Exclusive – new pub venture to launch after securing funding from private investors including the Sethi family: A new pub venture led by Dominic Jacobs of The Running Horse Mayfair, and backed by a number of private investors, including Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi, founders of JKS Restaurants, is to launch with the re-opening of The Cadogan Arms in Chelsea in July. Propel understands that the new venture raised more than £4m via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), with the funding to be used to help launch The Cadogan Arms on the King’s Road, and a further site, which is expected to be The George on Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia. It is understood that the new company’s aim is to have five London based pubs by the end of 2024. Jacobs will spearhead the project as managing director, with James Knappett of the JKS-backed two Michelin-starred Kitchen Table in London’s Fitzrovia, overseeing the menu as culinary director drawing inspiration from his first-hand experience of growing up in pubs. He will work alongside executive chef Alex Harper, who was previously at both The Ledbury and The Harwood Arms. The new business said that Jacobs and his team will create a food and drinks offering that “celebrates the revival of community driven hospitality as locals look to their neighbourhoods for post-lockdown comfort”. Drinks at The Cadogan Arms, which was previously operated by the ETM Group, will showcase exclusive beers, cask and craft ales alongside an extensive wine list and contemporary cocktails. Jacobs, who was previously bars director at Sketch in Mayfair, opened The Running Horse – Mayfair’s oldest pub, in 2013, shortly followed by The Whip in 2014, a racing-themed cocktail bar. In September last year, he launched The Fitzdares private members club above The Running Horse. He said: “Dating back to the 1700’s, The Cadogan Arms is one of Chelsea’s most enduring public houses. The team are excited to once again be able to open the doors to the local community and deliver a gold standard public house experience that honours the rich history of the venue.” The Sethi family own and manage JKS Restaurants, which owns Michelin-starred Trishna and Gymkhana, Brigadiers and Hoppers, which has three sites in Soho, Marylebone and Kings Cross. The JKS portfolio also includes delivery brand Motu, Taiwanese cult brand Bao, Iranian influenced Berenjak and Michelin starred Lyles and Sabor.

Latest monthly update to multi-site database now available to Propel Premium subscribers with 84 companies added: The latest monthly update to the multi-site database is now available to Propel Premium subscribers. The database has gained an additional 84 companies during the past month. Subscribers also receive a 5,000-word report on the 84 new brands, concepts and growth companies, many of which have big growth ambitions in Britain. The exhaustive database now holds the details of 1,716 companies – and is only available to Propel Premium subscribers. The go-to database, consisting of 94 pages, has the most comprehensive multi-site operator information in the sector – it provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different, and what each business specialises in. In a new feature this year, there is a synopsis of what the business does and significant news associated with it. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The regular single subscription rate of £395 plus VAT for operators and £495 plus VAT for suppliers remains the same. Sector investor Luke Johnson is to begin writing a regular column for Propel Premium. In his first piece, which will form part of this Friday’s (7 May) opinion that will be sent to subscribers at 5pm, Johnson will give his views on the future of hospitality. Premium subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of lockdown videos and Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out, regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel insights editor Mark Wingett. Email anne.steele@propelinfo.com to sign up.

President Biden launches Restaurant Revitalization Fund: US president Joe Biden has launched a $28.6 billion (£20.6 billion) Restaurant Revitalization Fund to help restaurants, bars and other small food and beverage businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In the first two days of the newly launched program, 186,200 restaurants, bars and other businesses applied for relief, according to data released by his administration. Such businesses would be able to use the money for expenses like payroll and rent. As part of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the administration is also prioritising relief for the smallest restaurants and bars. $9.5 billion has been set aside from the fund for bars and restaurants including $4 billion for applications for businesses whose revenues were between $500,000 and $1.5 million in 2019, $5 billion for those businesses whose receipts did not surpass $500,000 in 2019, and $500 million for businesses who brought in no more than $50,000 in the year before the pandemic. Biden said: “Restaurants are more than a major driver in our economy, they’re woven into the fabric of our communities. And so, for many families restaurants are the gateway to opportunity, a key part of the American story. We’re opening the doors of this program so that restaurants all over the country can open their doors again.” The president said the US is relying on restaurants to play a big role in the economic recovery. “We want our economy to recover in a way that deals everyone in. And our restaurants need a seat at the table,” he said.

