‘Evolution’ of Brasserie Bar Co results in Ebitda boost as turnover passes £40m: Brasserie Bar Co has reported a boost in Ebitda as turnover passed the £40m mark following an “evolution” of the estate. The company saw turnover increase 10.2% to £41,056,000 for the year ending 3 July 2016, compared with £37,249,000 the previous year. Restaurant Ebitda, including discontinued sites, was up 14% to £6.5m compared with £5.7m the year before, which the company said would have been higher but for the disposal of its Brasserie Blanc site in Covent Garden half-way through the period. In February 2015, the company secured £13.5m of funding to support the expansion of the group by at least 20 sites to June 2017. Chairman Ian Edward said: “It is hard to articulate the transformation that the company has undertaken over the last two years – a transformation delivered across the estate by the financial year ending June 2016. In short, the Brasserie Blanc business has been completely rebranded. Having gone from ex-growth in its old livery, at the time of writing this report, the business is delivering double-digit, year-on-year sales growth. Ebitda conversion is improving, placing us in excellent shape to shield us against the increasing economic pressures face the sector faces. While this was being achieved, the award-winning White Brasserie pubs have expanded from six to 11 trading sites and continue to deliver industry-leading levels of turnover. It is fast becoming recognised as one of the most innovative pub businesses in the sector. Based on the progressive new lease model, landlords are providing us with ever more attractive, high-quality opportunities. The entire pub estate is now free-of-tie and of sufficient scale to aggressively negotiate our drinks procurement. This will enhance profitability and add long-term value. The performance of the pub business has been outstanding and this has been reflected in the recognition it has received. In the second half of 2015 we received an extraordinarily attractive offer to surrender the lease at Covent Garden back to the landlord. After careful deliberation, the board decided to accept and reinvest the proceeds into expanding the rest of the business. Following the sale of this site, the board carried out an impairment review of the remaining ex-Chez Gerard sites and concluded it would be appropriate to recognise a total charge of £1.775m to reduce the carrying value of certain fixed assets to their recoverable amount.”

Finance and Investment Conference open for bookings: The Propel Finance and Investment Conference is open for bookings. Speakers will include Julia Groves, founder and director of the UK Crowdfunding Association, and Steven Kenee, head of licensed leisure at sector investor Downing, who will give their views on the opportunity of pub and restaurant ISAs and the key pros and cons of crowd bonds. Andrew Godber, who oversees leisure investment banking at Panmure Gordon, has advised on many Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and acted for more than a dozen companies in the sector including Brighton Pier Group, Capital Pub Company, City Pub Company, Eclectic Bars, The Restaurant Group and Young’s. He will give his views on how companies make themselves ready for flotation on the public markets, recent performance of companies opting for IPOs, the segments of the market that may be suited for the IPO route, the costs of going public and the advantages of IPOs. There will also be a panel discussion examining the sector investment and finance landscape with Maurice Abboudi, of K10; Casual Dining Group chief executive Steve Richards; Bob Silk, of Barclays Corporate; Dan Stern, of Piper Private Equity; and Ian Edward, of Edward Associates. Click here to see the full programme. The full-day event takes place on Thursday, 11 May at One Moorgate Place, London EC2R 6EA. Tickets are £295 plus VAT for operators and £445 plus VAT for suppliers, while tickets for Propel Premium subscribers are £245 plus VAT. To book, email anne.steele@propelinfo.com or call 01444 817691.

Propel launches US Restaurant Franchise Forum: Propel has partnered with World Franchise Associates to launch the US Restaurant Franchise Forum. The event, which takes place on Friday, 28 April at One Moorgate Place in London, will see leading US operators present to their UK counterparts about franchise opportunities in Britain. The first five high-profile US foodservice franchisors to present at the event have been confirmed as Panda Express, the largest Chinese quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain in the US, with 1,800 sites; Little Caesars, which is the third-largest pizza QSR restaurant chain in the US, with 4,250 sites; Wingstop, the fastest-growing US QSR chicken brand, with 1,000 sites; Wienerschnitzel, the largest hotdog QSR brand in the US, with 350 locations; and fast-emerging Indian QSR/fast-casual brand Chutney’s Indian Grill. Registration for the event is from 9am to 10am. It is for operators only with tickets priced £65 plus VAT. To book places, email anne.steele@propelinfo.com or call 01444 817691.

