Financial watchdog warns listed companies about rise in ‘low-level errors’ and need to outline Brexit threats, The Restaurant Group and M&B required to correct reporting: Britain’s accounting watchdog has written to all listed UK companies calling for action to tackle a rise in “basic” mistakes in their accounts and for more information about the impact of Brexit on their businesses. The Restaurant Group and Mitchells & Butlers were among 15 companies asked to correct their reporting. In an open letter to audit committee chairmen and finance directors, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) urged companies to outline any “particular threats” to their business model that may arise as a result of the UK’s planned exit from the EU in March next year. The FRC also told finance directors it had found an increase in the number of “lower-level errors” in company accounts, warning these could “detract from the integrity of the company’s report and accounts and trust in management”. The letter was published alongside the watchdog’s annual assessment of corporate reporting and governance, which reviewed 220 annual and interim reports in 2017-18. According to this review, 15 companies were required to correct their reporting in the period, up from two the previous year. Among those, seven companies, including The Restaurant Group, had to correct errors in their cash flow statements. Mitchells & Butlers had to correct its parent company accounts following a mistake in its impairment calculations.

Leisure spend cools in coffee shops and restaurants but expectations rise on experiences: UK consumers are spending less on habitual leisure activities such as drinking coffee and eating out compared with last year, according to Deloitte’s latest Leisure Consumer report. However, millennials are set to drive an increase in spending on experiences such as escape rooms and bowling. While overall spending was flat in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, leisure spending fell two percentage points from the previous quarter. Habitual leisure spend decreased, with a three percentage point fall in drinking in coffee shops, while eating and drinking out dropped two percentage points. Six out of 11 leisure categories saw an increase in spending year-on-year, with culture and entertainment and gym and sport both rising two percentage points driven by a dry summer. Big ticket categories such as holidays also saw increases in spending. The study said UK consumers expect to rein in spending in eight out of 11 leisure categories during the final three months of the year. Net spending on eating out is expected to fall four percentage points, while attending live sports events could see a three percentage point drop. Long holidays and other leisure activities are the areas consumers expect to spend more on. While the former is seasonal, leisure activities such as escape rooms, bowling and paintballing have seen spending expectations rise three percentage points year-on-year driven by a seven percentage point increase from millennials. Simon Oaten, partner for hospitality and leisure at Deloitte, said: “Rather than spending on daily flat whites and sandwiches, consumers – especially in older age groups – have shifted their spending towards big ticket items such as culture and entertainment and holidays. This is a clear sign consumers are placing a greater importance on shared experiences and creating memories with friends and families. It has been a challenging environment for the casual dining sector and our research indicates restaurants are not out of the woods yet. With the expensive festive period looming, consumers are acutely aware of the need to shelter and prioritise their disposable income, which is why habitual leisure may again lose out. Millennials, however, continue to drive discretionary leisure through their desire to create and share memories and want to participate in activities targeted to this segment of the market. As we get closer to the holiday period, millennial and Generation Z consumers expect to dip into their pockets to spend on these sort of leisure activities.”

David Moore – the chancellor needs to wake up and help hospitality businesses: David Moore, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Pied-à-Terre, has launched a petition calling for chancellor Philip Hammond to “wake up” and see how “disastrous the situation is” for hospitality businesses. The petition, which calls for a cut in VAT and the replacement of business rates with a US-style sales tax, has support from deputy mayor of business Rajesh Agrawal, Lawrence Hartley, founder of Alliance of Independent Restaurants, and Lee Lyons, chief operating officer of The Fitzrovia Partnership. The petition points to the fact the number of UK restaurants forced to close increased one-fifth last year as chains came under pressure from rising costs and competition amid a squeeze on consumer spending. There were almost 1,000 insolvencies in the restaurant industry in 2017, compared with 825 the year before. Moore said since business rates increased again this year many restaurants had closed while, of those that remained open, one-third of the UK’s top 100 restaurants were “losing money”. Moore said: “The restaurant industry in the UK employs millions of people supporting families all over the country. Restaurants are struggling to survive with little growth over the next few years. Hammond needs to wake up and see how disastrous the situation is. This is not just a fight to save the popular chains we all know and love but a battle to give relief to smaller, family run and independent businesses and, more importantly, security for their employees.” To sign the petition, click here

