We apologise to anyone who was at all worried after going on the site.” The spokesman confirmed that existing code on the site was modified by a hacker, but said the website team was still trying to work out when that had happened. The site has ten million visitors per month and is ranked 515th in Britain, according to an analyst.

Rick Stein to open in Newquay: Celebrity chef Rick Stein is to open a new restaurant in Fistral, Newquay, this spring. He is currently working on a refurbishment of the new site, which follows a recently opened business in Porthleven. It will be located next to an iconic beach, famous for having some of the best surf in Europe. The Stein’s flagship Seafood Restaurant in Padstow celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Stein said: “It’s exciting to be opening a restaurant on Fistral. Even my Aussie friends in Sydney know it – some were lifeguards there in the 1970s. I imagine the restaurant buzzing with people enjoying a great beach and the sort of food you have to have by the water.”

Luminar nightclub hosts Sunday church meetings: A city centre nightclub in Cambridge, Ballare in Lion Yard, owned by Luminar Group is seeing up to 180 people turn up every Sunday for worship. During term-time the nightclub hosts the KingsGate Community Church, where members enjoy food and soft drinks before services with music start at 6.30pm, running until 8pm, with the option to stay on afterwards to socialise. Steve Squirrell, a student worker with KingsGate, said: “It is just a fantastic venue right in the centre of town, with great facilities and known by every student in Cambridge. We outgrew our previous meeting place and Ballare gives us a bigger capacity and room to grow in the future. We have been made very welcome. It is an unusual place to hold church services but the services are aimed mainly at students and young people and it is ideal for our needs.” KingsGate Community Church is an evangelical Christian church which was founded in Peterborough and set up a centre in Cambridge in 2010.

McDonald’s UK exploring click-and-collect ‘very closely’: McDonald’s UK says click-and-collect is an area it is “exploring very closely”, and could roll out mobile ordering and payment in the future as part of improvements to its already existing mobile app. Alistair Macrow, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of McDonald’s UK and Northern Europe, told Marketing Week that click-and-collect was “an area we explore very closely. If we can find ways of using the technology that people carry with them to help enhance their McDonald’s experience then that’s exactly what we’ll do. We’ll continue to innovate with our app and with our digital communications to help them get food in an easier way.” McDonald’s UK launched its mobile app five years ago and has since seen 1.5 million downloads. Currently the app features a store locator, promotions, and meal and nutritional information. Last year, McDonald’s ran a test trial of mobile click-and-collect in the US, which allowed customers to pick up food in stores or at the drive-through. In November the company announced plans to launch a global mobile app, which will offer promotions and payments, as part of its mass personalisation strategy, after it piloted a mobile coupon app in Amsterdam in 2013. Click-and-collect is already being used by KFC, Starbucks and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. After the launch of McDonald’s “Create Your Taste” platform in Australia, which allows customers to order via a digital kiosk and choose their bun, size of burger and ingredients, the company announced plans to push the marketing platform globally, not only through digital kiosks but also through table service and mobile ordering. Macrow said Create Your Taste was still in a pilot phase and has not reached the UK, but McDonald’s was exploring giving customers “the ability to customise our existing burgers by kiosk or at the counter” through a small-scale test, having already rolled out kiosks and iPads into more than 100 of its UK restaurants.

Spirit clocks up 100th new employee recruited through work academy: Spirit Pub Company is celebrating the hiring of its 100th worker recruited via its Sector Based Work Academy scheme, which sees Spirit employees mentor and support unemployed people and give them a meaningful insight into the world of work. The 100th recruit through the scheme, Dominic Knight, attended a celebration event at Spirit’s Ye Olde Cock Tavern in Fleet Street, Central London last week along with other recent successful programme participants. Alistair Todd, Spirit’s resourcing manager, said: “Dominic began his course in December and successfully completed his placement by demonstrating genuine commitment and passion for his career throughout. His hard work paid off and he was offered a permanent position at Taylor Walker’s Marlborough Head in Mayfair.” Spirit works in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions on its Sector Based Work Academies. Jane Beaver, head of the National Employer Service Team at the DWP, who attended the event at Y Olde Cock, said: “Today I have seen first-hand how the initiative, which is championed by all at Spirit, is leading to fantastic employment opportunities and genuinely changing peoples’ lives.”

Urban Cookhouse sets 13 March as opening date: Violet Hospitality has named 13 March as the opening date for its first venue, the Urban Cookhouse, in a former shipping warehouse at 54 Princess Street, in the heart of Manchester. Tim Coulston, previously director of operations at the Alehouse Collection, set up Violet Hospitality last year with the declared intention of developing three restaurant and bar brands by 2020. Urban Kitchen was announced last September, and was originally due to open by the end of last year. It is described as a restaurant, bar and lounge serving “international street food at the table” and “shaking up some exquisite concoctions behind the bar”.

