Hawksmoor secures new debt facility to aid future expansion: Graphite Capital-backed steakhouse concept Hawksmoor has secured a new debt facility to support its next three years of growth, Propel has learned. The company worked with Parry Advisory and Argyll Advisory, to secure the new funding, which in part will be used to continue to underpin the successful opening of its first US site, in New York, which opened last autumn, and recent opening in Wood Wharf. It is also thought the new facility will provide longer-term funding for a pipeline of new sites in the UK and the US, plus additional flexible funding for potential new sites not yet in the pipeline. Last October, Will Beckett, co-founder of Hawksmoor, said the company had paused refinancing talks, including through an initial public offering, as he wanted to focus on building the business back after the pandemic, as well as reopening and launching new restaurants, including its first in New York. He said there had been good interest from a number of potential cornerstone investors, and trading was above 2019 levels, but pointed to the “instability in the sector as a whole”. The company had been working with Berenberg on the plans. Last November, Hawksmoor opened its first London restaurant in four years, at Canary Wharf. Set in a floating pavilion in the docks of Wood Wharf, a new part of Canary Wharf, and set over three levels, the 150-cover restaurant, with a 120-cover bar and outdoor space, is Hawksmoor’s biggest restaurant yet. Founders Beckett and Luke Gott launched the first site 15 years ago in Spitalfields, east London, and the business has grown to include six restaurants in London, one in Manchester and one in Edinburgh. 

 

Latest edition of Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book sent to Premium subscribers today: The latest edition of the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is produced in association with Mapal Group, will be published today (Friday, 14 January) at midday. The latest Blue Book sees a further 48 companies added, taking the number of UK pub, restaurant, cafe and hotel operators featured to 507. It will also feature group editor Mark Wingett’s next quarterly pick of the companies well-placed to grow in the post-pandemic era. His latest pick of companies are Brakspear, Simmons Bars, Hub Box, Park Holidays, Vaulkhard Leisure, Hostmore, QFM Group, Caprice Holdings and Ivy Collection. The picks are also accompanied by a 2,100-word report. The Blue Book shows the full damage done to the sector by the pandemic, with 321 companies making a combined loss of £8.17bn compared with 186 companies in profit – making a combined £797m. Losses now outstrip profits in the sector ten times over. Total turnover of the companies stands at £28.5bn. The Blue Book provides a five-year overview of turnover and profit, ranking companies according to turnover, pre-tax profit and profit conversion. It also provides details of directors’ earnings and highest paid directors. Premium subscribers also receive two other databases – the New Openings Database, produced in association with StarStock, and the Multi-Site Operators Database, produced in association with Virgate, which are also updated each month. 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 single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. 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 Mark Wingett. In this week’s Premium Opinion, which will be sent to subscribers at 5pm on Friday (14 January), he looks at the year ahead.

Propel and COREcruitment spotlight BAME entrepreneurs, Des Gunewardena to feature: Propel has partnered with COREcruitment to spotlight some of the leading sector individuals from the UK BAME community this week. Today (Friday, 14 January), in a video released at 9am, Krishnan Doyle talks to Des Gunewardena, chairman and chief executive of D&D London. The company is a luxury restaurant group that owns and operates more than 40 venues in London, Manchester, Leeds, Paris, and New York. Gunewardena has been listed as one the Evening Standard’s top 1,000 most influential Londoners and was shortlisted as EY’s London entrepreneur of the year in 2013.