Former ALMR chief hits back at foie gras internet activists: Former Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) chief executive David McHattie and his wife Sam have taken a head-on position regarding online attacks and a threatened protest at sales of foie gras at their pub, the Bridge Inn in Calver. The couple posted a response on Facebook calling for activists who threatened a protest at the venue to “publicly apologise for the mob bullying we have endured”. However, the McHatties added if they received the activists’ apologies they would “enter into private discussions with them to discuss the inclusion of foie gras on our menu”. They stated: “During these discussions we will offer the following – to immediately remove foie gras from our menu. We will also visit the farm where our foie gras is produced to see the process first-hand and report back on our findings and enter into further private discussions if, after our visit, we are satisfied our foie gras is not cruelly produced. In return we would like a pledge that (the activists) will not target any restaurant publicly in future without engaging in private discussion first; that if that doesn’t work they will only move on to peaceful protest; that they will not engage in mob online bullying campaigns in future or leave any fake reviews; and will publicly denounce those who do. If they break this pledge we will add foie gras back on our menu and will encourage other restaurateurs to do the same. We must stand together against this scourge of social media bullying.” The Bridge Inn is in the Peak District National Park close to the McHatties’ first pub, the Devonshire Arms.

European hotel market reports strong February performance: The European hotel market reported a strong performance in February with increases in revpar, average daily rate and occupancy. STR data for the month revealed revpar rose 4.7% to €64.59 compared with the previous year, while occupancy was up 2.9% to 64.5% and average daily rate increased 1.8% to €100.08. Among the best-performing countries were Hungary, which saw double-digit increases in occupancy (12.0% to 58.1%) and revpar (17.3% to HUF11,566.69) and Holland, where revpar increased 7.7% to €68.88 and average daily rate by 3.5% to €107.27. Meanwhile, Switzerland saw its first year-on-year occupancy decline since August, with a fall of 0.6% to 58.5%. STR analysts noted Swiss hotels performed better on weekdays than weekends during February, suggesting more corporate than leisure business.

Top London cafe ditches the dairy: The Fields Beneath cafe in Kentish Town, London, ranked as one of the best cafes in the capital by londonsbestcoffee.com, is ditching cow’s milk from all its beverages. From next week, the venue in Prince of Wales Road will offer oat, almond and soy alternatives instead. A notice that appeared in the cafe’s window earlier this week stated: “This is the last week we shall be buying, steaming and pouring cow’s milk into our espressos. We have the following alternatives – oat, almond and soy. Oat milk will be charged at the same price as cow’s milk, the others at 30p more.” The notice ends with a reference to Dairy is Scary, a YouTube video about the dairy industry by Erin Janus, which has amassed more than 1.6 million views.

Freshii proposes partnership with Subway: The founder and chief executive of Canada-based health brand Freshii has written an open letter to Subway proposing a tie-up in the US between the two businesses. Matthew Corrin published the letter as a full-page newspaper advertisement stating: “Let’s explore a partnership in which we together convert select Subway stores to Freshii restaurants in a quick, low-cost way.” Any partnership would unite businesses of disparate size. Freshii, which went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange at the end of January, operates 286 restaurants in 15 countries. It recently opened its first franchise site in the UK, in Belfast, and aims to have between 810 and 840 franchise sites by the end of its fiscal year 2019. Privately owned Subway has 44,600 franchised locations in 112 countries but openings slowed to 34 in its fiscal year 2015, compared with 313 in 2014. Corrin said Subway and Freshii restaurants had similar-size footprints, while neither required on-site cooking. The letter states the average conversion cost would be $75,000. In 2015, Corrin published an open letter to McDonald’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook calling for a co-branded Freshii outlet in “just one” US McDonald’s restaurant. He promised: “If after one year Freshii in McDonald’s has not improved your sales and profits, I will refund you the difference.” McDonald’s didn’t take up the offer and neither will Subway, NPD Group executive director Robert Carter believes. He told CBC News: “(Corrin) understands the power of publicity and, in the restaurant industry, it’s really important to have awareness of your brand.” Carter said fast-casual restaurants such as Freshii and Chipotle, which emphasise flavour and freshness, are winning customers in the US from quick-service brands such as Subway.

