Revolution – bars open for outdoor trading delivering 48% of 2019 sales: Revolution Bars Group, which opened 20 bars for outside trading on 12 April, has opened a further five bars including those as permitted by the relaxation of restrictions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The company stated: “We are pleased to report that since opening those bars have traded extremely strongly, fulfilling the desire for our customers to return despite the often unseasonably cold weather. The restrictions in place are such that in the bars where we have been able to trade outdoors the covers available represent approximately only 15% of total capacity of those venues, which are also trading for shorter hours than normal. Despite these constraints, we are delighted to report that these venues have delivered 48% of the sales in the four weeks to 9 May 2021 when compared to the same period in 2019, when there were no covid-19 restrictions. We believe this performance has been underpinned by the strength of our brands, our loyal customer base and the improvements we have made to the business during the period of forced closure. Net bank debt at 10 May 2021 stood at £28.5m, with total available facilities of £40.2m. Following the customer reaction we have seen over the last four weeks, the board is confident that significant further pent up demand exists and therefore further strong trading is anticipated in the months to come as restrictions fall away and we fully open up the estate. Taking the above into account, together with continued tight cost control and better than anticipated support from third parties, we now expect that our full year performance for the year ending 30 June 2021 will be ahead of previous management expectations.” Rob Pitcher, chief executive of Revolution Bars Group, added: “As predicted we have seen huge pent up demand and a rapid recovery across the nation in the bars with outside space that we have been able to open to date. The ability to trade inside from 17 May 2021 provides another landmark in the Roadmap and whilst we will still be restricted to using less than 50% of our actual capacity, the demand that we have experienced in recent weeks provides us with the confidence to open all the remaining bars. We are delighted to welcome our guests back indoors from the 17 May 2021, and look forward to the full benefits still to come when all restrictions are lifted in mid- June.”

Host of companies sign up to unlimited Premium access for £895 per annum: A host of sector companies have signed up to get unlimited company access to Propel Premium for £895 plus VAT per annum. Among the early sign-ups are Greene King, Welcome Break, Beds and Bars, Deloitte, Molson Coors, Boutinot, Vapiano, Hawthorn, Sysco and Sky. Unlimited company access allows a company to add unlimited company email addresses to receive Premium. The regular single subscription rate of £395 plus VAT for operators and £495 plus VAT for suppliers remains the same. Premium members of Propel also receive exclusive access to the multi-site database, which is updated monthly. The next update will be released on Friday, 28 May, at midday. The latest database, released at the end of April, saw an additional 84 companies added with subscribers also receiving 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 1,717 companies. The go-to database 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. Premium subscribers are also to receive access to a second exclusive monthly database, The Propel Blue Book. This Blue Book database will provide an insight into UK operator turnover and profitability over five years, profit conversion and directors’ earnings. It will be available to Premium subscribers on Friday, 4 June, at midday. 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 jo.charity@propelinfo.com to sign up.

Pret to open sites within Tesco stores: Pret A Manger is to open sites in Tesco supermarkets as it seeks to dispel the perception that it is “just for white-collar office workers”. According to The Times, the trial partnership, which follows the launch of Pret frozen croissants and granolas on Tesco shelves, is part of a move by the chain to broaden its appeal as it responds to the toughest year since it opened its first site 35 years ago. Its first “shop-in-shop” with Tesco will open in June at the Tesco Superstore in Kensington, west London, with another three to follow this summer, “some in London, some outside”. Like existing Pret stores, the Tesco sites will serve food freshly prepared in an on-site kitchen plus organic coffee and teas prepared by Pret baristas. The shops will all be operated as concessions run by Pret rather than by Tesco. Chief executive Pano Christou said the Tesco partnership was part of the company’s response to the sharp fall-off in commuters into London in particular, due to lockdowns and the trend towards working from home. He told the newspaper: “Instead of Pret following the skyscrapers, for us it’s about bringing Pret to the people. This could be an opportunity for us to do that, dependent on how the test goes.” He said that while “Tesco is a bit more value and Pret is a bit more premium”, the sandwich chain was successfully attracting “all sorts of different customers” with its £20-a-month coffee subscription. He said that Pret would test different formats for different types of Tesco store, “from one that looks like a Pret store with a seating area to one that’s takeaway only to one that’s more like a kiosk”. Christou said that, despite a tough year, he felt positive about the changes the company had made. “I said to the team, plant all those seeds now, see which ones come to fruition and which ones don’t, so when we finally come through this, we will be much stronger as a brand and a business, and ready to grow the Pret brand,” he said.