Freehold pub prices rise 9.5% post-pandemic, driven by large spike in sales in south: Average trading freehold pub prices have risen by 9.5% compared with the first six months of the pandemic, according to Fleurets’ 2021 survey of pub prices. This compares with a 34.7% drop during 2020, and a pre-pandemic rise of 19% in 2019. The 2021 figures were driven by a significant increase in transactions in the south, particularly London, leading to an overall increase in average prices to £621,150. In the north, by contrast, the average sale price was down 32%, which the property agent said reflected a drop in the quality of asset. The overall volume of transactions also returned to pre-covid levels, double the levels seen in the previous six months. The average price for bottom-end freeholds was up by 7.2% to £323,716 compared with the first six months of the pandemic, which also represents a 5.7% rise for the six-month pre-pandemic period, although it remains 5.7% down on the peak values achieved in 2019. The average price for leasehold pubs fell by 21.3% to £24,214, partly due to an increase in lettings as opposed to leasehold sales, as more properties became vacant and were re-let on nil premium deals with incentives. The report also showed, although the closure rate of pubs has accelerated, food-driven venues have been more resilient than wet-led businesses, while the number of freehold pubs sold for non-pub use remained at a similar level, down 45% from 46% in 2020. The report concluded: “Further closures are expected in the year ahead as the initial post-lockdown bounce in trade recedes, trade patterns normalise and the significant trading headwinds such as labour shortages and cost inflation tale their toll. The end of VAT relief and the implementation of Living Wage changes in spring 2022, coupled with cost inflation and staff shortages, will increase pressure on marginal operations and some may choose (or be forced) to close. This will be heavily influenced by the government’s approach to the end of the rent moratorium and how lender’s manage distressed debt situations. Unfortunately for such casualties, their distress often creates significant opportunity, providing a ready supply of often partly or fully fitted units available on favourable terms that provide the springboard for creative and talented operators to enter the market and/or accelerate their growth.”

Kate Nicholls – cutting isolation period from seven to five days should allow for safe lifting of work-from-home guidance: A move to cut the isolation period for people who test positive for covid from seven to five days in England should allow for a safe lifting of the work-from-home guidance, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has said. Health secretary Sajid Javid said from Monday (17 January), people will be able to come out of quarantine on day six, if tests show they are negative. Javid told the Commons: “After reviewing all of the evidence, we’ve made the decision to reduce the minimum self-isolation period to five full days in England. From Monday, people can leave isolation at the start of day six, subject to two negative lateral flow tests taken a day apart, with the first of these tests being no sooner than day five.” The government had been under pressure to bring the situation in England into line with the United States, where the isolation period had already been cut to five days. Nicholls tweeted in response to the announcement: “Positive and pragmatic move to allow people to return to work when safe to do so and the economy and public services to keep moving. Should also allow a safe lifting of work-from-home guidance, which is having major economic impact.” British Beer & Pub Association chief executive, Emma McClarkin, added: “There remains uncertainty around ‘Plan B’ measures and guidance in place, which is due to expire on 26 January. We urge the government to provide clarity on next steps which will enable pubs and the brewers that supply them to plan for the future.” Night Time Industries Association chief executive, Michael Kill, said: “This is a step in the right direction, and will without a doubt stem some of the issues, but will need further consideration as we move towards busier periods. Businesses are still suffering from the legacy of a devastating festive trading period.”

Teens expect tech to play a vital role in future hospitality but still crave face-to-face interaction: Generation Z and Generation Alpha teenagers expect technology to play an ever-growing role in the hospitality they will be the future guests of – but not at the expense of social interaction when out and about, according to new research from hospitality technology provider Zonal. For its study, Zonal held two focus groups and spoke to 500 teens in two age groups, 15-16 and 17-18. But while their lives revolve more than ever around technology, teens don’t wish it to dominate their social experiences, the study found. “Our findings show that while technology will play a vital role in every step of the future guest’s journey, so too will traditional factors such as face-to-face socialising, value, atmosphere and quality food and drink options,” said Zonal group product director Alison Vasey. “Teenagers crave face-to-face time as much as anyone else. We believe operators will need to further embrace technology to attract them in and provide them with the optimum experience.” Social media plays a big role here, with almost half the teens surveyed saying they visited it a venue as they saw it on such a platform, while a quarter visited as they thought it would look good on their social feeds. The rise of experiential venues is expected to continue as 65% expressed an interest in virtual reality gaming, although Zonal predicts VR and AR tech to also be used for staff training and providing product information. Technology will also be increasingly used by companies to collect vital data on their guests and create personalised offers, with more than half the teens surveyed expecting this from businesses. Cashless payments are also expected to become the norm, with 41% of the youngest group of respondents seeing cash as being “for old people”.

