Mon 27th Apr 2015 - Marco Pierre White’s Norfolk pubs come on the market Marco Pierre White’s Norfolk pubs come on the market: Marco Pierre White’s four Norfolk pubs have come on the market through the property agent Fleurets. The properties are being offered for sale on the instructions of the administrator, AlixPartners, formerly known as Zolfo Cooper. They are being offered for sale individually or as a group. The group of three freehold pubs and a leasehold site has been described as “fundamentally good businesses” by AlixPartners, but likely to leave a shortfall on the £7.4m White's parent company Horatio Inns owes Clydesdale Bank when they are sold. The freehold pubs are the Lifeboat Inn, Thornham, a 16th century historic inn with 13 en-suite letting bedrooms, 70-cover restaurant, character bar and a breakfast room, views across the Salt Marshes to the North Sea and a large car park and terraced garden areas, all in a site of approximately 0.8 acres; for the Chequers Inn, Thornham, a Grade II listed mid/late 17th century property prominently positioned on the busy A149 coast road, with a lounge bar, 70-cover restaurant, 12 en-suite letting bedrooms, separate cottage, studio large car park, terrace and play area on a site of around 0.6 acres; and the Wayford Bridge Inn, Wayford Bridge, Norfolk, a dining pub and hotel business with 15 en-suite letting bedrooms, 120 cover restaurant, bar and lounges in extensive landscaped grounds of around 1.86 acres in the Norfolk Broads National Park. Leasehold offers are invited on the Bridge Inn, Acle Bridge, Acle, a riverside pub and restaurant with 140 covers inside and 200-plus external covers. There are 12 riverside boat moorings and extensive gardens all in 1.57 acres. Simon Jackaman, of Fleurets, said: “I believe that these four properties represent some of the best businesses to have come on to the open market on the Norfolk coast and Broadland area for some time.” For further details of these four properties contact either Simon Jackaman or Bob Whittle on 01787 378050 or visit www.fleurets.com, where the full sales particulars can be downloaded.   Horizons – more and more people buying snacks outside the home: More and more people are buying meals and snacks to eat outside the home as the number of foodservice outlets in the UK continues to grow and the choice of foods broadens, a new report by the foodservice consultancy Horizons and JRA says. As food operators offer dishes, menus and snacks designed to appeal to people at any time of day, wherever they happen to be, the temptation to consume meals out of the home has never been greater, it says. The report reveals that two thirds of the foodservice operators that took part in the survey saw an increase in food sales in the 12 months to April 2015, with one in five reporting a large increase. However, the research, involving nearly 300 operators, revealed a drop in spend, with operators reporting that more people were spending less than £12 per head, while fewer people were spending above £16. Average spend had dropped from £13.10 in spring 2014 to £11.03 in spring 2015, with almost two thirds – 62% – of consumers spending an average per head of under £12, up from just over half – 51% – last year. Nearly half [48%] of operators surveyed reported that sales of snacks had increased year-on-year. Last year two in five operators reported a rise in snack sales. Emma Read, Horizons’ director of marketing and business development, said: “People are now snacking more, or having one, or maybe two courses instead of three, which explains why average spend appears to have fallen. This backs up our previous consumer research that shows that while spend has fallen back slightly, frequency of eating out is rising. Foodservice operators have done a great job at changing their offer and adapting to the way consumers eat out today, providing more foods that satisfy the snacking opportunity throughout the day. This, typically, means several small meals during the day, whether it be coffee and porridge bought to eat at our desks in the morning, a muffin with a coffee mid-morning or light snack in the afternoon.” The research also shows that more people are eating out at the weekends. Two in five operators said they were serving more meals from Friday to Sunday. Just over a third say they are serving more on Sundays with pubs and bars (61%) reporting the biggest rise in weekend sales.