Assignment of tied Stars Pubs and Bars site in Hampstead offered for £110,000 premium: Agent Fleurets is selling the assignment of a tied Star Pubs and Bars site in Hampstead, The White Horse, for a £110,000 premium. Rent is £79,950 per annum on a 25-year lease that started on 28 April 2005. A barrelage discount of £100 a barrel starts in April 2005, increasing from the current £50 a barrel. The property, which comprises the ground floor and the basement of the building, hosted the first shows of comedian Graham Norton. The White Horse is on the corner of Constantine Road and Fleet Road, a short walk from Hampstead Heath railway line and situated between Hampstead and Belsize Park Underground Stations.

Pret A Manger hits the road with food sampling van to debut menu additions: Pret A Manger is to hit the road with a branded Citroen H van as part of a new hot-food sampling campaign. The Pret hot-food tour will see the brand give out thousands of free samples of its Proper Porridge and new Quinoa Rice Pots to consumers across the country. Pret’s hot chefs will travel to various locations for a fortnight, stopping at 12 high streets between 8am and 2pm each day. They will give out full-size portions of porridge in the mornings, followed by Korean barbecue pulled pork and sweet potato and cauliflower curry quinoa rice pots in the afternoon. Pret is using its social media channels to promote the tour, and has picked local Instagram photographers to shoot Pret’s hot food in their favourite local spots. The brand will then post photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #HotPret to reveal which city they are visiting on that day. A Pret A Manger spokeswoman said: “Pret’s hot-food offering continues to grow and what better way to introduce two additions, and a breakfast classic, than to have a bit of fun warming up thousands of people across Britain with free samples.”

Award-winning “gluten free” fish and chip business opens second site: An award-winning fish and chip business has opened a new shop in Birkdale Village. The Fylde Fish Bar, known for its gluten free food, has opened on Weld Road. The Marshside-based business was recently voted one of the top three independent fish and chip restaurants in the UK. Jodie Zeniou, who runs the business with her husband Banico, said: “Mondays are gluten free, and we sell cod, haddock, plaice and hake, and cook fish to order. Customers can go for no batter and a salad if they choose. We will be selling our famous meat pies – which are so popular at our Marshside restaurant – and chicken curries. All our food is fresh, and we change our oils and fats daily. That makes the food healthier, and tastier.”

New owners declare ‘tremendous opportunity for international growth’ at Tim Hortons: Executives at Restaurant Brands International, the company formed by the merger of Burger King with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, have declared that the success of the merger of the two brands would be judged on Tim Hortons’ ability to expand outside its home market. Currently the vast majority of the chain’s 4,700 outlets are in Canada or the United States, unlike Burger King, where more than half its 14,366 restaurants are outside the US. Daniel Schwartz, chief executive of Restaurant Brands International, said: “There’s a tremendous opportunity for international growth. But as we saw with Burger King, this process takes time. Don’t expect a big change in the pace of development in 2015.” Burger King’s Ebitda rose 3.8%, to $189.1m, from $182.1m during the fourth quarter ending 31 December. Sales rose 3.4%, to $274.2m. Global like-for-like sales rose 3%. For the year, Burger King’s revenue fell 7.9%to $1.06bn, from $1.15bn, due entirely to refranchising, which led to lower revenues. Ebitda for the year rose 10.6%, to $726 million. Executives said that the chain’s strategy of fewer, “more impactful” and “operationally simple” products helped sales for the year. Most notable was the return of Chicken Fries in August, which Schwartz said was its most successful product since the Brazilian private equity firm 3G bought Burger King in 2010. It also helped lead to the chain’s best month for sales in the US since 2008, Schwartz said.

Leelex to open Basque-inspired venue in Trinity Leeds: The Leelex Group is to open a kitchen and bar inspired by Basque culture at the end of this month in Trinity Leeds, creating more than 60 jobs. The restaurant, called Pintura, meaning “work of art” in Spanish, and located next to Marks and Spencer, will serve tapas dishes and pintxo, the bite-size tastes of the Basque country. The 3,000 sq ft restaurant will cater for more than 130 diners and be split across three floors. The restaurant has partnered with a local Spanish food supplier, Grey’s Fine Foods, for its ingredients, and dishes will include fresh salted cod, Iberico ham, octopus and pig’s cheek. Leelex’s managing director, Ged Feltham, said: “Having enjoyed many a memorable summer holidaying in the stunning surroundings of the Basque region, I fell in love with the Spanish and French lifestyle and the passion they have about the food that they eat. Pintura really has been inspired by those experiences and (we) have worked incredibly hard to deliver a dining experience that is authentic and distinctive.” The group’s other ventures include Cielo Blanco, a 125-seat restaurant in the Trinity Centre serving healthy Mexican food.