QikServe launches self-service ordering app: Mobile technology company QikServe has launched an app for those companies in the hospitality sector looking to implement self-service ordering and payment systems. The QikServe Kiosk app gives operators a flexible, customisable platform for building their own self-service system. Many hospitality operators view kiosks as the first step towards full mobile ordering. With no need to download an app or check in via mobile, customers are often more ready to engage via kiosks, QikServe said. The app allows operators to update product images and food and drink descriptions, and also captures guest data insights such as number of visits, most popular locations, order spend, most ordered meals or successful upsells, and peak self-service hours by day, week and month. QikServe chief executive Daniel Rodgers said: “Kiosks offer hospitality operators more than just a new ordering option – they support operational efficiency by helping reduce queues and can provide eye-catching digital signage opportunities. Adding to our existing applications in mobile and web-based ordering, Kiosk Application provides operators with a fast, cost-effective way to implement self-service ordering.” In January, private equity firm Maven Capital Partners invested £2.7m in QikServe, which was founded in 2011 by Rodgers and Ronnie Forbes.

Blackpool hotel with Coronation Street link goes on market: A Blackpool hotel that featured in the ITV soap Coronation Street has been put on sale off a guide price of £825,000. The Strand Hotel, which is on the promenade, is being marketed by agent Fleurets. The hotel has 33 en-suite rooms, a 100-cover lounge bar, a dining room with 90 covers, two-bedroom private accommodation, and parking. It featured in an infamous Coronation Street episode in which Alan Bradley was killed by a tram after hunting down Rita Fairclough, who was seeking refuge at the hotel. A blue plaque commemorating the event and photographs taken during the filming are in the hotel. Owner Jane Long said: “The hotel was featured again in summer 2016, with reference to the original storyline. The hotel continues to attract notoriety and trade as a direct result of this association.” 

BrewDog looks for Asian brewery site as sales hit £71.9m: BrewDog is looking for a brewery site in Asia after unveiling turnover growth of 61% for 2016. James Watt, who co-founded the Ellon-based business alongside Martin Dickie, said in the company’s accounts for the year to the end of December that Asia was next on the agenda for Brewdog, which is building a $30m brewery in Columbus, Ohio. “China is on course to be one of our biggest export markets in 2017 and we also have significant distribution in Japan and South Korea,” he said. “Given the (distance) from our Ellon brewery, we feel we can only really take advantage of the Asian opportunity by having a brewery in Asia and we are now actively looking at locations and opportunities in the region.” The planned brewery is part of a growth strategy that will also see the company open ten bars this year, in locations including Edinburgh and London, in addition to bringing its Lonewolf Distillery online. The distillery, which will initially offer gin and vodka with whisky to be added in due course, will launch in April, when the US brewery will also begin production. Watt said the company, whose pre-tax profits rose 19% to £3.2m in 2016, will continue to reinvest its profits to drive further growth. “The plan is to continue to invest all profit into fuelling further growth as we continue to invest in our beer and our people,” he said. “We have been a high-growth company since we started but that high growth has always been underpinned and driven by solid profitability.” The 2016 profit figure came on the back of a rise in turnover, from £44.7m to £71.9m. Watt said that figure is expected to be considerably higher in the current financial year thanks to a new facility at its Ellon headquarters allowing it to increase production capacity. “In 2016 we grew strongly with our overall revenue up 61% on 2015,” he said. “This growth was, however, constrained by capacity as our new 300 [hectolitre] brewhouse in Ellon only came online in September.” The UK accounts for the bulk of Brewdog’s sales, with domestic revenue rising by 75% to £58.5m last year. Sales in Europe rose by 14% to £9.8m and in the rest of the world by 89% to £3.6m.

Wild Beer Co approaches £1.5m mark in crowdfunding campaign towards destination brewery: Somerset-based brewer Wild Beer Co is approaching the £1.5m mark in its fund-raise on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube towards its new landmark brewery at the Bath & West Showground. The company, founded by Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis, was looking to raise £1m for the project and was offering a 3.85% equity stake in return for the investment. It hit that target in only six days and so far, 1,522 investors have pledged £1,474,930 with eight days remaining. The largest investment to date is £555,560. The fund-raise is contributing towards Wild Beer Co’s £10m destination brewery, which will also feature bars and a restaurant. The original brewery site will also be maintained and developed into a “barrel-aging mecca”, one of the first of its kind in the UK. The company said the overfunding would allow it to achieve the expansion plans even sooner.

