Revolution Bars Group reveals trio of December openings: Revolution Bars Group is to open three new sites under its Revolution brand next month – in Solihull, Inverness and Putney. The openings, which will create about 180 jobs, will increase the company’s portfolio of Revolution and Revoluciòn de Cuba venues to 72 across the UK. Revolution Solihull will open on Friday, 1 December and will be the company’s 11th site in the Midlands. The 86-cover bar and restaurant in Station Road will be spread across a ground floor and rooftop terrace. The Solihull launch will be followed by two openings on Wednesday, 20 December. Revolution Inverness will be the brand’s sixth site in Scotland. The 98-cover bar and restaurant, located in the city centre in a listed building converted from former department store McEwans, will be split over two floors. On the same day, Revolution will open its sixth London venue, in Putney on the site of a former Victorian hotel. The 120-cover, three-storey bar will retain original period features in a large ground-floor restaurant area with an open fire while incorporating contemporary and urban design features using natural timber, concrete and metal. The second-floor mezzanine level will extend the bar and dining space further, with the third floor providing access to private function rooms and an outdoor roof terrace and bar. Revolution Bars Group commercial director Myles Doran said: “The property team have worked tirelessly to secure these fantastic venues in high-footfall locations and we are confident they will perform well. With three openings planned before Christmas and in quick succession, we are able to capitalise on the key festive trading period. We continue to grow, fuelled by consumer appetite for quality bars and restaurants that deliver a premium proposition, and look forward to welcoming nearly 200 new members to the team.”

St Austell Brewery launches first standalone Brewer & Bean coffee shop, in Plymouth: Cornwall-based St Austell Brewery has opened its first standalone Brewer & Bean coffee shop, in Plymouth. The concept has formed an integral part of the offering in St Austell’s managed estate since its launch in April 2014. Now the company has opened a standalone store next to its Ship Inn pub in the Barbican Quarter offering juices, smoothies, hand-made cakes, snacks, sandwiches, and Brewer & bean coffee and tea. St Austell Brewery retail manager Harvey Jones said: “Brewer & Bean took off almost overnight when we introduced it into our pubs and hotels so we knew we had something special with the brand and it wasn’t long before conversations led to the idea of the coffee shop. This is a new venture for us so we see this as a way of testing the water. It made perfect sense for us to expand the offering at the Barbican as we get so much footfall and people are already stopping off to buy their coffee with us.” Brewer & Bean Plymouth is open daily from 7am to 4pm. St Austell Brewery saw sales grow 14% last year to a record £153m, helped by its acquisition of Bath Ales.

Grind smashes through £1m mark a day after launching crowdfunding campaign: London-based Grind, the independent coffee and cocktail bar, has smashed through the £1m mark only a day after launching its fund-raise on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The company was seeking £750,000 to open ten company-owned UK sites and has signed an agreement with transport hub foodservice specialist SSP to launch in airports and train stations next year, nationally and abroad. It is offering a 4.18% equity stake in return for the investment and so far 627 investors have pledged £1,084,080, meaning the campaign is “overfunding” with 28 days remaining. Grind, which was founded in 2011 by David Abrahamovitch and Kaz James, currently has nine sites in the capital and has reported run-rate sales of £8.5m per year, with like-for-like sales up 31% in the first five months of FY18. The pitch states: “We plan to grow over the next five years by opening ten new Grind-owned restaurants following the tried and tested all-day, all-night experience we have refined at London Grind. We plan to expand nationally and internationally, opening 15 cafe-bars in train stations and airports across the UK and Europe with our exclusive franchise partner. We are also launching supermarket-grade coffee tins and other consumer coffee products, bringing Grind into the home.” In 2015, Grind raised more than £1.3m through a mini-bond on Crowdcube – smashing its £750,000 target.

Korean restaurant Bibimbap opens sixth London site, at least two to follow next year: Korean restaurant Bibimbap has opened its sixth site in London, with the company looking to launch at least two further venues next year. The latest restaurant has opened in a 1,327 square foot unit in Margaret Street, just off Oxford Street, after the company took on an existing ten-year lease. The concept was founded by husband-and-wife team Daniel and Hana Park, who saw a gap in the market for tasty, healthy and affordable Korean cuisine in London. Signature dishes include ten varieties of bibimbap (Korea’s national dish), alongside mandoo (vegetable dumplings), seafood pancakes and jap chae (pan-fried glass noodles). Fried noodle and soup dishes as well as KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) are also on offer. Salvatore Dinatale and Abi Thompson, of agents Cedar Dean Group, which brokered the deal, said: “Being so close to Oxford Street, this is a perfect spot for Bibimbap to cater to tourists and hungry office workers in the vicinity.” Bibimbap opened its first site in Greek Street, Soho, in 2010 opening further restaurants in Charlotte Street, Cannon Street, and Bank. In 2015, the Parks launched takeaway-only Bibimbap ToGo in Leadenhall Market. The couple said they are looking to open at least two more sites in 2018.

