Administrators appointed to Parity Bars by secured lender after former owner declared bankrupt: Administrators have been appointed to pub and bar operator Parity Bars in a bid to secure a successful exit from the investment for the company that lent the money to the group’s former owner who has now been declared bankrupt. James Mortimore launched TFG Capital with the aim of creating a new cash flow and bridging fund for small to medium-sized enterprises. The business had completed 32 deals and lent more than £18m in the 17 months since it commenced trading. This included a £2.4m funding package in 2014 provided to Adam Taylor, the owner of hospitality group Enjoy Pubs, to enable the entrepreneur to acquire rival Parity Bars and its portfolio of 20 venues, which was made up of former Bramwell Pub Company sites. However, in March last year, Taylor was presented with a bankruptcy petition by drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark Wholesale, which led to a bankruptcy order being made on 7 September. In accordance with the terms of the loan, Mortimore was appointed as a director of the group’s 18 companies and, though a connected company UK Pub Management, entered a licence to operate and manage all but three of the bars that made up the wider group. The group was experiencing creditor pressure from landlords and HM Revenue & Customs and administrators from Wilson Field were subsequently appointed to the 18 Parity Bar companies. At the date of their initial reports into the administration, they were close to selling or had sold several bars within the group, including three deals for a total of £450,000 with companies controlled by Mortimore for establishments in Workington, Cardiff and Chester-le-Street. “We were a minority shareholder in the group and have agreed deals with the landlords to re-assign the leases of three of the properties, those in Workington, Cardiff and Chester-le-Street, which we will continue to trade,” Mortimore told Insider Media. “We are also in negotiations with the landlords of six of the other sites with a view to continuing to operate these too. We now have a long-term plan in place to drive the new, smaller group forward and are confident that the business can be a success.” Until the Parity Bars deals have completed and legal disputes relating to some of the bars settled, the precise outcome for the creditor claims, dominated by the money owed to TFG, is uncertain.

Simon King to present at the Propel Multi Club Conference: Simon King, managing director of Burger and Lobster, is to present at the first Propel Multi Club Conference of 2016, which takes place at Congress Hall in London on Wednesday 16 March. He will talk about the progress of Burger & Lobster in London and elsewhere, the unique thinking and philosophy behind the brand, sourcing quality ingredients, recruiting and training staff, evolving the offer, expanding outside of London and international prospects. Multi-site pub, restaurant and foodservice operators can claim up to two free places by emailing Adam Dickinson on adam.dickinson@propelinfo.com

Crowdcube reports raising £83m for 166 pitches in 2015: Crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, which has 52% of the UK crowdfunding market, has reported it raised £83m for 166 pitches in 2015, a 58% increase in the number of successful pitches compared to the year before. A total of 116,845 new investors joined the crowdfunding platform on the year. Some 320 pitches were launched with a success rate of 52%, which compares to 32% the year before. A total of 63,523 individual investments were made, a rise of 164% on the year prior. Seventeen companies returned in the year for a second round of fund-raising.

SIBA – Moderate consumption of alcohol provides benefits: The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has argued that moderate alcohol consumption provides benefits. Responding to the publication of new lower alcohol consumption guidelines, Mike Benner, managing director of SIBA, said: “It is clearly important for the industry to consider the scientific evidence behind the new guidelines, not least because there is a widespread recognition of evidence of certain benefits associated with moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol. I think many men who regularly consume between 14 and 21 units of alcohol a week will be surprised to suddenly find themselves in an ‘at risk’ category and this may affect the guidelines’ credibility with many responsible drinkers, not least because they are significantly lower than guidelines in various other countries. It’s also the case that the wider benefits on wellbeing and happiness which stem from the responsible enjoyment of alcohol in a sociable environment such as a pub have been ignored and the industry and others need to work together to bring evidence to support this view to the fore. Enjoying a couple of beers in a pub with friends and colleagues at the end of a hard day can bring positive benefits to peoples’ lives. Britain’s independent craft breweries take pride in brewing fine high quality beers to be enjoyed by people who appreciate flavour and distinctiveness, responsibly and in moderation. I believe that, if people do respond to these guidelines by drinking less then they will inevitably turn to higher quality products for every occasion.”

