The UK’s foodservice market is in “much better shape” than the rest of Europe: There has been 0.6% growth in the number of visits made to foodservice outlets in the most recent year and the UK is outgrowing other countries, NPD Group’s Cyril Lavenant has told the Propel Multi Club Conference. By comparison, Germany saw a 0.5% decline in traffic, France was down 1.2%, Spain eroded by 0.8%, and Italy traffic was down by 1.4%. Even the US failed to match UK growth with a 0.4% rise. “The UK is seeing growth in foodservice and also in other leisure sectors, where it is again outgrowing other nations,” he said. “The growth is small but it’s a good sign; it means we are willing to spend money.” He noted, though, that it will take a long time for the market to get back to where it was in 2008. Monthly frequency of visits is 16.4 per month versus 17.6 in 2008 and there are a total of 685 million fewer annual visits to foodservice outlets compared to 2008. He said that the sector is “still at the beginning of the road to full recovery”. But NPD research also shows growth in all three major day-parts. “Lunch is in growth by 1.7% – it was an occasion that was in decline before, so this is encouraging,” he said. “Dinner is up by 3.3%, while breakfast growth is rather small at 2.6%; there needs to be some upgrade of the breakfast offer.” He also noted, though, the snacking occasion is in decline by 3.6%. “It needs more indulgent items,” he added. Growth is being driven by meal deals, which are up 4.9% year-on-year. For the sector, he advised a focus on attracting families, with growth in family dining occasions of 11% since 2009. “We are spending on average 16% more on family visits; quality and variety is important here and kids need to like the environment as well as the adults.” The strength of the family dining occasion is also helping to drive growth for casual dining chains, he added. “These places offer good quality service and value for money, but they do well at attracting both families and also the 18-24 year-old group.” Looking at the year ahead, Lavenant noted that the sector is still recovering from very difficult times but forecast growth of 1.1% this year and 1.5% next year. “We think the market will slightly outgrow last year. then it will grow faster and faster, but it will take another four to six years to recover those lost consumers,” he said.

Giggling Squid set for decision on sale process this week: A decision on how to progress the sale of Thai chain Giggling Squid is set to be made this week, Propel understands. It is understood that the most likely options are to enter a full sale process or an “off market” deal. Advisor Grant Thornton received 31 expressions of interest and the company received a further six direct. There have been three trade buyers whose bids have been ruled out because founders Andy and Pranee Laurillard want to retain a majority stake. The company is further understood to have been progressing conversations with a number of private equity parties who have been following the company’s progress for some time. One source told Propel: “At this stage there is no front-runner in the sale although the company is expected to decide which route it wants to take in the coming days.” See Company News for more on Giggling Squid. 

Court of Appeal rules nightclub breached licensing laws with teenage discos: The Court of Appeal has ruled that teenage discos at Sense nightclub in Cookstown, Northern Ireland breached licensing laws, despite no alcohol being on display or for sale at its Club 13-17 events. The previous ruling at Dungannon Magistrates Court was upheld because Sense nightclub is a licensed premises and serves alcohol at all of its other functions. As a result, the venue owner was ruled in breach of the law in relation to the monthly teenage discos, regularly attended by up to 1,000 youths, being held at its nightclub since 1994. It was alleged that on between June and August 2013 owner Brian Morris allowed a person under the age of 18 to be in the licensed nightclub. He was convicted of the offences under the Licensing (NI) Order 1996 following a contested hearing last year. Police inspections found no alcohol on display at the teenage discos. The Belfast Telegraph reported that Mr Justice Treacy, sitting with Lord Chief Justice Morgan and Lord Justice Gillen, backed the earlier findings. He said one of the objectives of the 1996 Order is to safeguard children by restricting access to licensed premises. It prohibits minors from being in any part of licensed premises which contains a bar or is used exclusively or mainly for the sale of intoxicating liquor.