City Pub Group reports its 24 open pubs are delivering 77% of 2019 turnover: The City Pub Group, which operated 45 pubs, has reported a loss of £5.1m in the year to 27 December 2020. Revenue was £25.8 million (FY19: £60.0 million). It reported encouraging trading since outdoor reopening, with the 24 pubs currently open and trading at 77% of 2019 levels, demonstrating the high levels of pent-up demand. It said it had a platform in place to expand the estate to over 100 sites Clive Watson, executive chairman of The City Pub Group, said: “The business has been significantly improved over the past year placing us in an excellent position to take advantage of the pent-up demand as the country reopens. The early signs since we have been allowed to trade outdoors have been very heartening and it has been great to bring back our immensely talented staff and to see our customers enjoying our pubs once again. We are a streamlined, well-invested business with a first-rate customer offer. Our pub estate is unique in terms of quality and, with the step change in the business, we have an ideal platform to grow successfully in the future.” He added: “As regards our development sites, we intend to start work on the Turks Head in Exeter imminently, with a view to opening the site in early Autumn. We are committed to commence works on the Tivoli in Cambridge, The Nest in Bath and our new hotel/restaurant/pub in Mumbles, Swansea, and these projects will start during the course of the summer. The group’s estate of predominately freehold high-quality managed pubs is virtually unique in the pub sector. Our managed pubs have high levels of weekly sales, many pubs have great outside trading areas and the number of rooms across the estate has increased significantly over the last few years. On a normalised trading basis, the directors’ valuation of the group’s portfolio is approximately £150m.”

Trade body claims nightclubs at the back of the queue again: Nightclubs and late night bars hit out at the contradictions in Boris Johnson’s relaxation of lockdown rules, allowing people to hug loved ones again and overnight stays from next week, while dancefloors and gigs will remain closed off until June. Night time Industries Association boss Michael Kill said: “It seems bizarre and illogical to us that people can start hugging in household environments which at the peak of infection accounted for large proportions of covid transmission, but people are still not allowed to move about, let alone, dance, in hospitality and late-night venues which the science has consistently shown have a lower level of transmission”. Kill added that the government’s announcement to allow hugs before re-opening clubs “looks and feels like the government pushing nightclubs to the back of the queue once again”.

Sadiq Khan pledged £6m for London tourism push: Sadiq Khan has pledged to launch the “biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen” following his re-election as London mayor. In a speech at Shakespeare’s Globe Khan unveiled the new Let’s Do London campaign in bid to kickstart the city’s economy as covid-19 restrictions are eased. The domestic tourism push, which is being created in partnership with London’s hospitality, culture and retail industries, will include a programme of one-off events with some of the capital’s best-known cultural institutions and tourism attractions. The campaign will launch later this month with London’s top chefs and restaurants coming together to showcase the city’s food offering. There will also be a number of public art installations aimed at attracting people back to the city centre, including a takeover of Piccadilly Circus station by David Hockney starting today. The mayor has pledged £6m for the campaign, alongside more than £1m of funding and value-in-kind from industry. Khan also confirmed that employment will be a major priority during his second term after many Londoners lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. “It’s an honour to have been re-elected with a huge mandate as mayor of the city I love – the greatest city in the world,” he said. “The work begins anew to refresh and reignite our city and to kick-start our economy as London continues to reopen. This includes making jobs, jobs, jobs a top priority and banging the drum for London to attract the jobs, tourism and investment our city needs.”

Chesser – Only a full release of social distancing measures from 21 June will enable businesses to truly start on the long road to recovery: Clive Chesser, chief executive of Punch Pubs & Co has told Propel that only a full release of social distancing measures from 21 June will enable businesses to stop being dependent on financial support and truly start on the long road to recovery. Chesser said: “It is reassuring that the government, enabled by our fantastic best-in-class vaccination programme, continues to adhere to its published exit roadmap with indoor hospitality in England now permitted from Monday (17 May), albeit with ongoing restrictions. It will be a relief to welcome guests back safely inside their local pub for a pint or glass of wine; we’ve all missed that experience, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that only a full release of social distancing measures from 21 June will enable businesses to stop being dependent on financial support and truly start on the long road to recovery.”