Last-minute restaurant reservations app Uncover launches ‘Saint’ or ‘Sinner’ choice for January: Uncover, the reservations app that enables diners to book London’s most desirable restaurants at the last minute, has launched two new restaurant categories: ‘Saint’ and ‘Sinner’. The categories, which appear side-by-side on the home screen of the app until the end of January, present diners with the choice to detox or retox. Clicking ‘Saint’ opens a list of restaurants to restore and revitalise, from vegetarian The Gate in Notting Hill to the lean cuisine of Lima in Marylebone. Those with no intention of detoxing can click ‘Sinner’ to break resolutions, from burgers at Dirty Bones in Soho to meat feasts at Smith & Wollensky, off the Strand. Uncover is a mobile app that creates a shortlist of restaurants based on user location and preferences, only shows those with guaranteed tables, and allows users to book. Uncover has more than 350 restaurant partners to date. Uncover was acquired by restaurant payment app Velocity and will merge into a consolidated app in the first quarter of 2016.

Cyclops Beer accreditation scheme reaches key milestones – 400 breweries, 100 keg beers: Cyclops Beer has now accredited 100 keg and canned beers, as well as more than 2,000 cask and bottled beers from 400 breweries in the UK. The number of accredited breweries has increased by 25% in the past 12 months. The accreditation scheme was originally set up for cask beer and started accrediting keg beers and lagers in 2014. The Cyclops scheme helps consumers to navigate around the increasing choice of beer now available. The notes are used at point of purchase, on pump clips, on shelf edges or on bottles and cans. To date, the Cyclops Beer scheme has produced 2,371 tasting notes for 400 breweries. Stephen Gould, managing director of Everards Brewery and chairman of the Cyclops Beer Board, said: “We’ve now accredited 400 breweries which is around one quarter of all breweries now operating in the UK. It’s a massive show of confidence in the Cyclops scheme by the beer sector.” All Cyclops beer tasting notes can be found at www.cyclopsbeer.co.uk and on the CaskFinder app.

Pop-ups fuelling recruitment crisis in London’s top restaurants, claims leading chef: Pop-ups are fuelling the recruitment crisis at the top of London’s restaurant industry, a leading industry figure has claimed. Adam Byatt, chef-patron of Clapham restaurant Trinity, said potential Michelin-level staff were being lost. “Chefs now don’t necessarily feel they have to go through six or seven years of working in very challenging environments because they can learn a craft in a more simplistic set-up,” he told The Evening Standard. “Learning your craft in-depth is being missed out. That’s a terrible tragedy for food if we’re not careful.” Dan Doherty, executive chef at Duck & Waffle in the City of London’s Heron Tower, said a greater number of new ventures were competing for the same number of cooks. He said: “Chefs don’t need to work 80 hours a week for a ridiculously low amount of money.”

US beverage industry welcomes alcohol dietary guidelines shake-up: The US beverage industry has welcomed a shake-up of dietary guidelines in the country that says drinking alcohol can be part of a healthy adult diet, if carried out in moderation. The guidelines, released on Thursday, also include the concept of “drink-equivalents”, which show the amount of beer, wine or spirits that contain 14g of pure alcohol. The Beer Institute, a trade association for US brewers, praised the inclusion of drink-equivalents, stating it had led efforts for years to show “a mixed drink may include the equivalent of several light beers”. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines include all food and drink categories and are designed to inform consumers as well as serve as the basis for federal nutrition policy. In response to the report, the American Beverage Association said US beverage companies were “doing their part to help people manage their calorie and sugar intake by providing a wide range of beverage choices”.

Pub is The Hub to launch in Scotland this month: Pub is The Hub, the scheme that helps rural pubs branch out into new services for their communities, is to launch in Scotland this month. The initiative is being launched in the Scottish Borders on Wednesday, 20 January at The Lodge Carfraemill in Lauder, Berwickshire, in partnership with Scottish Borders Council. The scheme is also supported by the Scottish government, the Prince’s Countryside Fund and drinks company Diageo. Pub owners and operators will be able to apply for grants of up to £4,000 towards diversification schemes. These can include siting post offices, shops, libraries, internet cafes, allotment schemes, school dinners, cash point machines, IT training and community cinemas in pubs. Pub is The Hub chief executive John Longden said: “It has been a long-term goal for us to extend our special brand of local-services-in-pubs to Scotland. We are thrilled that the Scottish Borders are ready to take the plunge with us.” Pub is The Hub, which was founded in 2001 by HRH the Prince of Wales, encourages local authorities, communities, licensees, pub owners and breweries to work together to support, retain and locate services within rural pubs.