Brighton to consider a Late Night Levy: Brighton and Hove City Council is to consider imposing a Late Night Levy after a request from Brighton police. Poppleston Allen solicitor Clare Eames said: “Brighton & Hove City licensing officers will now prepare a report detailing the cost, design and methodology of a consultation. The Licensing Committee will then consider the report and decide whether to go out to public consultation at a committee meeting on 19 November 2015.”

Dundee reports food and beverage boom: The city of Dundee (population:148,260) has reported that 20 new food and drink venues have opened in the past 12 months, with local authority chiefs declaring it a sign that Dundee’s economy is thriving. New venues that have opened in the past year include the Italian Grill, in City Square, Castlehill on Exchange Street and a BrewDog bar, opposite the McManus Galleries. Hundreds of thousands of extra visitors are also expected to visit the city once the planned V&A opens and more businesses, including more restaurants, are expected to open as a result.

Pizza Rossa has closed its London Wall unit as part of a major change in strategy: Pizza-by-the-slice concept Pizza Rossa has unveiled a new strategy involving seven-day-a-week venues such as transport locations, shopping malls, universities and street food markets after closing its London Wall site in the City of London. The company has also opened its first kiosk site at Pump market in Shoreditch – and is in negotiations with a shopping mall operator in Eastern Europe. The London Wall site, which opened in November 2014, was purely a takeaway site in an area with quiet weekends. “It has been difficult to attract the British customer to the original proposition,” founder Corrado Accardi told the Propel Multi Club Conference. “The market needs to be developed first. I plan to move away from the City of London now and will move back in the future.” Corrado explained that the company is close to signing a deal which would see two openings in transport locations next month, potentially leading to 12 over the next year or so. “A leading operator of shopping malls also wants pizza-by-the-slice, so we are in talks with them, and we are really targeting universities, too,” he said. “Our Shoreditch market site is seeing sales going up by 10% week-on-week,” he said. In 2013, the company launched an equity crowdfunding campaign which broke the European record for a start-up by achieving its target within 17 days. Earlier this year the company’s second crowdfunding campaign to aid its expansion over-funded its target of £150,000 a week before it was due to finish. Pizza Rossa specialises in individual slices of pizza which are designed to offer a healthier alternative to standard pizza, as the dough is lighter. “We have managed to create a product that tastes good when reheated and therefore not all of our units need to have pizza ovens, and it also offers extreme flexibility and scalability, as well as being a healthy indulgent product at just 200 calories a slice,” he said. Pizza Rossa post-money valuation after its second round of fund-raising was £1,490,000 – it was only the third food and beverage company to complete a successful second round of fund-raising.

Former Revolution Bars Group marketer to open fried chicken concept in Manchester: Carl Morris, the former head of marketing at Revolution Bars Group, and partner Lisa Morris are to open a new buttermilk fried chicken restaurant concept, Yard and Coop, in Manchester later this month. It is located on Edge Street in the Northern Quarter. Carl Morris said: “Following more than 30 years combined experience in the hospitality industry, we knew that we wanted to create a unique menu that will not only excite the Manchester diner, but allow us to pull together the best elements of casual dining concepts we have experienced around the world. Throughout the transformation process of our Edge Street site it was essential that the bar and restaurant felt relaxed. That’s what Yard and Coop will be all about. And the buttermilk fried chicken menu, with sharing plates and sides, really lends itself to small or large groups, party nights out and fast, casual dining.”

SSP UK reports profit growth as airport passenger numbers boost like-for-likes: SSP UK has reported, in Companies House documents, that its strongest performance in the year to 24 September 2014, came within its airport division where increasing passenger numbers saw like-for-likes grow by 6%. In the rail sector, the company reported 3.2% sales growth while retail units enjoyed sales growth of 5.7% – 71% of total company sales in the UK come from concessions at railway stations where brands include Caffe Ritazza, Upper Crust, Whistlestop, Millies Cookies and Camden Food Co. Gross margin increased by 1.35% in the period. Total sales grew 4% to £627,296,000 with overall like-for-likes up 4.7%. Ebitda grew 14.7% to £50,110,000 (2013: £43,693,000). Profit before tax was £20,389,000 (2013: £6,803,00).