Lonely Planet names two UK restaurants in first list of ‘unmissable food experiences’: Two UK restaurants have been listed in the Lonely Planet’s first ever list of the best food experiences in the world. The travel guide has named The Fishmarket at Newhaven Harbour, Edinburgh, and The Civilisations Supperclub in London as the UK’s entries on the list. The Fishmarket opened in May and is a joint venture between seafood chef Roy Brett, of Ondine in Edinburgh, and Gary Welch, of Welch Fishmongers. Lonely Planet has been producing titles for more than 40 years but this is the first time a restaurant list has been included in its best-selling guide, Best In Travel. The Civilisations Supperclub series launched in March and is held in “extraordinary venues around London”. It offers themed food, music and stories focusing on history and culture, including An Arabian Feast: 1,001 Flavours, Sounds & Stories from Syria, which was held in Leighton House; and 13th-century Syrian Feast, which was held at the London Canal Museum and inspired by dinners held in ancient times on the banks of the Barada and Euphrates. Lonely Planet believes food and drink are an “intrinsic part of travel” and included restaurants this year to enable travellers to “discover the most delicious foodie hot spots around the world”.

European hotel industry reports revpar rise in September: The European hotel industry saw a rise in revpar and average daily rate in September, although occupancy numbers fell. Revpar increased 2.8% year-on-year to €99.38 during the month, while average daily rate rose 3.6% to €123.09. Occupancy fell 0.7% to 80.7%. STR’s data this month focused on two cities – Sofia in Bulgaria and Budapest in Hungary. Sofia experienced increases across all three key performance metrics, with occupancy up 6.2% to 75.3%, average daily rate up 20.5% to BGN167.29, and revpar rising 27.9% to BGN125.98. Occupancy was the highest for any month in Sofia since October 2016, while average daily rate was the highest for a September since 2008. Budapest saw the highest performance levels for average daily rate (up 14.8% to HUF33,065.71) and revpar (up 15.0% to HUF29,938.14) for any September in STR’s Budapest database. Occupancy also rose 0.1% to 90.5%. STR analysts attributed the strong performance to a rise in inbound tourism and a continued lack of supply growth in the market.   

Lincolnshire-based brewer George Bateman reports return to profit: Lincolnshire brewer and pub operator George Bateman has reported a pre-tax profit of £228,000 for the year to 31 January 2017, compared with a loss of £186,000 the year before when there were exceptional costs of £292,000. Operating profit rose 48% to £314,000. Turnover was up 1% to £15,892,000. The company reported six non-company properties were sold during the year, boosting the company’s available cash funds and reducing net debt from £4.46m to £3.36m. The company stated: “We will continue to focus on higher-margin business and seek new managed house investment opportunities while disposing of a smaller number of less profitable tied houses.” Sale of goods accounted for £14,668,573 of turnover, while rental income was £1,223,831 in the year.   

McDonald’s targets end of plastic lids but seaweed shortage hits sachets: McDonald’s is working on plans to end the use of plastic lids in its UK outlets but a global seaweed shortage is constraining the roll-out of other green initiatives such as biodegradable sauce sachets. The company has a global target to be 100% recyclable by 2020. In the UK, it aims to replace the 650 million plastic straws it uses each year with paper ones at its 1,400 restaurants by March 2019, while the company could make a similar move to eradicate plastic lids. Meanwhile, McDonald’s reported half its UK sites were open 24 hours a day, with almost one in ten McDonald’s UK sales made between midnight and 6am. The company, which generates almost two-thirds of its revenues overseas, has been modernising its outlets globally, rolling out new decor, self-ordering kiosks, free-to-use tablets and phone chargers. Chief executive Steve Easterbrook said he expected the “largest construction project in our history” to pay off as McDonald’s modernises more restaurants in its home market as well. The company expects to surpass its original target to upgrade about 4,000 sites in the US so far this year, Easterbrook said, and was on track to complete more than 12,000 by the end of next year. “We are seeing encouraging response from customers in restaurants where many of these improvements already completed,” he told Wall Street analysts. “This is in line with our experience in other McDonald’s markets such as Canada, the UK and Italy, which executed programmes several years ago that were similar to the one the US is undertaking now.”