Minimum unit pricing could come into force in Scotland next month: Minimum unit pricing could come into force in Scotland as early as next month. The Scottish government has laid a commencement order before parliament to enable the implementation of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 S1. Solicitors John Gaunt & Partners said this would amend the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and the premises licences granted by that act. Mandatory conditions on premises licences will confirm alcohol must not be sold on the premises at a price below the minimum price. As a result, from Wednesday, 6 December Scottish ministers will have the power to specify by order the minimum price per unit of alcohol and the relevant labelling conditions with which bottles and other containers of alcohol must be labelled. The Scottish government first passed legislation in 2012 for a minimum price of 50 pence per unit but the matter has been embroiled in court challenges since. In a unanimous judgement earlier this month, seven Supreme Court judges backed the government rejected an appeal by the Scotch Whisky Association, paving the way for Scotland to introduce minimum unit pricing.

Leading pub companies partner with Licensed Trade Charity to tackle loneliness: Ei Group, Mitchells & Butlers and Punch have partnered with the Licensed Trade Charity to raise awareness of its telephone befriending service. Employees from all three companies are taking part in training sessions that will result in five isolated people with experience in the drinks trade receiving regular contact from volunteers in the run-up to Christmas. Licensed Trade Charity volunteer manager Hilary Bone said: “We are delighted pub companies such as Mitchells & Butlers, Punch and Ei Group are supporting our work. There are no qualifications required to become a telephone befriender so a willingness to help others from the drinks trade, a lively personality and having half an hour free every few weeks is all you need. Our feedback is our befrienders find the experience just as rewarding as those they call.” In 2016, the Licensed Trade Charity supported 288 families from pubs, bars and breweries in times of difficulty, with 8,000 people using its website and more than 600 gaining assistance via the helpline. Those who call the helpline are entitled to six free counselling sessions for emotional support.

Douglas Jack – Fuller’s shows short-term fluctuation but is attractive long-term share-buying opportunity: Peel Hunt leisure analyst Douglas Jack has said Fuller’s has shown short-term fluctuation but is an attractive long-term share-buying opportunity. Issuing an ‘Add’ note on the shares with a target price of 1,150p, Jack said: “First-half profit before tax rose by 4% to £23.8m (we forecast £23.5m; no consensus), with like-for-like trading positive in all divisions albeit with the first quarter much stronger than the second quarter, largely due to weather. Proving the relative importance of weather (and consumer resilience), managed like-for-like sales have bounced back in the early second half. We are holding our forecasts and would use current share price weakness as an attractive long-term buying opportunity. Managed like-for-like sales rose by 3.6% in the first half, as forecast, (split 6.6% in first-quarter, 16 weeks; -1.2% in second-quarter, ten weeks), and are up 3.7% after 33 weeks. Accommodation like-for-like sales were up 8.2% in the first half; accommodation is just under 10% of sales. The volatility of trade reflects the high weather sensitivity of pubs in south east England during the spring and summer months. The recovery in trading in recent weeks clearly shows the softer trading in July to September was not all consumer-related. Over the past three years, Fuller’s like-for-like sales have averaged 5.0% versus a 2.3% average for the London pubs constituent of the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. We believe this reflects a strong culture for differentiated, premium product and service, and the company investing in its venues and staff. Managed margins fell by 20 basis points in the first half, which is consistent with Fuller’s guidance that it needs 4% growth in like-for-like sales to maintain managed margins. This requirement is higher than their peers due to Fuller’s higher London orientation (for example, having to absorb a 26% increase in business rates). Tenanted like-for-like profits rose by 3% in the first half (split 5% in the first quarter; flat in the second quarter) and have slowed slightly to being up 2% after 33 weeks. This was a solid performance, with margins up 60 basis points, again proving the greater resilience of well-invested tenanted pubs in relatively volatile market conditions (with weather again being the biggest factor behind the fluctuation in beer volumes). Brewing beer and cider volumes rose by 1% in the first half (split 5% in first quarter; -5% in second quarter) and are up 1% after 33 weeks, mirroring sector trends. Fuller’s opened one managed pub in the first half and sold 11 tenanted pubs. There is a pipeline of four managed pubs: two conversions from tenancy in the second half and two openings in transport hubs thereafter (The Signal Box at Euston station and The Parcel Office at Liverpool Street station). We continue to expect 2018E to be a year of consolidation due to one less week (52 versus 53 weeks), higher business rates and a pause in Stable Pizza’s expansion. We would use current weakness as a buying opportunity, expecting cost pressures to slow and earnings growth to pick up next year.”