Champagne bar operator Searcy’s swings into profit for six-month period: Champagne bar operator and contract caterer Searcy Tansley & Co, acquired in July 2014 by WSH & ST, has reported a profit for the six months ended 26 December 2014. The company won a contract to provide hospitality at Kenwood House in October 2014 and a contract to provide catering at law firm DLA Piper, starting May this year. Turnover in the six months was £24.3m (year to 30 June 2014: £43.1m) with a pre-tax profit of £847,000 (compared to a loss of £1,507,000 in the year ended 30 June 2014).

London Brewing Co expands Bohemia brewpub capacity to supply on-trade: London Brewing Co has expanded its brewing capacity in order to supply the on trade – the new brewhouse facility sits inside the trading area at The Bohemia pub, North Finchley, originally opened in June 2014, and has the capacity to produce 100 hectoliters of beer a week. London Brewing Co was founded by Dan Fox, previously at The White Horse Parsons Green, who was inspired by the American brewpubs he saw on trips to the States. Since The Bull & London Brewing Co was set up four years ago the number of breweries in the capital has quadrupled.

Grind sees crowdfunding surge after investor event: Coffee shop cum cocktail bar brand Grind, which launched a £1.5 mini-bond on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube last month, has moved to within 5% of its £750,000 target after founders held a networking event for investors last week. Grind, founded four years ago by Australian DJ and musician Kaz James and entrepreneur David Abrahamovitch, is raising the funds to open a sixth site as well as a new roastery and central kitchen in east London. The company has four sites, which also double up as cocktail bars, located in Shoreditch, Holborn, Soho and London Bridge, with a fifth site set to open in Covent Garden later this summer. Abrahamovitch said last Friday: “We’re really pleased to say that following the investors event, we’ve raised over £80,000 in the last 24 hours, bringing us over £700,000 – and within touching distance of our £750,000 target after 20 days on Crowdcube.” Grind, which counts Links of London founder John Ayton among its backers, said the four-year bond will pay an annual interest rate of 8% every quarter.

Digby Trout Restaurants reports smaller losses: Digby Trout Restaurants, a division of Eliot UK providing restaurants and cafe within heritage sites, museum, galleries and arts centres, has reported reduced losses for the year to 30 September 2014. Turnover declined to £11,097,340 from £12,620,221 the year before. Losses were £12,427 compared to £162,163 the year before. It made an operating profit of £44,063 compared to £30,143 in the year prior.

Tossed launches £750,000 crowdfunding drive on Seedrs: Salad bowl chain Tossed has launched a £750,000 crowd-funding campaign on the Seedrs platform to fund a roll-out of its expanding restaurant business in return for 5.5% of its equity – it was 19% funded on the first day of the offer yesterday. The company, which now employs 250 people, is looking to expand from its 24 existing restaurants to target high street, retail and motorway locations in London and the south east. “There is something very exciting about inviting existing guests, and guests of the future, to actually be part of our growth story,” said Vincent Mckevitt, who founded the business ten years ago. “By increasing store numbers, we will reach a wider market and offer a healthy choice to more people.” In 2013, Tossed, which lets customers choose their own salad ingredients, secured £1.5m from Santander.