Tokyo Industries submits plans for Newcastle’s Tyne Bridge towers: Tokyo Industries, the bar and nightclub operator led by Aaron Mellor, has put forward plans to convert one of the Tyne Bridge’s towers into a space for weddings, art shows and events. The two granite towers at the end of the bridge were created as warehouses but haven’t been used for many years aside from a few art shows and an illegal rave. To mark the bridge’s 90th anniversary, Tokyo Industries wants to open the grand structure to the public in what it describes as a “flagship scheme” for the seven-storey North Tower. The leisure group has enlisted Manchester firm Arca Architects to submit plans to Newcastle City Council, with images showing how the 5,700 square feet of space could be used for everything from corporate events and weddings to dinners and live gigs. Tokyo Industries said it had already negotiated a lease with Newcastle City Council for use of the building, which was designed by architect Robert Burns Dick. The heritage and design statement reads: “The applicant proposes to use the first floor of the structure as a multipurpose arts, leisure and events venue for corporate hire, weddings, bar and club events and so on. The aspiration is for this unique space to become the setting for spectacular additions to the events calendar in the city, complementing existing leisure events. The project represents a unique opportunity to safely open and occupy an extraordinary space hidden from public view. The proposals are compatible with existing aims for the city centre while complementing the offer to those seeking a spectacular venue for product launches, art shows, entertainment events, dinners or weddings. Tokyo Industries runs a wide range of leisure operations across the globe including a number of venues in Newcastle city centre. The company has also won numerous awards for its dynamic and creative approach to the bar, leisure, restaurant and entertainment industry.

Former Tom Sellers head chef to launch Japanese shokuji concept in Bermondsey next week: Angelo Sato, former head chef of Tom Sellers’ Michelin-starred Restaurant Story in Bermondsey, east London, is to open a concept focusing on shokuji, a popular Japanese meal consisting of rice, pickles and soup. Omoide will launch in Bermondsey Street on Tuesday, 30 October with diners able to choose signature chirashi rice bowls or customise their own bowl to take away. Signature bowls will include yuzu salmon and chicken options alongside a range of dashi, a Japanese broth. Sato’s food is described as Japanese with a European accent, uniting traditional flavours and Michelin-starred techniques. The menu will also include Japanese family recipes using fish from Dorset dayboats. Omoide’s design will be inspired by Yatai-style food carts and stalls. Sato said: “Shokuji is what I grew up on and can be found everywhere in Tokyo from breakfast tables to three Michelin-starred restaurants. It represents my heritage. I wanted to make this style of food accessible to everyone and hope my memories of growing up in Japan will translate to the flavours and textures on Omoide’s menu.” Sato has worked in other Michelin-starred kitchens alongside Adam Byatt at Trinity in London, RyuGin in Tokyo, and Eleven Madison Park in New York. 

Costa Coffee debuts virtual reality training for baristas: Costa Coffee, the Whitbread brand being sold to Coca-Cola, has launched a virtual reality (VR) training programme to upskill and inspire baristas ahead of the busy Christmas period. Content has been designed to inspire new baristas and ensure education is consistent to ensure “quality handcrafted coffee is served to customers across the UK”. More than 1,500 Costa Coffee stores are being issued with Google Cardboard headsets and tools for teams to access 360-degree footage. Embedded into the existing training programme, the VR element currently includes tips on how to perfect an Americano and much-loved Christmas drink the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. Costa Coffee plans to add more videos to further educate staff, including the journey from bean to cup with footage from sustainable coffee farmers in Peru. Additional content will feature a tour of the Costa Coffee Roastery in Basildon, Essex, so new recruits can understand more about quality testing by master of coffee Gennaro Pelliccia and his lab team. Laura Chapman, head of learning at Costa Coffee, said: “We are always looking for ways to inspire our teams to love their craft as much as they love coffee! With the launch of virtual reality we will rapidly educate our new baristas and immerse them in the Costa store environment. We believe this advanced approach to learning will particularly appeal to millennials, who are highly open to this type of engaging training. We’re looking forward to continuing to innovate the resources in our VR portfolio for new staff and those looking to diversify their skills and careers at Costa Coffee.