NPS dips in December as staff and skill shortage bite: The overall net promoter score (NPS) in hospitality dipped in December to 52 from 54 the previous month – a similar level seen at other busy periods since hospitality reopened fully in May, according to new data from guest feedback service, Feed It Back. As guests have returned to dining out, staff and skills shortages have been hurting hospitality operators whenever they have become busier, with school holidays, October half-term and now Christmas all seeing NPS declines. Speed of service was the top complaint topic in December – accounting for 21% of complaints. Guests were asked their main reason for choosing a venue for their Christmas celebration and “enjoyed previous visit” remained the top reason, accounting for 22% of responses. When asked what menu guests prefer to choose from when eating out in December, the majority of guests opted for “main menu with festive specials” (49.6%), followed by “main menu” (35.8%) and festive set menu (14.6%). The casual dining and pub dining segments saw a greater number of guests interested in festive set menus, with 19% for casual dining, and 23% for pub dining, compared with the 15% at industry level. When asked what guests consider important for 2022, good food (30%) and good service (26%) came out as the top factors.

Davis – restaurants should be wary about going fully vegan or vegetarian: Restaurants should be wary about going fully vegan or vegetarian, despite them being growing trends, particularly among younger people. So argues Glynn Davis, a leading commentator on retail trends, who has warned there is “not yet a big enough slice in the eating-out pie for pure vegan restaurants in the affordable, mainstream segment of the market”. He said while figures from Findr show the number of vegans rose by 40% last year, this still only represents 3% of the population. “Herein lies the issue with vegetarian restaurants,” said Davis, writing exclusively in Propel’s Friday Opinion. “They appeal very strongly to a committed grouping, but for many people they remain off the radar and are not considered an option when spending money on a take-away or dining out. Yes, vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise, but they’re still minority sports.” Davis said while there is clearly a place for plant-focused restaurants in the higher end of the market, such as Alex Gauthier’s eponymous Soho restaurant, “for other restaurants that don’t have stars in the kitchen, it will no doubt be a tough challenge to succeed when the cuisine only appeals to a specific chunk of the population”. Davis also pointed to the success the quick service restaurant industry has had in introducing plant-based options alongside meat ones – like the permanent return of KFC’s vegan chicken burger and the launch of McDonald’s McPlant burger and Burger King’s vegan nuggets. “While such moves do indeed spread the message of vegan foods and introduce meat alternatives to a broader audience, they also dramatically increase competition in the market,” he added. Davis will share more of his thoughts in this week’s Friday Opinion, which will be published on Friday (14 January) at 11am.

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a global fast-food brand, still in its infancy in the UK, with big plans for expansion. The hiring company is looking for a regional manager based in London or the south east. A COREcruitment spokesman said: “You must have experience managing area managers within a fast food or fast casual brand. Ideally you will have a wealth of experience in opening new sites as well as being financially astute. We’re looking for a forward-thinking leader with remarkable people skills.” The role has a salary of up to £80,000. To find out more and apply, email sonny@corecruitment.com

 

3Sixty Restaurants secures 26th site: 3Sixty Restaurants, led by James Horler, has exchanged on its 26th site as part of its joint venture with Mitchells & Butlers, Propel has learned. 3Sixty Restaurants has secured the Stanney Oaks in Chester, which operates under M&B’s Harvester brand. The site is set to relaunch as an Ego restaurant in May after undergoing a refurbishment, which is expected to happen in mid-March. Last month, Propel revealed 3Sixty Restaurants had secured its second Ego site in Wales with the addition of the Groes Wen Inn in Penhow. The pub, which is run under M&B’s Vintage Inns brand, is set to reopen in March. About £700,000 is being invested in each of the restaurants and Horler told Propel at the time he expected further sites to follow in 2022. “Now is the time to expand,” he said. “Since May, trading has been really strong and that has allowed us to move into a position where we have no debt and the consumer seems to love what we do.” M&B formed the partnership in August 2018 when it bought sector investor Luke Johnson’s minority share in 3Sixty.