Uber takes a £431m hit on drivers’ pay: Uber has taken a £431m hit from its decision to pay drivers in the UK a guaranteed minimum wage and holiday pay. The transport app revealed last night that it was logging the sum to settle historical claims related to the decision to classify drivers as workers, rather than independent contractors. Uber announced in March that 70,000 drivers in the UK would start receiving holiday pay and pension payments, as well as a guaranteed minimum wage, after the company lost a lengthy legal battle over drivers’ employment rights. The £431m accrual relates to historical claims from drivers claiming back payments, and does not cover the cost of the move going forward, which analysts have said could cost up to $350m this year. It came as Uber showed signs it was bouncing back from a slump in bookings caused by the pandemic. The company said bookings – the amount users spent on its ride hailing and food delivery services – rose 24pc year on year to $19.5bn. This was a record for a single quarter but was down to a 166pc rise in food delivery spending, which was almost twice the size of spending on its taxi business, which fell 38pc. Uber lost $108m in the quarter, a substantial improvement on previous financial results.

NWTC confirms Plymouth and Sheffield openings details: Graphite Capital-backed pub restaurant group The New World Trading Company (NWTC) has confirmed the opening of a new site in Plymouth and that it will open a second site in Sheffield, under the name The Furnace. As revealed earlier this year by Propel, the company has taken over the former Las Iguanas site in Plymouth’s Royal William Yard scheme. The site becomes the second to open under the group’s Club House format. The business already operates a Club House site in Liverpool. Last October, Propel revealed the company was set to double its presence in Sheffield, with the opening of a site under its The Trading House concept in the city. The Jesper Friis-led business has secured a site in Charter Row as part of the Heart of the City 2 development. The company has now confirmed that the site will open under a new brand, The Furnace, this summer. The name was decided through consultation with the group’s fanbase and has been inspired by the city’s industrial heritage. NWTC chief operating officer Natasha Waterfield said: “The creation of a new brand is always incredibly exciting – and the feeling of launching it to market never tires. Our new team has worked incredibly hard to balance the creation of a new brand while navigating lockdown and reopening our existing estate. I can’t wait to share more about our new brand in the coming weeks.” In November, the company secured a site in the Northgate development in Chester for an opening under its The Florist brand. Due to open in spring 2022, construction of the long-awaited Northgate cultural and leisure development began in July last year. The Florist is part of NWTC’s portfolio of 29 restaurants, which includes The Botanist, The Club House and The Oast House brands. The company is also understood to be in talks on sites in Ipswich and Cardiff.

AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito to step down: Anheuser-Busch InBev has announced that chief executive Carlos Brito will step down from his role and that Michel Doukeris will succeed him, effective 1 July. Brito will step down after 15 years as chief executive and after 32 years with the company. During that time, he oversaw the integration of US brewer Anheuser-Busch with the Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate InBev and more recently the 2016 takeover of rival SABMiller. Doukeris has headed the group’s North American operations since January 2018, having joined the company in 1996. He has held several commercial operations roles in Latin America, led its operations in China and Asia Pacific for seven years and moved to the US in 2016. AB InBev chairman Martin Barrington said: “We are grateful to Brito for his tremendous service and leadership. Among his many accomplishments, Brito was the architect who led and built AB InBev into the world’s leading beer company and a leading global consumer packaged goods company by masterfully integrating the many businesses that comprise AB InBev today. He has always been a role model of the company’s successful ownership culture. The board thanks Brito for his dedicated service, passion, caring and commitment to making our company dream big and delivering.” Brito said: “I am very proud of being part of this team of 164,000 colleagues around the world that have been on our journey. It has been an honour and privilege to work with such a talented group of individuals as we built this global company based on strong values and our unwavering commitment to excellence, quality, consumers and communities. I am very excited about the future of our business under Michel’s leadership and congratulate him on the appointment as chief executive of this amazing company.”