Sourced Market confirms second Eurostar pop-up: Sourced Market, the four-strong London hybrid deli and dining brand that is 90% towards a £750,000 crowdfunding target on Crowdcube, has confirmed it will operate a pop-up at the Eurostar departures lounge that will cater to some of the service’s 10.3 million annual travellers. The company stated: “The strong business performance of a trial pop-up this year plus strong positive feedback from regular Eurostar travellers means Sourced Market and Eurostar be teaming up again for eight weeks in early 2019. Sales of up to £30,000 per week were recorded during the seven weeks Sourced Market operated inside Eurostar departures lounge in January and February this year. Our team included three national championship-level baristas and European travellers singled out our signature blend of artisan coffee for praise. Bread Ahead sourdough toasties, healthy salads, wine and craft beer were also available, providing passengers with a new range of options for their journey. The Eurostar pop-up will also be an opportunity to showcase new ideas for our small “coffee+” format. A roll-out of the format is planned to other station and high-footfall locations, offering high-quality, artisan coffee with the speed of a chain operator.” Investors are being offered 6.98% of the company equity for the £750,000 investment, valuing the business, which is backed by Pembroke VCT, at £10m. Sourced Market generated £6.4m of new revenue in its latest financial year and raised £1m of investment through a Crowdcube bond in 2016

Venus bids to open sixth south west cafe, on Torquay seafront: The Venus Company, which operates five cafes in Devon and Cornwall, has taken on the lease of Old Toll House on Torquay seafront for its sixth site. The venture will bring new life to an empty building that dates to about 1840 and sits next to a cluster of bars and restaurants that include French brasserie Bistrot Pierre, Lounger’s Visto Lounge and Casual Dining Group brand Las Iguanas. Michael Smith, managing director of Totnes-based The Venus Company, told Devon Live: “Although we have traded in south Devon for many years, we only recently felt Torquay was ready for a Venus. The primary factor was the significant amount of business investment in the bay over the past five years and a general good feeling about the area, which was lacking beforehand.” The Venus Company started at Blackpool Sands in Dartmouth in 1995 and now has cafes in Bigbury, East Portlemouth, Tolcarne and Watergate Bay. It prides itself on sustainable, locally sourced ingredients.

Bistrotheque to expand into Manchester with experiential site: Modern French restaurant Bistrotheque, founded by Pablo Flack and David Waddington, is to open an experiential site in Manchester. The venue will be part of a former Victorian warehouse in Ducie Street that is to be transformed into a boutique hotel with bars and a gym. Aparthotel company Native will create 166 suites, while Bistrotheque will operate a lounge, restaurant, coffee counter, mini-cinema, bar, meeting rooms, private dining and terraces on the ground floor. Meanwhile, BLOK will open its first gym outside London in the building. Native founder and chief executive Guy Nixon told The Business Desk: “With more than 100,000 square feet of space, this has been an extraordinary opportunity to take one of the great icons of Manchester’s industrial past and turn it into a major destination.” Flack and Waddington launched Bistrotheque in Shoreditch in 2004. They have also collaborated on four major temporary projects – The Reindeer, FLASH, Studio East Dining, and King’s Cross Filling Station. In 2013 they created Hoi Polloi for Ace Hotel London Shoreditch and in 2016 launched April’s Cafe inside the flagship London store of Middle Eastern luxury fashion retailer Boutique 1. Native will operate more than 1,000 units by the end of 2018, growing to 2,000 during the following 18 months, the company said.

Joule’s gets go-ahead to expand Sutton Coldfield brewery and taphouse: Shropshire brewer and retailer Joule’s, which is headed by Steve Nuttall, has had plans to expand its brewery and taphouse in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands approved. The company will now extend The Boldmere Tap in Boldmere Road into an adjoining building by converting a hairdressing salon on the ground floor into an additional 527 square feet of space to form part of a dining area for the pub, Insider Media reports. Birmingham City Council planners said: “It is considered the proposed use would have no detrimental impact on the amenity of nearby residents, would have an acceptable impact on highway safety and would bring a vacant unit back into viable use.” Joule’s operates almost 40 pubs. Its brewery is in Market Drayton, Shropshire.