Rent levels disclosed on 20 JD Wetherspoon pubs for sale: The current rent levels payable on 20 JD Wetherspoon leasehold pubs are disclosed in a marketing prospectus produce by agent CBRE. The outlets have strong exposure to London and the south with 14 of the 20 outlets located in these regions. The current rents are: The Almond Bank, Almondvale Boulevard, Livingston (rent of £143,067 per annum); The Assembly Rooms, Poplar Road, Solihull (rent of £133,000 per anum); Devonshire House, 2-4 The Broadway, Crouch End, London (rent of £100,000 per annum); The Edward Wylie, 107-109 Bothwell Street, Glasgow (rent of £160,000 per annum); The Foxley Hatch, 8-9 Russell Hill Road, Purley (rent of £40,700 per annum); The Gatehouse, 1 North Road, Highgate, London (rent of £140,000 per annum); The Gatehouse, 1 Bird Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, (rent of £70,000 per annum); The Glass Works, Angel Central, Parkfield Street, Islington, London (rent of £183,000 per annum); The Golden Lion, Cornhill, Ipswich (rent of £100,000 per annum); The Isaac Pitman, Castle Place Shopping Centre, Castle Place, Trowbridge (rent of £61,700 per annum); The Moon On The Square, 6 The Parade, Northampton (rent of £150,000 per annum); The Moon Under the Water, 194 High Road Balham, London (rent of £93,500 per annum); The Oyster Rooms, Unit 3 First Floor, Fulham Broadway Centre, Fulham, London (rent of £283,500 per annum); The Sennockian, 139-141 High Street, Sevenoaks (rent of £82,000 per annum); The Swan Inn, High Street, Haslemere (rent of £85,500 per annum); The White Lion of Mortimer, 125-127 Stroud Green Road, London (rent of £98,374 per annum); The William Coppin, 2 Coppins Bridge, Newport, Isle of Wight (rent of £86,500 per annum); The William Jolle, 53 The Broadway, Joel Street, Northwood Hills (rent of £75,000 per annum); The William Robert Loosley, 120-123 Oxford Road, High Wycombe (rent of £101,000 per annum); The Windlesora, 11 William Street, Windsor (rent of £73,500 per annum).

BrewDog to receive $3m in incentives to build Ohio brewery: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog will receive circa $3m in tax incentives to build its proposed brewery in Canal Winchester, Ohio, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Within three years, BrewDog expects to produce more than four times the volume of beer being made by any Ohio-based craft brewer, including leader Great Lakes Brewing Co of Cleveland. BrewDog plans to produce 85,000 barrels the first year and then grow to 850,000 barrels annually within three years. By comparison, Great Lakes produces 150,000 to 180,000 barrels a year. Ohio ranks fourth nationally in beer making, with the state’s 130 craft brewers producing circa 1.2 million barrels of beer in 2014, according to the Ohio Craft Beer Association. Canal Winchester was chosen for the brewery facility thanks to a combination of ample space, immediate access to both rail lines and more than $3 million in incentives. These include a 15-year tax exemption for all improvements BrewDog makes to the site, which is currently a farm field. As part of the deal, BrewDog agreed to buy 52 acres from auto-parts maker TS Tech, which has a plant across the street, and to sell ten acres back to Canal Winchester. Those ten acres are the Roger Hanners Recreational Fields, which the town leased from TS Tech.

Marston’s pulls out of Colne new-build location: Marston’s has pulled out of a proposed new-build pub on the former Glen Mills site in Colne, six miles north east of Burnley in Lancashire. The company confirmed that it would not be moving into the site off North Valley Road which is currently being redeveloped to include a Lidl supermarket, a pub, small industrial units and a car park with 131 spaces. Marston’s stressed it was still interested in opening up in the town, just at the right location. A Marston’s spokesman said: “We are interested in committing to Colne and we would like to progress plans when an appropriate site becomes available.”

Charles Wells and Chris Gerard to open second Apostrophe Pubs outlet this month: The Bedford brewer and retailer Charles Wells and Chris Gerard of Innventure are to open a second outlet under the Apostrophe Pubs vehicle this month – on 13 July. It follows the success of their first venture, the d’Parys in Bedford, a £1.3m 14-bedroom boutique hotel and restaurant. The Merlin’s Cave in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, will create 40 jobs, with Gerard employed once again on a consultancy basis. Craig Mayes, director for Apostrophe Pubs, said: “We are growing a collection of individual pubs which celebrate the history of their locations and the people they serve, so you can expect to see chalk and oak from the Chilterns, open fires, patinas and ochre within the design at The Merlin’s Cave.” The pub’s new head chef Peter Wallace, has cooked for the royal household, as well as a number of gastro pubs and restaurants across the country.