Las Iguanas secures licensing hours for Torquay opening: The Latin American restaurant chain Las Iguanas has secured a licence allowing it to open until midnight every day and until 1am on Friday and Saturday nights for its new restaurant in Torquay, which is due to open in April. The restaurant is on the ground floor of the £12m Abbey Sands development and will create 50 jobs. It will be a neighbour to a Bistrot Pierre outlet, which opened in September. The licence was secured by the licensing specialist legal practice TLT. Mos Shamel, chief executive of Las Iguanas, said: “Expanding into Torquay, one of the UK’s top tourist spots, was an important strategic step for Las Iguanas.”

Nando’s opens new South Tyneside outlet: Nando’s has opened a branch at Boldon Leisure Park, South Tyneside that it announced back in July last year. The new branch, at Abingdon Way, close to the Cineworld cinema, will seat 116 diners and has created 32 jobs. It lies midway between branches of the chain in Newcastle and Sunderland and takes the number of Nando’s in the North East of England to 11.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen eyes Exeter Guildhall opening: Gourmet Burger Kitchen has become the first big-name restaurant chain to declare publicly an interest in the £12m “dining quarter” being planned for Exeter’s Guildhall shopping centre. Work is due to start shortly on a scheme that will see the Higher Market arcade and the former Poundland store converted into ten or so restaurants, including a rooftop bar overlooking St Pancras Church. According to Simon Green, of Aviva Investors, the developer of the scheme, his company has been “inundated” with inquiries from national and regional operators keen to be a part of Exeter’s growing eating-out scene. Around 60% of units in the Queen Street Dining development are currently under offer and talks are ongoing with other restaurant businesses, Green said, with occupiers of the restaurants fronting Queen Street and the High Street retail unit expected to be confirmed soon. He said: “We are on the verge of announcing the first four or five restaurant occupiers to come into the scheme, which is really exciting. It’s taken a little bit longer than expected because we want to get the mix right between some really high-quality national and local operators. We always knew there were regional occupiers keen to get into Exeter, but what we have been even more pleasantly surprised by is the quality and volume of regional and national restaurants that are seeking representation in Exeter.” 

Artigiano plans two-floor craft beer bar and restaurant in Exeter’s Guildhall Shopping Centre: Artigiano, which runs coffee bars that transform into wine bars in the evenings, is in talks to open a “chic and stylish” bar and restaurant that would cover two floors at the revamped Guildhall Shopping Centre in Exeter. The proposed venue, to be called the Craft Brew House would occupy the top floor and include a roof terrace with views over the cathedral, and an outside fire-place. It will specialise in craft beers, boutique wines and quality food. Downstairs would be a cocktail lounge and, it is hoped, a late-night bar and club. Joe Hill, managing director of Artigiano Espresso Bars, which currently runs venues in the City of London, Reading and Exeter, told the Express and Echo newspaper that nothing has so far been confirmed and his ideas were a vision at this early stage, but he was “excited” at the prospect of contributing further to Exeter’s night-time economy. He said he had detailed discussions with the landlord and Exeter Council and will be meeting the licensing authorities and police to discuss the proposals in the near future. “We are very excited about the prospect of opening a roof-top bar with a restaurant, outdoor terrace, views of the cathedral and a club lounge on the floor below,” he said.

Enterprise famous war song pub on the market: A pub that inspired the famous marching song of the First World War, “It’s a long way to Tipperary” is on the market. The Tipperary Inn in Honiley, near Kenilworth, Warwickshire, a tied lease with Enterprise Inns that has 14 years of a 15-year lease left to run, has its place in history as the pub where the song was written by Harry Williams and Jack Judge. Mr Williams’ parents were publicans who ran The Plough Inn, where the song was written. He purchased the pub for them with the royalties he received from the song and changed the pub’s name to The Tipperary Inn. The leasehold of the pub is available for £85,000 through the Nottingham office of agent Davey & Co. The pub is run by Mike Malhan, who is relocating to another pub for family reasons.