Iona Pub Partnership reports turnover and profit rise: Iona Pub Partnership, which operates around 100 tenanted pub in Scotland and is owned by Stefan King’s G1 Group, has reported a turnover and profit increase for the year to 31 March 2015. Turnover climbed to £2,447,278 compared to £2,326,366 the year before. Operating profit percentage to sales was 78.4% (2014: 76.2%). The company, which was founded in 2005, stated: “The company’s portfolio of assets consists mainly of top quartile licensed units which are tenanted. The result of that is that they have generated consistently positive cash flows, better than the lower-end sites over the last few years and should continue to do so going forward. The majority of them also have the advantage of a food offering, which is becoming more and more important in the pub market.” 

Friday Beer Co launches £150,000 crowdfunding campaign, plans to open branded bars: Brewer Friday Beer Co, founded by Gerald Williams, has launched a campaign on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to raise £150,000 in return for 16.67% of its equity. The pitch states: “Friday is often a day to buy beer for the weekend, and we are trademarked as the “Official Sponsors of the Weekend”. We aspire to be the UK’s next “BrewDog” style of business and we see our company expanding over the years towards “Friday” branded city-based bars with novel “beer tank” dispensing systems selling our Premium Ales. In four years, we have built a brand that sells bottled ales to over 50 outlets including prestige hotels, restaurants and wine shops, plus many other outlet types found across the West Midlands region. We were also selected to become sold in Harrods’ Wine shop in Knightsbridge since June 2014. With a range of premium ales, designed to capitalise on both the malt and hop flavours in every recipe, we believe we can grow turnover to greater than £1 million by 2018.” It had raised £36,850 by Saturday.

Low, Slow & Juke barbecue restaurant opens next month: A new bar and restaurant serving crafted cocktails with a signature smoked and slow-cooked barbecued meats is set to open in February between Westminster and Victoria. Low, Slow & Juke will be a substantial remodeling of the lower-ground space at the corner of Victoria Street [which was formerly The Abbey pub]. Cocktails such as a Gingerbread Manhattan, and London artisan beers, will complement the punchy flavours of the food menu. Main meat dishes are hand rubbed and rested for 24 hours before being smoked low and slow for 16 hours. Specialities include St Louis slab ribs, beef brisket, beef ribs and honey and barbecue glaze, through to high quality burgers. Total capacity of the dining and bar areas is around 150, with several areas suitable for private group bookings.

Michelin-starred Lima to launch Peruvian deli at Harrods: Michelin-starred Lima Fitzrovia and Lima Floral will launch a Peruvian delicatessen within Harrods Food Hall – the offering, curated exclusively for the store, will be available from 1 March 2016. The deli menu will offer a variety of Peruvian dishes designed to take-away for lunch and dinner on the go. Director of food and restaurants at Harrods, Bruce Langlands, said: “We are extremely excited to be welcoming Lima to the Harrods Food Hall, a fantastic addition to the diverse food scene within the store. As a market leader in food trends, offering our loyal customers the best and latest in food is at the fore of our brand values and Lima brings something extremely innovative to the current offering; the cuisine is unique and exceptionally well executed. Lima will join the Food Halls in March as we celebrate the best of food produce with our ‘Cracking Gourmet’ store campaign.” Gabriel Gonzalez, co-founder and managing director of Lima Fitzrovia and Lima Floral restaurants, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Harrods and honoured to be present in such an iconic institution. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our food and passion for gastronomy, adapted to a retail format.”