Jewish soul food trader Monty’s Deli to open permanent site in east London next month: Jewish soul food trader Monty’s Deli will open its first bricks and mortar site at a former bakery in Hackney next month following a successful crowdfunding campaign. Mark Ogus and Owen Barratt, who launched the concept as a market stall in 2012, raised £50,000 in late 2016 on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with backers including The Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner, celebrity chef Tom Kerridge and food writer Gizzi Erskine. Monty’s Deli, which is renowned for its chicken soup and sandwiches packed with home-made salt beef and pastrami, will open the site in Hoxton Street on Tuesday, 18 April. Everything will be made from scratch on-site. Available to eat in or take away, the counter will run a ticket-style service during breakfast and lunch. The evening menu will consist of whole joints of hot pastrami or salt beef for the table; cholent – a traditional slow-braised brisket dish with bone marrow, potatoes and pearl barley; and beef and dill meatballs topped with pastrami-dripping breadcrumbs. A long bar will offer seats where customers can watch the meat being sliced and sandwiches being prepared, with a baked goods section displaying pastries and the guest bagel of the week. Ogus said: “It was my grandfather, Monty, who introduced me to Jewish food. Owen and I both started in bands but share this obsession. It was a happy coincidence we ended up not only making delicious meat but enjoying the performance of the slicing bar, of building these beautiful sandwiches and creating a great show people can take part in too.”

Revolution Bars Group converts dual-themed venue in Blackpool: Revolution Bars Group, the operator of 66 premium bars across the UK under the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, has converted its dual-themed venue in Blackpool back into a single Revolution Russian, with more of a focus on food. The venue in Market Street, which is one of the largest in the seaside town, has undergone a £130,000 refurbishment to remove the Revolución de Cuba side of the site and features revamped kitchen and restaurant areas. General manager Martyn Reid told The Gazette: “When Revs opened in 2011 there were two different brands – the Revolution Russian Vodka brand and the Revolución de Cuba – some places were either one or the other, some were dual sites. The company has decided to change dual sites like ours and so we have made it more Russian but also updated it. It is a much brighter look and more food-orientated with quicker service and extended to 10pm. We have taken on more staff, between 15 and 20, and more chefs. The former Cuba top bar area has lost its Cuban tiles and will be more drinks-friendly, while the ground-floor main area will trend towards dining and a family area near the prom.” The company will open its next Revolution site in Southend at the end of April, which will showcase a new-look design that moves away from the current trend of urban reclaimed materials.

Cote to open Chester site next week: French brasserie Cote, which is owned by private equity firm BC Partners, will open its latest site, in Bridge Street, Chester, on Monday (27 March), creating 40 jobs. The company has invested more than £1m to refurbish the grade II-listed building, restoring the exposed stone and timber beams on the ground floor to ensure the 140-cover restaurant retains its “original character and charm”. Cote chief executive Alex Scrimgeour said: “Chester is a thriving city in the north west that’s unique in its character and charm. We’ve wanted to introduce people in the city to Cote for some time but needed to find the perfect location. We’re confident we’ve found it in Bridge Street and look forward to welcoming Chester residents and visitors into our new brasserie.” Cote operates more than 80 sites in the UK, with the nearest venues to Chester in Hale and Liverpool.

Ex-Mothership Group creative director takes on first pub: Heather Pistor, former creative director of bar and events company Mothership Group, has taken on her first pub. Pistor and husband Ben, a DJ and club promoter, have acquired the lease of The West Hill Tavern in Brighton, which is owned by NewRiver. The pub in Buckingham Place is undergoing a £50,000-plus refurbishment and will reopen in mid-April. It will include fresh decor and the introduction of a blend of old and new furniture. Injecting some east London inspiration, silent movies will be projected on the walls, while Radio 4 will play in the toilets. The West Hill Tavern will showcase craft beer, conditioned cask ale and kegged beer from the Society of Independent Brewers portfolio, creating a 70/30 split with food sales. Food will feature slow-cooked British meat, complemented by a simple dessert offering. Pistor left her role as creative director at Mothership when the couple moved from London to Brighton to start a family and realise their dream of running their own pub. Ben Pistor said: “The Westie feels a little tired and is in need of some investment, financially and emotionally. We’re delighted to be able to use our skills and passion to nurture it and help it realise its full potential.” A NewRiver spokesman added: “We’re delighted Ben and Heather have made The West Hill their first pub. They have the skills and experience – plus bags of energy and enthusiasm – needed to make it a busy, vibrant pub once more.”