G-A-Y nightclub group starting to trade profitably again: The G-A-Y nightclub group has reported the business has begun to trade profitably again. The company, owned by Jeremy Joseph, operates G-A-Y Bar, G-A-Y Late and Heaven in London. In October, the group sold the business and assets of its venue in Manchester. The group provided the update as it reported turnover of £1.8m for the year ending 30 April 2021, compared with £11.8m the year before. It posted a pre-tax loss of £58,315 compared with a profit of £1.3m the previous year. Writing in the accounts, Joseph said covid-19 had created a significant risk for the business, which he had mitigated through the use of government support schemes and his own resources. G-A-Y received government grants totalling £1.2m in the period. A dividend of £583,600 was declared (2020: £4.7m).

Rockwater plans further F&B and community hub in Dorset: The team behind Rockwater, the three-storey food and beverage destination and community hub in Hove, East Sussex, is planning to open a second site, in Dorset. Propel understands that Rockwater, which is led by investor and operator Luke Davis, has applied to open a similar venture at Branksome Beach and Sandbanks near Poole. Rockwater Hove opened at the end of 2020 after a £4m investment. Davis, who is chief executive of investment company IW Capital, put about £3m towards redeveloping the seafront building. More than £1m was raised by Hove residents. Mark McQuater, the current chairman of Roxy Leisure and ex-chairman of Barworks, is a strategic advisor to Rockwater Hove. 

Franco Manca makes debut in Greece: Franco Manca, the Fulham Shore-owned pizza brand, has made its debut in Greece. The David Page-chaired business has opened a site in Athens, the first site under the franchise agreement it signed last year with James Ravano, a Greek who spent 20 years working for PizzaExpress and Zizzi. Ravano has plans for a minimum of six restaurants to be opened over the next three years in the country. Propel revealed last year Fulham Shore had also signed heads of terms to launch its Franco Manca brand in Switzerland and is in talks to take the pizza concept and its sister format, The Real Greek, to the Middle East. Fulham Shore currently operates 57 Franco Manca outlets and 21 Real Greeks in the UK, and said last month it had another 21 potential sites in solicitors' hands for both Franco Manca and The Real Greek. As part of its opening pipeline, Franco Manca is understood to have secured the former Bill's restaurant in North Street in Bishop's Stortford.

Pizza Pilgrims eyes Brighton opening: Pizza Pilgrims, the London-based sourdough pizzeria brand founded by brothers James and Thom Elliott, is in talks on a second regional site, in Brighton. The company, which already operates a site in the Westgate scheme in Oxford, has applied to open in a former retail unit in Brighton’s South Street. At the end of last year, the company opened a site focused on sustainability in partnership with Selfridges London. The restaurant opened on the department store’s fourth floor and is Pizza Pilgrims’ only one to focus on using UK produce. Pizza Pilgrims currently operates 15 sites under its core brand and an outlet under its New York City-influenced concept, Slice by Pizza Pilgrims, in Finsbury Park.

Clean Kitchen Club to ramp up delivery kitchen estate: Vegan concept Clean Kitchen – which was founded by former YouTube celebrity Michael Pearce, with Made in Chelsea TV star Verity Bowditch joining in 2020 – has opened two new delivery kitchen sites in London, with plans to open six more. The business operates out of six sites in London and the south east, and opened a two-level flagship outlet in Camden last July. It has now added delivery kitchen sites in Peckham and Nine Elms. Pearce said: “With six more kitchens to open in the next few months we will be able to deliver fresh, delicious plant-based meals to millions of people from these low-rent and no fit-out cost kitchens.” Last month, the company announced it is the first plant-based food brand to publish carbon values for each of its items, which will be visible on menus in-store. The plant-based food brand has been working with My Emissions to calculate and reduce the carbon footprint across all areas of the business, and launched the first totally carbon neutral fast food meal box, Happy Planet Meals. 

