Sector company commits to Beyond the Living Wage: Independent restaurant and hospitality company Green & Fortune has announced all current and future employees will be paid Beyond the London Living Wage. The company said the new hourly rates are significantly higher than the minimum wage, the London Living Wage and also the average rates paid by many companies in the hospitality sector – many of these rates hover around the £10 per hour rate. From 1 December the vast majority of Green & Fortune employees will be earning more than £12 an hour for positions across the company. This commitment will be introduced at all of Green & Fortune’s restaurants, bars, cafes, private dining spaces and events venues. Restaurant and bar staff earn even more with the benefit of service charge, 100% of all service charge is paid directly to staff with none being retained by the company. Green & Fortune chief executive John Nugent said: “Providing a better than average rate of pay will play a big part in attracting people to the industry and is a part of our strategy to ensure we both recruit and retain great talent. We have constantly reviewed and improved benefits to our teams over the years. We strive to be ahead of what the rest of the industry is doing. Coming out of the pandemic has been no different, in fact it has sharpened our focus. As we re-build the business we are maintaining a focus on our people and how we can reward them and provide stability for our great people in these uncertain times. Alongside increased hourly rates, we have also introduced a number of other initiatives to reward employees and support work-life balance and general well-being. These include long service payments, additional days off and one-off bonus payments for all employees.” The launch of Green & Fortune Supports in 2020 also offered guidance and help to displaced members of our team who had been hardest hit as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. Recipients benefitted from: access to an emergency cash fund; mentorship from a senior member of the team; additional training, CV and interview workshops to help them find work; free weekly meals for them and their family; opportunities for re-employment. A significant number of ex-employees have now been re-employed. 

 

Variety of gym operators set to join updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies: A variety of gym operators are among the 50 new multi-site companies being added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released on Friday, 26 November, at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, features Gymfinity Kids, the UK’s leading provider of activity-based clubs and nurseries for children, which currently has six clubs and three nurseries, with more to follow soon. In addition, Bodyworx 360, the gym and fitness club concept, has recently opened its second site, in Stanhope Road, Portsmouth. Also added this month is Snap Fitness, which currently operates 77 sites throughout the UK and more than 2,000 gyms around the world. Premium subscribers will also receive a 4,000-word report on the new additions to the database. The comprehensive database is updated monthly and 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. The database features more than 2,000 companies in total. Alongside this, Premium subscribers will also receive the fifth edition of the New Openings Database, which is produced in association with StarStock, on Friday, 3 December, at midday. It focuses on newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and is updated every month. The fifth edition also includes a 14,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to another database – the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is produced in association with Mapal Group. The Blue Book, which is also updated monthly, provides an insight into UK operator turnover and profitability over five years, profit conversion and directors’ earnings. 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 receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out, plus regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel insights editor Mark Wingett. 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. To subscribe, email jo.charity@propelinfo.com

 

Sector lawyer calls for policy holders to contact him: Operators are being asked to check their insurance policies as they could be in line to receive a pay out on the back of the covid pandemic. The call comes from Rob Atkinson, the in-house hospitality lawyer from Black and White Hospitality, who has been heading up a campaign to force insurers to cover businesses which, in good faith, took out business interruption policies. Atkinson started the campaign in 2020, but now wants any restaurant or hotel business which held specifically a Tokio Marine Kiln policy in March 2020 to come forward. Atkinson said: “The initial campaign focused mainly on hotels. However, we’ve now come across restaurant businesses which have found themselves in the same predicament as hotel owners. While many operators thought that they were covered having taken out, in good faith, insurance that would provide them with some form of income in the event of an interruption to business, many were shocked to be told that they weren’t covered by the covid-19 pandemic. At a time when most owners and operators would be looking to their insurance companies for support, most found the door slammed firmly shut in their face. We are due to commence legal action on this matter in the coming months so it’s important the hospitality sector sticks together as we will be able to fight, as one, the insurers who are refusing to pay out. We are aware of many similar legal cases at present against insurers who simply refuse to do the right thing. Since the initial crowdfund campaign was launched, we’ve had many operators getting in touch to say that they feel badly let down. We would invite everyone to help contribute to the crowdfund to help pay for ongoing legal costs. We would also ask anyone who held a policy with Tokio Marine Kiln to get in touch with me, Rob Atkinson, urgently.” Tokio Marine Policy Holders should email rob@blackandwhitehospitality.com

Bermondsey-based brewer smashes £300,000 crowdfunding target to support continued growth: Bermondsey-based brewer Anspach & Hobday has already overfunded on its latest crowdfunding venture – reaching £403,281 through184 investors with 30 days left. The company initially aimed to raise £300,000 through Crowdcube, offering 6.18% equity and giving a pre-money valuation of £4.9m. Having developed a new nitro-porter, London Black, during lockdown – which is now available in 24 London pubs – Anspach & Hobday intends to use the funding to grow the line and improve its canning facilities to can the beer. It also plans to upgrade its production to support continued growth and double its batch volume and efficiency. Despite the pandemic, the company’s revenue had grown 31% year-on-year by March 2021. Anspach & Hobday also overfunded on its last crowdfunding campaign, raising £525,000 in 2019 after setting an initial target of £400,000 to help set up a Croydon brewing site, triple production and expand taproom space. Founded by Paul Anspach and Jack Hobday in 2012, Anspach & Hobday started life in a Bermondsey archway, initially brewing just keg, cask and bottled beer before moving on to cans.