Michelin-starred chef opens Plymouth restaurant serving food on diners’ hands: MasterChef: The Professionals winner Anton Piotrowski has opened a restaurant in Plymouth in which diners are served food on the back of their hand. Piotrowski has faced a mixed reaction after ditching plates altogether for the first course at Brown & Bean. Customers who sit down for the nine-course taster menu, the only evening menu on offer, are first treated to a squirt of burnt apple puree and crunchy pork on their hand from a waiter. The small pile of food, topped off with apple blossom, must then be gobbled up without causing too much mess. Local food reviewer Louise Daniel hailed it as a “novel idea” and a “conversation starter” and said the food itself tasted “sensational”. However the Michelin-starred chef, who won the BBC show in 2012, has also seen the practice slammed as “pretentious”, reports The Sun. The “no plates” fad has seen diners across the country served food in everything from hats to table tennis bats, as documented by the “We Want Plates” Twitter campaign.

Surrey-based hotel company enters administration: Surrey-based Lionhouse Hotels, which owns and operates The Georgian Hotel in Haslemere, has entered administration. Mark Ford and Henry Shinners, of Smith & Williamson, have been appointed as joint administrators. The property was built by wealthy tanner William Cobden in the early 18th century and was extended in 1885 to include a third storey. It only became an established hotel in the 1930s. According to the administrators the hotel, which has 43 bedrooms, had run into cash flow difficulties in the months leading up to their appointment, reports Insider Media. The administrators said: “The company is continuing to operate under the control of the administrators and in association with Licensed Solutions. We are currently looking to sell the business as a going concern and a number of interested parties have already been in contact. However, we encourage interest from others and invite any party with an interest in acquiring the business and assets to get in touch.”

Leon partners with HelloFresh for delivery service: Natural fast food brand Leon has partnered with international fresh food delivery service HelloFresh to make it “easier for people to eat well at home”. Four recipes from Leon’s Happy Salads cookbook will be available to order during March and April through HelloFresh, which will deliver the ingredients and instructions required to make the meals. The Leon website states: “These recipes have been designed to be good for you and good for the planet. They are happy salads because they look happy. Happy because they signify happy occasions. Happy because you will love eating them. Happy because you will feel good afterwards.” John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby founded Leon in 2004. It currently operates 45 sites in the UK, with openings lined up for Manchester Trafford Centre and Paddington, London. The company also operates a site at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands.

Liverpool-based bar and restaurant owner to relaunch dock-side Circo site as Never Ever Land: Jason McNeill, who owns Liverpool city centre venue Castle St Townhouse, is rebranding his circus-themed bar and restaurant Circo in Albert Docks as a “new generation of entertainment” entitled Never Ever Land. The venue will open next month, with the former “freak show” being rebranded as a “kaleidoscope of thrill-seeking enchantment”. McNeill has drawn inspiration from theatrical entertainment companies such as Cirque De Soleil, with Circo Never Ever Land revolving around four key concepts – dinner shows, live lounge, nightclub, and private hire. The 7,000 square foot space has capacity for 250 people seated and 1,000 standing and will feature two dinner shows a week at 6pm with doors opening for a nightclub at 11pm. McNeill told BDaily: “The new space has been designed to enable our new aerial and acrobatic performances, with many introductions including our live artist lounge, a corporate and social creative event space, and our nightclub transformation. Whether guests have experienced our original Albert Dock concept or not, things will never be the same again.”

Hull-based operators to open Yorkshire’s first gin bar and distillery: Hull-based operators Lee Kirman and Charlotte Bailey are to open Yorkshire’s first gin bar and distillery in the city. Kirman and Bailey, who run The Minerva pub, are launching Humber Street Distillery Co in the Fruit Market and said it would be one of only a handful of combined gin bars and distilleries across the country. They are investing £160,000 in the project, which will feature a 150-litre gin still imported from Germany. The bar will open on Saturday, 15 April in Humber Street, with the still to be installed in August when the couple will begin producing their brand of fruit-flavoured gin. The 1,800 square foot venue will have a “speakeasy style”, with oak-panelled walls and leather seating, and feature photographs of Humber Street in days gone by. It will also have a heated outdoor area. About 100 varieties of gin, unusual spirits, local and international craft beers and bespoke cocktails will be on offer. Food offerings will include gourmet bar snacks and sharing platters. Kirman said: “We took inspiration from bars in cities such as London and Edinburgh but wanted to take it a step further by distilling our own gin on the premises. We knew we could make a real success of it because gin is seeing such a resurgence in popularity. We stock about 50 varieties of gin at The Minerva and they go down really well.”