Tossed rolls out Yapster across estate: Healthy eating group Tossed has rolled out hospitality-focused messaging platform Yapster across its portfolio of almost 40 sites. Through Yapster’s mobile app, all Tossed employees can keep in touch and stay organised through secure one-to-one and group messages. Reflecting the company’s vision of making every member of staff feel part of the family, anyone can share news, successes and the odd selfie to the social newsfeed. Meanwhile, intelligent muting and snoozing of notifications helps protect the balance between a worker’s home and work life. Tossed has been a prominent early adopter of technology, notably becoming the first restaurant of its type in Europe to go cashless in 2016. “We are still a small company but we’re getting bigger. Since our acquisition of Vital Ingredient, we now have close to 40 locations and more than 400 employees,” said Tossed founder Vincent McKevitt. “One of the things I miss about the early years is going round to every location and knowing the name of every team member. What I love about Yapster is I can stay connected to my entire team and we can celebrate successes together, even when we’re not actually together. It has been very well received so far and we’re looking forward to rolling it out across our franchise network in the UK and Dubai.” Yapster co-founder and chief executive Rob Liddiard added: “Tossed is blazing a trail, not just for healthy eating but with its innovation in the sector, which makes the company a perfect partner for us. We’re extremely proud to be working with Vincent and his team.”

Taco Bell secures premises licence despite Newcastle cumulative impact policy: A new premises licence has been secured by solicitor John Gaunt & Partners on behalf of Mexican restaurant brand Taco Bell in the centre of the cumulative impact policy area in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A premises licence for a Taco Bell within Newcastle’s Grainger Town Special Policy Area was granted in the face of objections maintained by the licensing authority. The premises licence allows alcohol and food to be sold for consumption on and off the premises.

Draft House founder joins Million Pound Menu: Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh is joining as an investor in the second series of BBC 2’s Million Pound Menu, which will be aired in January. “I am appearing alongside host Fred Sirieix as investor/judge,” he said. McVeigh sold his 16-strong Draft House craft beer business to BrewDog in March this year, almost nine years after it was founded. Recently filed accounts for the year to 29 October 2017 for Draft House, six months before BrewDog bought it, show the company has a turnover of £11,247,265 (2016: £7,814,751) but made an operating loss of £2,356,626 (2016: £57,524). The acquisition of four Grand Union sites was expected to add turnover and profitability in 2018 but for 2017 a pre-tax loss of £2,438,992 (2016: £113,309) was linked to the “impairment of the Grand Union acquisition of £1,350,416, loss on disposal of assets of £236,011 and site closure impairments/provisions of £603,126”.

LXi REIT acquires two hotels as part of £109m, five-property deal: LXi REIT has acquired two hotels as part of a five-property deal worth £109m. The move follows the company’s £175m capital raise announced on 12 October. The deal includes a 247-bedroom hotel in Plymouth fully let to Jurys Inn group with an unbroken 24-year unexpired lease term and five yearly rent reviews index linked to the uncapped RPI. The £30m purchase reflects a net initial yield of 5.7%. The hotel includes a bar, restaurant and 11 conference and meeting rooms. The company also exchanged contracts to provide £6.6m forward funding for the pre-let development of a 70-bedroom Travelodge at Edinburgh Park. The deal reflects a 5.4% net initial yield. The hotel has been fully pre-let to Travelodge Hotels on an unbroken 25-year lease from completion of building works. The other properties acquired were a discount store in Carlisle for £4.3m; £8.5m forward funding for pre-let development of a Lidl store and a B&M discount store to be built in Cowdenbeath; and a car storage facility in Corby for £60m. Simon Lee, partner of LXi REIT, told Insider Media: “These are five high-quality assets diversified across a wide range of robust sub-sectors leased to institutional grade tenants on very long-term leases with inflation-linked rents. The company is in solicitors’ hands on a range of further accretive acquisitions that meet our selective investment strategy and will deliver further value to our investors. These acquisitions will result in the full deployment of the recent capital raise in the next few weeks.”

Manchester brunch brand to double up: Manchester cafe concept Federal Cafe Bar, which offers Australian and New Zealand-inspired brunch dishes, is to open a second site in the city after the original site attracted hour-long queues outside. The brand has now secured a site in Deansgate that is double the size of its Northern Quarter cafe in Nicholas Croft. The new site will undergo a 12-week refurbishment ready for an opening in early 2019. The new site will have 48 covers, double that of the Northern Quarter site, and a larger kitchen. Federal Cafe Bar dishes include French toast, smashed avocado on sourdough, acai bowls, corn fritters and banana bread with mascarpone. Owner and managing director Claudio Ribeiro told the Manchester Evening News: “We only have a small kitchen in the Northern Quarter and the quality of our food is huge testament to our chefs. I’m happy with the concept we’ve created and we want to continue with that – just a bit bigger.” Ribeiro started Federal with business partner Jon Perry, who brought over the brunch culture of his native New Zealand. He added: “I wanted to make sure the business was well established and the team we had working for us was perfect. We knew we couldn’t expand our existing site so we decided it was time to open a second one on the other side of town.” The new site is set to stay open into the evening to host pop-up supper clubs and kitchen takeovers. 