Tasty to open Wildwood Kitchen site in Worcester today: Tasty is to open a Wildwood Kitchen with deli offer in Chapel Walk, CrownGate Shopping Centre, Worcester today, a conversion of the House restaurant site which shut last October. Operations manager Matt Livings said: “The deli table will have the most amazing fresh salads, bread and fresh pastries. We’re trying to offer something for everyone from a healthy lunch to cheese burgers with an À la carte menu in the evening. Everything on the menu is also available to take away. We offer something significantly different. It has a fresh feeling to it which is what people want.” Within the next fortnight, the venue will also be adding pizzas to the menu.

Costa Coffee set to open first Teesside drive-thru store: Whitbread-owned Costa Coffee is set to launch its first drive-thru store on Teesside next month, creating ten jobs. The company is opening the venue at the new Middlehaven Retail Park development in Middlesbrough, adjacent to the Riverside Stadium. A Costa spokesman told Gazette Live: “The store will be run by one of our franchise partners, a local business person in the area who will do all that they can to integrate the new store with the local community.” The new £35m 16-acre retail and leisure development lies between the A66 and the Riverside Stadium. Once completed, it will also feature a Sainsbury’s supermarket, a nine pump petrol filling station, a drive-thru KFC and a Marston’s pub. Meanwhile, Costa has opened a new store in the nearby village of Norton in the High Street, creating about ten jobs.

Haché still turns away enough people every Friday and Saturday night to fill original Camden site: Better burger brand Haché’s Camden venue, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, turns away enough people to fill the restaurant again every Friday and Saturday night, according to founder Berry Casey. Speaking at the Propel Multi Club conference, Casey explained that the venue, which had opened “in the middle of a burger rush,” had survived an explosion of competition, a recession and also a big drug problem in the area. “We wanted to be different, but it was only after (a number of glowing media reviews) that we went from being quiet to being fully booked for the weekend,” he said. “Then we had the very different problem of being absolutely jammed.” He explained that having a good sense of vision worked out “very well” and helped the company stand out from the competition. Over the next few years he predicts there will be some casualties from the crowded premium burger market. “We need to continue to innovate. It will be all about brands. It can be very dangerous to focus solely on the bottom line and a breakneck speed of expansion,” he explained. “It is going to be interesting.” In the last ten years the company has grown to six sites around London, but the Camden site is still one of its most successful, despite being off the main high street. “I’m not sure I understand it completely, but I’m not complaining.”

Andy Laurillard admits Giggling Squid could have 30 units by now “if we hadn’t opened in Crawley”: Giggling Squid closed its Crawley site after concluding it was the wrong town for the brand, co-founder Andy Laurillard has told the Propel Multi Club Conference. “There are four legs to our business but it had wobbly legs in Crawley as three were missing.” The venue was packed between Monday and Thursday but it was quiet on Fridays and Saturdays, he said. The other areas of the business – the lunchtime trade and its takeaway arm – were also non-existent in Crawley. “In some of our sites takeaway represents 15% of the business but in Crawley we missed that revenue stream entirely.” Despite a sales turnaround when the team opened a bar above the venue, they took the decision to dispose of the site. “If we hadn’t opened Crawley we could have 30 sites by now.” The company, which started in Brighton six years ago, now has 11 sites with four soon to open in the locations of Esher, Bury St Edmunds, Billericay and Guildford. Learnings have been made from each of the existing venues, Laurillard said. “The lesson learned from opening in Tunbridge Wells is the effect of national press, which boosted our business by 25% overnight.” Meanwhile, at Henley-on-Thames they were able to put the prices up. “We learned that variable pricing works and we now have three price points across the business. We also introduced a wine list with bottles priced at £40 to £50 each for Henley, which we have since rolled out to our Tunbridge Wells site.” For the future the company has made a list of 50 target towns. “We are taking time to get to know exactly what we are looking for in these towns so that we can make decisions quickly if we need to,” he said.