Granger & Co to open fifth London site, in Marylebone: Granger & Co, the all-day dining concept set up by Australian TV chef Bill Granger and former My Kinda Town managing director Peter Webber, will open a fifth London site this spring. The company, which includes Will Champion and Jonny Buckland as investors, the drummer and lead guitarist of Coldplay respectively, has taken on the former Patisserie Valerie site at 105 Marylebone High Street, which was once home to patisserie Maison Sagne. Granger said: “We’ve been looking for a location in Marylebone since we moved to London more than 12 years ago, and now we’ve finally found it in the very-much-loved Maison Sagne site, that is dear to so many people. I know we will recreate some magic, especially in the surprise double-height atrium space that the front opens up to, bringing joy to all those who first visited with their grandparents as kids. And of course lots of new visitors too!” Propel revealed Granger & Co had first lined up the site in September 2019. The other Granger & Co sites are in Chelsea, Clerkenwell, King’s Cross and Notting Hill.

Richardson Hotels sees turnover more than halve due to pandemic: South west-based hotel operator Richardson Hotels has reported turnover fell to £3.7m for the year ending 31 March 2021, compared with £8.4m the previous year as a result of the pandemic. The business reported a pre-tax profit of £534,000, compared with £242,000 the year before. The directors said the company was performing satisfactorily “given the circumstances” and the business continued to evolve its marketing strategies, which were “contributing to improve its position in the market”. The group operates four sites in Cornwall and Devon – The Grand Hotel, The Abbey Sands Hotel, The Falmouth Hotel and The Royal Beacon Hotel.

Oakman offers customers free night’s stay if they have a meal: Oakman Group, the Dermot King-led pub-restaurant operator, is giving customers a free night's stay if they have a meal. The company is offering the deal during January, where people spending at least £120 on food and drink in the restaurant and bar of any of its 14 hotels across the country will mean they don’t pay anything for their double or twin hotel room at the end of the night. Each hotel has its own pub and restaurant. The Stay Free deal – which is available Sunday to Friday until Monday, 31 January – is subject to availability and excludes breakfast. Standard rooms are offered but upgrades are available.

Claude Bosi and Samyukta Nair to open Mayfair bistro: Chef Claude Bosi is teaming up with Samyukta Nair, co-founder of London-based restaurants Jamavar and Bombay Bustle, to launch a new site based in Mayfair called Socca Bistro. The pair are taking over the ex-Richoux site in South Audley Street for the launch of the “French Mediterranean bistro” this summer. Nair said: “Named after both chickpea flour and the elegant pea flower, Socca will be a marriage of comforting dishes elevated with refined skill set against the backdrop of a whimsical and intimate dining destination that evokes the nostalgia and flavours of the French Riviera. I’m thrilled to partner with the incredibly talented Claude Bosi to open Socca Bistro, which pays homage to the coastal towns of Cannes, Marseille and Nice to recreate the nostalgia and flavours of the French Riviera. I first met Claude when we exchanged hands at the former Hibiscus site, which is now Bombay Bustle, five years ago and I am so excited for us to come together to open our restaurant and share our mutual love for beautifully prepared home comforts in the heart of Mayfair.” The new venture will be the fourth opening backed by LSL Capital, which opened MiMi Mei Fair in the capital last summer. Bosi also owns the two-Michelin-starred restaurant at Bibendum, Chelsea.

Dublin-based online ordering platform Flipdish secures $100m of new funding: Flipdish, the Dublin-based online ordering and loyalty platform for takeaways and restaurants, has received a circa $100m (£72.8m) investment led by Tencent. The funding values the company at more than $1.25bn (£910m) and follows a $48.5m (£35.3m) investment from Tiger Global Management in February last year. Flipdish intends to use the funds to grow global operations, fund research and development in products and support new customers. Founded by brothers Conor and James McCarthy in 2015, Flipdish said it puts restaurants, cafes and takeaways of all sizes “in control of their business growth with a digital ordering and marketing system to build brands, grow profits and turn customers into regulars”. As part of the investment, Flipdish will be hiring 700 people in 2022. The majority are technology roles such as software architects, data scientists, engineers and product designers. Others include a host of commercial roles. Operating in 25 countries including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain and the US, the company provides its technology to thousands of independent restaurants as well as major brands such as Subway. Tencent will join existing Flipdish investors Tiger Global, Global Founders Capital, Elkstone, Enterprise Ireland and Growing Capital. Numis acted as sole financial advisors to Flipdish.