The Independent – Reys has borrowed from too many sources: Independent food critic Tracey Macleod has reviewed Reys, the new chicken concept by PizzaExpress that opened in Cambrdge last year, and argued the concept has ‘borrowed from too many sources’. She wrote: “Reys will stand and fall by the quality of its chicken – corn-fed, welfare-assured birds available by the quarter (£6.50) or half (£11.50). And the chicken is easily the best thing about our meal: no tricks – simply rubbed, roasted and rested, leaving the meat tender and full-flavoured, the skin crisp. Gravy, too, is the real deal, and there’s a decent Asian slaw, banging with nam pla, coriander and Thai basil, though you could argue that these items don’t belong on the same menu, let alone plate. The kitchen’s compulsion to hide everything – even desserts – under fresh herbs comes over as a cheap attempt to make the food seem more interesting than it actually is. It’s the garnish equivalent of the beards and flat caps on the staff, or the display of faux-hipster Etsy-bilia, including a framed cleaver we could usefully have deployed on the avo on toast. Given that Reys has been carefully incubated for maximum roll-out potential, the effect is oddly incoherent. If they’d stuck to doing rotisserie chicken brilliantly, with a few solid sides, I could see it succeeding as a modern, slightly more upmarket rival to Nando’s. But they’ve tried to borrow from too many sources and ended up with something that references dining trends without turning them into something original. That fox theme could come back to haunt the well-feathered backers of this pilot project. If it works, they’ll be seen as guileful predators, sinking their teeth into their quarry and making off with the spoils. And if it doesn’t, they’ll be roadkill.”

PizzaExpress plans brace of openings in Belfast: PizzaExpress is planning two new Belfast restaurants. The company is launching a new venue in the Ballyhackamore district area of east Belfast – where Jamie Oliver is understood to be opening his first Northern Ireland restaurant – as well as another site elsewhere in the city, the Belfast Telegraph has reported. The brand, which is owned by Chinese private equity group Hony Capital, currently has three Belfast restaurants, including one in the Victoria Square. The latest branch in east Belfast will face stiff competition from a number of other Italian restaurants close by. They include Il Pirata, Greens Pizza and Little Wing. PizzaExpress was unable to comment on the new restaurants, or to reveal the location of the second outlet. But it is understood the chain will open both this year.

Edinburgh-based Italian restaurant begins expanding with second site in city: Edinburgh-based Italian restaurant Rigatoni’s has begun expanding by opening a second site in the city. Stefano and Maria Molfino’s new £100,000 venture is Rigatoni’s at the King’s, just yards from the King’s Theatre in Tollcross. The opening follows on from the couple’s existing venue, the original Rigatoni’s in the city’s south side, opposite the Queen’s Hall. Naples-born Stefano Molfino said: “The original Rigatoni’s is hugely popular and customers love the casual dining feel which is based on the informal trattorias and pizzerias of Napoli. With the new Rigatoni’s there is a much sleeker and more sophisticated feel. We are looking to create an enhanced – but still totally genuine – Italian dining experience with a broader menu, which includes many fish and meat dishes, as well as pastas and pizzas. While we import all the Italian essentials, such as olive oil, wine, beer, Italian cider, cheese, ham, and tomatoes, we also use the best locally sourced fish, meat and vegetables wherever possible.” 

Bison Beer receives boost to revive former Brighton pub as Burger King application is rejected: Bison Beer has received a boost in its bid to revive a former Brighton pub after an application to convert it into a Burger King was rejected. Bison is currently fundraising on crowdfunding platform Seedrs to take over the ex-Mariner site in East Street to prevent it becoming a fast food restaurant. And it has received a boost after Brighton and Hove City Council planning officers refused permission for Burger King to open. The report said: “The proposed external plant by virtue of its siting, scale and excessive number of units would result in harm to the appearance and character of the listed building.” However, Bison must raise £100,000 by 2 February ­– and invest another £100,000 of its own money – if the dream is to be realised. Jack Cregan, co-owner of Bison Beer, told the Brighton and Hove Independent: “Although we have raised £40,000, unless we get to £100,000 by 2 February, we get nothing, the money just gets refunded.” With £60,000 still to raise, The Bison Arms campaign will hold one final push in the form of the Stand Up For The Bison Arms comedy night on 30 January. If The Bison Arms hits the £100,000 target, Cregan said he believes it will be in a position to take on the 25-year lease from current leaseholder Whitbread. If it does not hit the target, investors will be refunded, and the empty pub will remain derelict.