Starbucks set to open one of its largest branches in UK in Northampton: Starbucks is set to open one of its largest branches in the UK in Northampton’s Market Square, in September. The US chain announced the plans to open a store in a ‘landmark building’ in the market back in March. At the time Northampton Borough Council’s then leader David Mackintosh declared the outlet would be ‘one of the biggest’ Starbucks in the UK when open. The company has now confirmed it is still committed to the town in a brief statement. A spokeswoman said: “We are excited to confirm that we will be opening a Starbucks store at Market Square, Northampton. At this early stage, our aim is to open in late September with the creation of up to 25 new jobs for the local economy.”

Indian restaurant entrepreneurs re-open Enterprise Inns pub as Coconut Indian: Indian restaurant entrepreneurs Muhammad Islam and Muhammad Husain, who operate a group of Indian restaurants in Wiltshire, have re-opened The Oliver Cromwell pub, near Bromham, Devizes, a former Enterprise Inns site as The Coconut Indian. The historic building at St Edith’s Marsh was sold by Enterprise Inns in March to the new owners. The new restaurant, which seats 150 people, has seen an investment of several hundred thousands pounds.

New bar and grill concept that uses truffle as a fundamental ingredient to launch in Mayfair: Sackville’s, a new bar and grill concept that uses black truffle as a fundamental ingredient, will launch its first restaurant in Mayfair in London on 16 July. The venue, which was formerly occupied by tailor Hicks & Sons, will feature a 42-capacity ground-floor dining room, open kitchen and a downstairs bar and lounge that seats 16 with further standing space. The menu combines black truffle with prime cuts of beef from around the world, including a wide range of gourmet burgers, while desserts also feature truffle. The basement bar will serve signature cocktails, wines and a wide range of spirits while selection of truffle-based bar nibbles will be available. The restaurant’s New York-inspired interior hints at the wild landscape of an autumn truffle hunt while the downstairs bar and lounge will be equipped with tan leather banquettes. Sackville’s will be led by general manager Philippe Moreau, previously at Cheyne Walk Brasserie and Shangri-La at the Shard. The ground-floor dining room will be open for all-day dining seven days a week, while the downstairs bar and lounge will be open daily from 5pm.

Best position hotel in Bournemouth sold for circa £7.5m: A hotel that claims to have the best location in Bournemouth has been sold for around £7.5m. The four-star Hermitage Hotel, near the BIC in Exeter Road, was acquired by established Bournemouth hotelier David Young. The 75-bedroom hotel includes an annexe and the glass Rotunda restaurant. It trades on having the best location in town, with guests able to reach the beach without crossing a single road. The Hermitage had been owned for the past 21 years by developer and investor Philip Oram, who invested in a major building and refurbishment programme there. He raised the quality of accommodation to four-star standard and achieved an AA rosette for the restaurant. New owner David Young said: “I have been a long time admirer of The Hermitage and am delighted to have secured such a fantastic opportunity that still offers potential for both development and growth.”

Propel hosts Professor Chris Muller for Multi-site Management Masterclass: Propel Info is hosting the US’ leading thinker, teacher and author on multi-site foodservice management, Professor Chris Muller, at its next Multi-site Management Masterclass on Friday 2 October. Leading UK businesses such as Mitchells & Butlers and TGI Friday’s have sent staff to be taught by Professor Muller at Boston University’s School of Hospitality – now Professor Muller is returning to the UK to lead this bespoke day. His interactive seminar will include contributions from Welcome Break chief executive Rod McKie and Sticks ‘n’ Sushi UK managing director Andreas Karlsson. The event will provide valuable insights for founders and area managers of small and medium-sized multi-site companies and area managers of large companies. Tickets are £345 plus VAT and £295 plus VAT for ALMR members. To download or view the leaflet as a PDF file please CLICK HERE. To book tickets please contact: adam.dickinson@propelinfo.com. Tony Hughes, non-executive director at The Restaurant Group, said: “Chris is THE world authority on the restaurant industry, the go-to man if you want expertise and knowledge and this is a rare opportunity to see a true master giving a Masterclass presentation.”