Carlsberg hires non-Danish chief executive after another profit fall: Carlsberg has hired its first non-Danish chief after it reported another decline in annual profits. The Danish brewer said 2014 profit before tax fell to DK6.69bn, from Dkr7.78bn in 2013 and 8.11bn in 2012. Chief executive Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said the brewer had “strong organic performance in Western Europe and Asia” but turmoil in Eastern Europe continued to cause problems. For 2015, he expects operating profit to grow organically by mid- to high-single-digit percentages. He said: “In response to the current situation, we’ve built a strong operating plan, which includes changes to our business model, with the aim to achieve further efficiency improvements faster. These changes will enable us to mitigate the significant negative earnings impact arising from the rouble weakness and Eastern European market challenges, as well as improve cash flow and return on invested capital.” Rasmussen will step down on 15 June to be replaced by Cees ‘t Hart, who is currently CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, the Dutch dairy company.

Burger King franchisee Zing buys NCR restaurant technology suite: Zing Leisure, which runs 18 Burger King restaurants in the UK, has bought a suite of software from NCR Corporation to help improve the customer experience and its operational effectiveness. The software, NCR said, will enable Zing’s employees to quickly take orders and expedite them directly to the kitchen, increasing speed of service and productivity, minimising errors and giving customers a better experience. In the back of the house, Zing Leisure will be better equipped with robust reporting tools to identify trends, forecast revenues, control costs and optimise store performance. Django Fung, owner of Zing Leisure, said: “As our business grows, we must deliver great customer service and ensure that we are operationally effective. NCR will help achieve this by providing the insight, analytics and operational tools that we require.”

Costa and Hey Potato! to join Toby Carvery and KFC on Rotherham brownfield site: New outlets for Costa Coffee, KFC and Hey Potato! will join planned Toby Carvery and KFC outlets at a new retail development on a prominent brownfield site at Eastwood in Rotherham. The vacant one-hectare site at Mushroom Roundabout was previously home to a car dealership but has been empty since 2008 after its demolition. In September, Northern Retail secured planning permission for a two-storey Toby Carvery pub and family restaurant, a two-storey KFC restaurant and two smaller restaurant/take-away units, together with more than 100 car parking spaces and vehicular access via Aldwarke Lane and Sycamore Road. A planning application has been submitted for signage at the scheme, which shows that the remaining units are set to operate as franchises of Costa Coffee and Hey Potato!

KFC franchisee appeals over ‘spurious’ Bradford refusal: The KFC franchisee QFM Group has put in a appeal against Bradford Council’s decision to refuse it planning permission for a restaurant and a 68-space car park at a site in Halifax Road, formerly occupied by a snooker hall and police station, claiming that “the refusal does not appear to be based on any professional evidence.” Bradford Council refused planning permission in August on the grounds that the business, near Odsal roundabout, would lead to dangerous traffic conditions. It also decided that the opening hours, until 11pm, seven nights a week , would be detrimental to neighbours. QFM’s appeal says the refusal was based on “spurious” concerns. It said a traffic report it commissioned found no traffic problems on Odsal Road, adding: “The refusal does not appear to be based on any professional evidence. The proposal should be approved without delay.” 

Burger King rolls out spicy fish burger for Lent: Burger King is rolling out a spicy version of its Big Fish Sandwich fishburger in the US for Lent. It costs $3.69 and uses 100% white Alaskan pollock, which is breaded and topped with a creamy spicy sauce and pickles, sandwiched in a toasted brioche bun. More consumers than ever are demanding spicy flavours and sauces, Burger King said, citing research firm Technomic’s The Flavour Consumer Trend Report. Eric Hirschhorn, Burger King’s chief marketing officer for North America, said: “This fish season, we’re giving our guests a new way to savour the flavours they love. We listen to our guests and want to continually provide them with new seasonal options. Now they can choose between the original Big Fish Sandwich or opt to turn up the heat with our new Spicy Big Fish Sandwich.”

Fleet Street Group eyes expansion: Fleet Street Group, the PR, marketing communications and training consultancy whose clients include Enterprise Inns, Admiral Taverns, Tragus, Diageo and Carlsberg, is looking to expand, with Manchester, Leeds and Bristol on the target list. The group, which employs more than 20 staff in offices in Birmingham and London, is made up of the PR firm Fleet Street Communications, headed by the former Sunday Times journalist Mark Stretton, the marketing and design agency GRIN, run by managing director Phil Birchall, and Fleet Street Training, headed by Arti Halai. Founder and chairman Steve Dann said: “We first established Fleet Street during the heart of the recession, and it was extremely tough in those early years. Our strategy has been to help energetic, talented professionals such as Mark Stretton and Phil Birchall fulfill their ambitions by investing in start-up businesses which gives them both a major shareholding and the incentive to succeed. This year, Fleet Street Group is predicting further organic growth and is looking to explore acquisition opportunities to introduce the Fleet Street brand in other cities across the UK, with Manchester, Leeds and Bristol among the obvious targets.”