New £1m bar and grill restaurant concept set to open in Lincoln: A new £1m bar and grill restaurant concept is set to open in Burton Waters, Lincoln. Mike Baldry and Stephen Fox are launching Harbour Lights Bar and Grill on the site of the former Harbour City Chinese restaurant. A major refit is planned for the interior, and the new venue will be ready to serve its first diners by early summer. Customers will be able to enjoy steaks and grilled food along with seafood specialties. Baldry, who owns the Peugeot dealership in Lincoln High Street, told the Lincolnshire Echo: “From buying the restaurant, and also the refit, we will have probably spent a million. It is having a complete and utter refit. It was a great little restaurant but it was getting a bit tired.” Fox added: “We are really looking forward to this new venture and are hoping it will bring lots more excitement into the area.”

Greater Manchester restaurateurs start expanding portfolio by opening second site: Greater Manchester-based restaurateurs Nicola Charnock and Paolo Pop are starting to expand their portfolio by opening their second site. The pair, who run the Venetian hideaway in Ramsbottom, have launched a new Italian restaurant and health cafe concept in Heaton Mersey, Stockport. The Venetian, based on the site of the former Deja Vu restaurant in Didsbury Road, is serving two very different types of cuisine, reports the Manchester Evening News. By day, Charnock, a trained sports physiotherapist who is studying for a degree in nutrition, runs a health cafe and deli, while in the evening the venue serves classic Italian small plates and pizzas cooked in a woodfire oven. The deli specialises in a range of nutritious options, including juice cleanses, protein packed meals, pro biotics, activated nuts, salads and bone broths. Venice-born Pop previously worked at San Carlo Cicchetti in Manchester city centre before launching his own restaurants. Along with his team of chefs, he specialises in tapas-style Italian small plates, made with organic ingredients, which are locally sourced where possible.

Mitchells & Butlers to convert former Orchid site in Aylesbury to Sizzling Pizza and Carvery brand: Mitchells & Butlers is to convert a former Orchid pub in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, to its new Sizzling Pizza and Carvery brand. The company will refurbish the Buckinghamshire Yeoman next month before reopening it under the new format in March. The new menu will host an offering of traditional pub food and meat carvery options on top of having a new pizza kitchen. The renovation comes as part of Mitchells & Butlers’ acquisition of the Orchid pub group in 2014, which included 173 sites. Beth Meads, speaking on behalf of Mitchells & Butlers, told The Bucks Herald: “The pub will continue to deliver high quality service and great value food, as well as having a fresh new look.” The Bedgrove pub will be Aylesbury’s second Sizzling restaurant alongside The Plough in Tring Road.

Row breaks out between local authority and JD Wetherspoon over “Dry January”: An argument has broken out between Sandwell Council and JD Wetherspoon after the authority officially called for residents to observe Dry January. The council “challenged” residents to stop drinking alcohol for 31 days as part of the Alcohol Concern and Public Health England backed campaign. Councillor Darren Cooper, leader of Sandwell Council, said: “Once the excesses of Christmas and New Year are over, many of us plan to start off the year in a healthy way. Dry January is something I like to do every year. It’s a good opportunity to give your body the chance to have a detox after the festive period. People who have taken part in previous years say after a month without alcohol they sleep better, lose weight and generally feel more energetic. Dry January isn’t abut forcing everyone to give up alcohol for a month but remembering we all need to look after ourselves and live as healthy a lifestyle as possible.” JD Wetherspoon, which runs the Court of Requests in Oldbury, the Brittania in Blackheath and the Moon Under The Water in Cradley Heath, criticised Coun Cooper and the council for being “nannyish”. Wetherspoon’s PR spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “People enjoy going out for a drink in a local pub, if people decide to drink less in a particular time then that is a decision for them to make. We are not sure that a leader of a council needs to be endorsing something like Dry January and one could ask the council whether it would also put out statements about not having a fry up, having a takeaway or eating less during a particular month of the year. People who go to the pub are not stupid and can make their own decisions, it feels a bit nannyish, and it could lead to council’s pontificating on a whole range lifestyle actions.”

