Easyhotel raises £38m: Easyhotel, the owner, developer, operator and franchisor of “super budget” branded hotels, has made a conditional placing of up to 38,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 100 pence each to raise £38 million. The shares represent approximately 60.8% of the Ordinary Shares in issue and the placing price represents a premium of approximately 18.3% to the closing mid-market price of 84.5 pence per existing ordinary share on 27 September 2016. The proceeds of the placing are to be primarily utilised to fund owned hotel roll-out strategy. The company has an owned hotel pipeline of 2,437 rooms and a franchise pipeline of 2,075 rooms either committed or identified. Chief executive Guy Parsons said: “Since IPO Easyhotel has made significant progress in line with its strategy to speed up owned hotel development and accelerate the roll-out of franchise hotels to drive high Ebitda returns on investment. With more opportunities available than had been expected, and over 4,500 rooms committed or identified in the owned and franchise development pipeline, the proceeds of the Placing will primarily be used to fund the continuation of our owned hotel roll-out to deliver enhanced financial returns, whilst consolidating Easyhotel’s position as a leader in the super budget hotel market in Europe and the Middle East.”

Domino’s Pizza hires Tony Holdway as chief marketing officer: Domino’s Pizza has hired BHS’s former chief marketing officer Tony Holdway in the same role following the promotion of Simon Wallis, who is now chief operating officer, The Drum has reported. Before joining BHS in February of this year, Holdway was brand marketing director at House of Fraser, and also held roles at Littlewoods and WH Smith. Wallis, was appointed as chief operating officer for Domino’s in July. Wallis said he was “delighted” to have Holdway on board, adding: “He brings a wealth of experience to the team, from his marketing and commercial roles at House of Fraser, Wickes, Mothercare and more recently a short stint at British Home Stores.” He said Holdway will be using this experience to “lead the charge” in improving the brand’s understanding of its ever evolving customers’ needs, and how best to connect them with Domino’s across all channels. “We believe his background in marketing, digital and retail will be a real asset to Domino’s and we look forward to our next chapter of success together.” Holdway added: “Domino’s has had a phenomenal growth trajectory over the last few years driven by its innovative omni channel approach to marketing. I look forward to bringing even greater standout marketing and creative ideas to Domino’s, as we continue to lead the way in delivering freshly baked, great tasting pizza, wherever and whenever our customers want it.”

The Food Yard to debut on London’s Fulham Road: The Sloane Stanley Estate has revealed that The Food Yard will be debuting its healthy new dining concept on the Fulham Road in late October. Located at 279 Fulham Road, the new 1,327 square foot restaurant will serve a variety of dishes focusing on healthy salads and seasonal ingredients. Fresh juices and smoothies will be available, as well as a signature hemp seed smoothie, plus seasonal offerings including avocado and papaya salad, pumpkin and sweet potato salad and green poppy seed salad. Their new deli-style concept restaurant will cater for 20 covers, serving hot and cold dishes for breakfast and lunchtime. In contrast to the majority of other food operators in the area, customers will be invited to order from the fresh deli-style counter, allowing them to create their own combinations of delicious homemade meals and salads. Commenting on the news, Hannah Grievson, Commercial Property Manager at Sloane Stanley said: “The Food Yard’s debut arrival will be a great addition to Fulham Road’s exceptional retail and dining offer. Their unique concept and innovative menu will delight Fulham Road shoppers and tap into the increasing demand from health-conscious consumers, and of course residents in the area. We are thrilled the brand selected this location to launch their debut concept.” Nassib Hamdane, founder of The Food Yard, added: “I am delighted to be opening my first UK restaurant on Fulham Road, one of London’s most iconic destinations. We have spent many months refining our menu which incorporates seasonal produce, which we feel will have a strong appeal in the area. It was important to us we secured a stand-out location for our debut – We could not have done better than Fulham Road.”