Proof Drinks hires Jeremy Hill as managing director: Drinks brand owner and distributor Proof Drinks has geared up for its next phase of growth by appointing industry professional Jeremy Hill as managing director. Hill is founder and former chairman of Hi-Spirits, which was acquired by Sazerac in 2015. He is taking an equity stake in Proof Drinks and joining founders James McDermott and Paul Ferguson on the senior management team. Founded in 2010, Proof Drinks owns and distributes Cazcabel Tequila and CUT Rum, as well as distributing brands such as Swedish craft beer Pistonhead and coca-leaf liqueur Agwa De Bolivia. Hill said: “I had always planned to return to the drinks sector once my non-compete agreement expired. I was following what James and Paul were doing with Proof Drinks and see a lot of similarities between Proof and Hi-Spirits in the early days. It’s my mission to help the guys position Proof as the UK’s leading independent drinks agency.”

Ei Publican Partnerships relaunches Publican Channel with enhanced support tools: Ei Publican Partnerships has relaunched its Publican Channel with enhanced features and a new look. The platform gives its publicans access to business-building advice, training, printed point of sale, deals and online ordering. The revamped channel features simpler navigation and a clearer design, allowing quicker access to the online ordering system. The channel has also added My Pub, an element that allows publicans to view their account, access online ordering, make payments, check internal messages and view the product range and incentives. Ei Publican Partnerships managing director Nick Light said: “Our regional managers have undergone in-depth training and will work closely with each publican to bring them up to speed on the new layout and features.”

Hoxton restaurant and bar team launch Philippine concept: The team behind east London restaurant and bar 100 Hoxton has opened a concept based on the Philippines. Head chef Francis Puyat and 100 Hoxton founder Andrew Zilouf have repurposed a former events space next door to their bar in Hoxton Street. Kinilaw & Buko offers a split menu, with the Kinilaw side offering a Philippine take on ceviche alongside daikon-fermented shrimp with green peppercorns and garlic, and hand-dived scallop with cucumber, radish, lime and fermented roe. The Buko side focuses on Philippine ice cream served in coconut shells, including the Pop Star (lychee ice cream with sumac popping candy). The drinks list features cocktails, wine and craft beer.

Breddos Tacos to launch basement margarita bar: Nud Dudhia and Chris Whitney, who have grown Mexican concept Breddos Tacos in a joint venture with Gleneagles owner Ennismore, are to relaunch the basement of their Soho site as taco and margarita bar Cocteleria. The space in Kingly Street will open on Thursday, 1 November offering frozen margaritas and micheladas – a mix of beer and tabasco. Cocteleria will also offer a small menu of tacos served on paper plates, Hot Dinners reports. Last month, Breddos Tacos launched Tijuana-inspired Super Tacos in Market Hall Fulham. Dudhia and Whitney operate another Breddos Tacos site in Clerkenwell, while they launched Californian street food concept Pocho at Street Feast’s Giant Robot in Canary Wharf in March and offer food at crazy golf venue Swingers West End. 

Cotswolds cottages operator acquires first hotel for £1.1m: Rothney Investments, which owns and operates four cottages in the Cotswolds, has acquired The Lansdowne hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water off an asking price of £1.1m. The 14-bedroom venue will be operated as part of the Cotswold Cottage Gems portfolio following a deal brokered by agent Colliers International. Rothney Investments general manager Gemma Elizabeth said: “We look forward to showcasing our unique customer service and hospitality experience to the 7,000 or so guests who stay at The Lansdowne each year.” Peter Brunt, of Colliers International, added: “Bourton is a well-known tourism and visitor destination and The Lansdowne is just the right size to reap the benefits from this ever-popular location. Our vendor clients bought the hotel through me in December 2014 but have decided to focus on alternative business opportunities having completed a successful refurbishment and relaunch of The Lansdowne.”