SSP applies for licence to sell alcohol at Burger King restaurants at Paddington and Victoria train stations: Transport hub foodservice specialist SSP is proposing to sell alcohol at the Burger King sites at Paddington and Victoria train stations in London. The company has applied to Westminster Council to sell beer at the fast food outlets until midnight on weekends, 11pm on weekdays, and 10.30pm on Sundays. SSP has asked for both Burger Kings at Victoria station to be licensed as well as one on the station concourse at Paddington. A Burger King spokesman told West End Extra: “Burger King restaurants are committed to providing a positive guest experience globally. Alcohol has long been served in several Burger King restaurants that are located in airports and other transit locations in the UK. Any restaurants that apply to serve alcohol are required to adhere to all local legislation, including presentation of valid identification. This is not a new promotion and we have no current plans to roll it out nationally.” Last year, Burger King applied to sell alcohol at four branches in other parts of the UK, with the outlet in Bury St Edmunds becoming the first in the country to be granted permission.

Cardiff-based Jamaican street restaurant to start expanding with second site in city, eyes further growth: Cardiff-based Jamaican street market restaurant Irie Shack is set to start expanding by opening a second site in the city and is eyeing other locations for further growth. The company has transformed the former White Hart pub in Cardiff Bay into the new venue, which opens on Thursday (14 January), reports Wales Online. Spread over two floors, the restaurant will be able to cater for up to 80 people and the long narrow ground floor has been divided into different “shacks” so diners can choose to eat in the Irie Records Shack or at the Rum Shack. There will be a wide selection of homemade dishes on the menu including jerk chicken wings with Caribbean slaw, rice and peas, one-pot curried goat and traditional Jamaican ginger cake. Irie Shack is the brainchild of Iftekhar Haris, who originally opened the restaurant in Cwmbran in 2013 but relocated to Cathays in Cardiff last April. Haris is hoping to branch out further in the future and is even considering locations as far away as Bristol and Gloucester. He plans to open a central kitchen in Newport where the curries and other sauces will be made before being chilled and transported to the restaurants, although the meat will be freshly cooked at the premises.

Dukes 92 opens Danish tipi pub as part of Manchester bar makeover: Dukes 92 in Castlefield, Manchester, is launching a Danish-inspired pop-up pub as a temporary home during a makeover. The venue has moved into a tipi overlooking the Rochdale Canal while the building undergoes a £1m refurbishment to mark its 25th anniversary. Glogg (Scandinavian mulled wine) will be on sale as will pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven. The tipi will be open every day from midday to 11pm. The original Dukes 92 building is being stripped back to brick to reflect its industrial heritage and softened with hotel lobby-style furniture. The focal point will be a 50ft bar, while foliage will extend through the building to an extended covered terrace, with dining throughout. There will also be a private dining room to seat up to 14, with its own outside private terrace. James Ramsbottom, managing director of Elle R Leisure, which owns Dukes 92, said: “We look forward to welcoming people back in the spring.”

Carlisle-based sandwich bar operator set to expand portfolio by opening cafe in city: Carlisle-based sandwich bar operator Chris Archibald is set to expand his portfolio by opening a cafe in the city. Archibald who runs La Baguette in Greenmarket, has applied to Carlisle City Council to convert the former Grandma’s Treats sweet shop next door. The cafe will seat 26 people on the ground floor and 16 upstairs while Archibald also intends to apply for a licence to serve alcohol. Subject to planning consent being granted, he hopes to open in time for Easter. The cafe would trade from 8am to 5pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays, and would employ three full-time and four part-time staff. Archibald told the News & Star: “It’s going to be a funky, trendy cafe, a bit different from what everybody else is doing with bright, funky colours. All the food will be home cooked. We’ll be doing burgers and sweet potato fries, and I have a few ideas for salads with edible flowers.”

Surya Hotels adds five sites: Surya Hotels has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of four of five Dragonfly hotels in East Anglia. The chain includes Dragonfly hotels in Colchester (50 rooms), Bury St Edmunds (71), Peterborough (70) and King’s Lynn (50). Following the deal, Surya’s portfolio now consists of 11 hotels. Suki Dulai, managing director of Surya Hotels, said all four properties would undergo “extensive refurbishment”. The hotels will continue to trade under the Dragonfly brand.