Michelin-starred chef heads kitchen as young entrepreneur snaps up St Andrews seafood restaurant: Michelin-starred chef Davy Aspin is heading the kitchen of Seafood Ristorante, the new name for St Andrews’ iconic The Seafood Restaurant, which has reopened under a new owner. The cube-shaped restaurant, which overlooks the North Sea, has been acquired by entrepreneur Stefano Pieraccini, 22, who will be mentored by his father Adrian, who previously owned the Rocca restaurant in the town and the five-star Rocpool hotel and restaurants in Inverness. Seafood Ristorante will refocus on Italian-style quality dining, with Aspin supported by head chef Ian Syme and Scotland’s Young Chef of the Year Jamie MacKinnon, who also won BBC 2 television series Chef’s Protégé in 2013. Covers have almost doubled, from 44 to 80, with staff numbers rising to 30. Pieraccini said: “I am spending over £100,000 in rebranding, refurbishment and expansion. I have been brought up in a family whose entire focus has been the restaurant trade and, from the time I worked in the industry as a kitchen porter at 14, I have dreamed of running my own restaurant.” Tim Butler, former owner of The Seafood Restaurant, will focus his attention on expanding his £1m turnover St Andrews Brewing Co.

Ampersand Events secures Design Museum contract: Ampersand Events, CH&Co Group’s events and catering business, has been named an approved listed caterer for London’s newest contemporary events space – the Design Museum. The museum’s new £83m home in Kensington High Street offers an inspirational events space, perfect for high-end, conceptual conferences, dinners, receptions and screenings, such as fashion, design and branding launches. Ampersand Events secured its listed caterer status following a competitive tender. The team also catered for the Design Museum’s official opening party in November, the first event in the new space. The party, co-hosted by the Design Museum and Alexandra Shulman, was attended by 1,200 people.

Yorkshire-based Indian restaurant Bengal Brasserie to open fifth site and third in Leeds next month: Yorkshire-based Indian restaurant Bengal Brasserie is opening its fifth site next month – and third in Leeds. The company, which also has sites in Wetherby and York, will open the 120-cover restaurant in Merrion Way on Monday, 3 April. The new venue marks a seven-figure investment in premises, staff and the fit-out of the 3,600 square foot site, bringing total investment by the business to £2m. Managing director Malik Dobir told The Business Desk: “The new restaurant is our largest and the location is ideally situated close to the Merrion Way leisure venues and the Leeds Arena, which has really boosted the north of the city centre in recent years.” The company employs 100 staff across the group.

Marston’s to open new-build Derby hotel in June: Marston’s is to open a 38-bedroom new-build hotel next to its Blue Jay pub in Linville Close, Derby, in June. The company is advertising for staff at the two-storey, multimillion-pound hotel, which will be called Blue Jay Lodge. A 40-space car park is also being built, bringing the total number of bays on the site, including those for the pub, to 128. Marston’s is working with Jobcentre Plus to recruit staff for the hotel, while it is also looking for ten additional staff for the neighbouring pub. Jackie Thompson, employment partnership leader at Jobcentre Plus in Derby, told the Derby Telegraph: “Hospitality is a particularly buoyant sector in Derby at the moment. As well as Marston’s, we have been recruiting staff for Marriott Breadsall Priory, Premier Inn and Jury’s Inn.”

Leasehold of award-winning Portobello Road coffee shop goes on market: The leasehold of award-winning independent west London coffee shop Lowry & Baker has been put up for sale. The owner-operated shop in Portobello Road, Notting Hill, which opened in 2010, is being marketed by agent Christie & Co. Lower & Baker opened in 2010 and has established itself as a leading local independent. Seating 20 to 25 inside and 12 in the outside seating area, the business boasts “healthy profits on short hours”, currently closing at 4pm daily, although a premises licence has recently been granted allowing the sale of alcohol until 10.30pm. Lowry & Baker is the current holder of Time Out’s Love London award for the best cafe in Notting Hill category. Christie & Co business agent Lucy Hall, who is handling the sale, said: “Lowry & Baker offers a fantastic and rare opportunity to purchase a profitable and highly regarded cafe in one of London’s most famous streets. As the current owners have opted to work part-time on shorter trading hours, there is plenty of scope for new owners to build profits through longer opening hours.” The leasehold is being marketed for £118,000.