Brighton-based operators acquire LGBTQ+ friendly hotel and bar in £5m deal: Brighton-based hotel operators Linh and Leo Nguyen have acquired LGBTQ+ friendly hotel, bar and club, Legends, in a £5m deal. Flude Property Consultants was instructed to market the property on a discreet basis. Legends Hotel is located on Brighton seafront and offers 40 different sized hotel rooms and suites; some of which offer panoramic views of the sea. The nightclub is a LGBTQ+ friendly bar. The Nguyens own a number of other hotels in the city. Tony Chapman, who owned Legends for more than 30 years, hope the new operators will preserve its status as an award-winning gay venue. He said: “I think they are going to carry on with it as it is and keep the name. They’ve never owned a gay hotel but when it came on the market, they were quick off the mark. They’d be daft not to keep it as it is because there’s a nearly £3m turnover business there.”

Tim Hortons lines up first Kent site: Canadian quick service restaurant brand Tim Hortons is lining up its first site in Kent. SK Group, which is leading the rollout of the brand in the UK, has applied to Thanet Council to open a drive-thru restaurant at Broadstairs Retail Park. The 2,800-square-foot venue would also accommodate 96 customers and is expected to create about 70 jobs, reports the Isle of Thanet News. Tim Hortons now has circa 40 UK outlets and a further 11 “coming soon”, according to its website. Having first come to Britain in 2017, Tim Hortons has plans to bring a restaurant to every major UK town by the end of this year.

AG Hotels expands estate with purchase of Derby Best Western: AG Hotels, which operates a growing chain of mainly northern premium and economy hotels, has continued its expansion with the acquisition of Best Western The Stuart Hotel in Derby. The purchase brings the group’s estate to eight, with other sites in Chorley, Huddersfield, Gateshead, St Helens, Castleford, Knutsford and Epsom. The 100-bedroom city centre hotel with bar, restaurant and conferencing facilities went to market at a guide price of £4.95m. Christie & Co acted for the private vendors, who owned and operated the business for almost 20 years. Girish Grover, chief executive of AG Hotels, said: “We are delighted with our acquisition of Best Western The Stuart Hotel and have exciting plans to invest in and refurbish the property in due course.” Gavin Webb, associate director hospitality at Christie & Co, added: “This latest sale to AG Hotels is evidence of its continued ambition to keep growing and become a major player in the hospitality arena.”

Hospitality-focused mobile order and pay and hand sanitiser business secures £7m: Two London entrepreneurs who pivoted their mobile phone charging business into a mobile order and pay app and hand sanitiser network as the pandemic hit – generating turnover of £1m in a month – has secured £7m to support the expansion of their hospitality “super app”. theUp.co has secured investment from high-profile investors such as Jägermeister; former chief executive of Monzo, Tom Blomfield; and JamJar Investments – the ex-Innocent Smoothie founders fund, in the round. Founded by Hugo Tilmouth, 26 and Charlie Baron, 27, theUp.co has been “upgrading” hospitality experiences since 2017, developing new solutions to help consumers order, pay and socialise. The business is the parent company of Europe’s largest phone charging network, ChargedUp, venue operator platform and mobile order and pay app, ServedUp, and hand sanitiser station network CleanedUp. The finance will be invested in fuelling expansion across UK and Europe, new hires and building a new “super app” to bring all the brands under one roof.

Stint appoints first chief marketing officer: Student work platform Stint has appointed Harry Lang as its first chief marketing officer, as it looks to drive forward its ambitious growth plans in 2022. Lang has worked in the marketing sector for more than 22 years, having previously been marketing director at Buzz Bingo and held senior marketing positions at Genting Casinos, bwin and Pinnacle Sports. His appointment follows a year of strong growth by Stint, which has now worked with more than 1,400 hospitality businesses including Chipotle, Chilango, Annabels and The Wolseley. Stint connects operators with students looking for short, flexible shifts and currently has more than 115,000 students signed up to the app. Lang joins a board which includes hospitality strategist, connector and adviser Ann Elliott, ex-British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds and former Compass Group UK & Ireland HR director Fiona Ryland. Stint co-founder, Sam Schlagman, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Harry and his marketing expertise to help us supercharge our growth.”