Cairn Hotel Group buys boutique hotel out of administration: A 39-bedroom boutique hotel set within 26 acres of gardens in Buckinghamshire has been purchased out of administration. International agent Savills has sold the long leasehold interest in Stoke Place Hotel, Stoke Poges, to a subsidiary of Cairn Hotel Group for an undisclosed sum. The sale was completed on behalf of MB Callaghan and RM Wilkinson, the joint administrators of Stoke Place Hotel Ltd. The hotel is set within 26 acres of gardens designed by the celebrated 18th century landscape architect Capability Brown. It comprises a grade II-listed manor house, two cottages and a separate terrace of bedrooms as well as a drawing room, restaurant, bar, wine cellar and events facilities. There are a number of high profile tourist and leisure destinations, including Windsor Castle, Ascot Racecourse and Legoland, situated close by. Gary Witham, hotels director at Savills, said: “This country house hotel was once a renowned wedding and events venue and is well-suited to both leisure and corporate guests. Cairn Hotel Group also owns the nearby Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross as part of its extensive portfolio and has the capability and expertise to put Stoke Place back on the map.”

Burger King franchisee fined £13,000 for four hygiene offences: Burger king franchisee Caspian Food Services has been ordered to pay more than £13,000 after pleading guilty to four offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 at a Birmingham Bullring site. The company pleaded guilty to offences after environmental health officers found evidence of mouse activity in the restaurant during an inspection last February. Droppings were identified in food preparation and storage areas and there was also evidence of inadequate cleaning and food exposed to risk of contamination. Following the inspection, a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order (HEPO) was issued. When officers returned days later, further droppings were found but the outlet was re-opened following another inspection which deemed the work satisfactory. Caspian Food Services already had a pest control contact in place but has since increased the number of visits. Another surprise inspection in June awarded the Burger King a food hygiene rating of five, the maximum score. The company, based in Surrey, was prosecuted by Birmingham City Council. It was fined £12,000 with costs of £1,389 at Birmingham Magistrates Court earlier last week.

Itinerary for second Propel and Thinking Drinkers Craft Beer Retail Study Tour: The itinerary has been unveiled for the second Propel and Thinking Drinkers Craft Beer Retail Study Tour. The event, which this year focuses on south London, takes place on Thursday, 28 January and will visit seven of the capital’s leading craft beer retailers in an eight-hour period. It starts at the Four Thieves brewpub in Battersea, owned by Laine Pub Company. The tour will then visit hybrid craft beer and bottle shop We Brought Beer in Clapham Junction, which was founded by former BrewDog employee James Hickson, followed by the Craft Beer Co site in Clapham Manor Street. The next stop will be the Crown & Anchor in Brixton run by London Village Inns before heading to independently operated Stormbird in Camberwell Church Street, which was runner-up in the Timeout Love London Awards this year. The tour then continues to Late Knights Brewery’s micro-pub Beer Rebellion in Gypsy Hill and ends at Utobeer’s The Rake in Borough Market. The tour will again be led by Thinking Drinkers, award-winning beer writers Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham, who will provide the latest craft beer facts and figures, market segmentation, analysis and spot up-and-coming trends. The day includes lunch and breakfast and travel between venues by coach. Tickets are £345 for Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) members and £395 for non-ALMR members. To book, email adam.dickinson@propelinfo.com

ALMR National Restaurant Association Study Tour to Chicago open for bookings: The Propel and Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) 2016 Chicago Study Tour is open for bookings. The trip, sponsored by CPL Training and Sky, takes place between Thursday, 19 May and Monday, 23 May 2016. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) draws 58,000-plus industry professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries, seeking the newest innovations and up-to-the-minute information about trends and issues. The ALMR trip provides: insights from industry experts on the rise in fast-casual dining, social media, new and emerging brands, menu development, staff management and a host of other issues – with 70 free education sessions at the NRA show. It also involves two tours of Chicago’s hottest concepts and a market overview briefing sessions from US experts. Paul Charity, managing director of Propel Info, said: “The NRA show combined with our tour of Chicago is a fantastic opportunity to find fresh inspiration and understand the emerging trends shaping the fast-changing US market.” To get more information or to book, email jo.charity@propelinfo.com