Exclusive – Downing acquires Pub People and commits to growth: Investment manager Downing has acquired Midlands pub company Pub People and committed to further funding for expansion, Propel has learned. Downing has acquired the company from its management team – Andrew Crawford and Kevin Sammons – and merged it with its existing investment in Autumn Pubs, which has been managed under contract by Pub People since 2012. Funds managed by Downing will be the majority shareholder in the combined business, which includes 49 managed pubs, and Downing has committed further funding to help the group expand through acquisitions. Sammons has headed Pub People for more than 28 years, and its estate of food and drink pubs is based in and around Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Lincoln. Following the acquisition, Sammons will transition into a non-executive position, while Crawford will move into the role of managing director. Sammons said: “I am proud to have led and built this successful company, along with the many loyal and exceptional employees who have been important contributors to that success. They can now continue the Pub People journey along with Downing and fulfil theirs and the group’s potential. I am extremely grateful for the support Downing has given us over the last ten years. It is now time for me to step back and hand over to a worthy and capable successor and his team.” Crawford added: “Kevin and I have worked very well together as a management team for more than 20 years. We have together built a company we can be truly proud of, but now there are new chapters to be written. While there are numerous economic challenges on the horizon, we have a strong team, and with support from Downing, the group can continue to invest and grow its high-quality pub estate.” Nick Carter, associate director at Downing, said: “We wish Kevin well, and are excited to take the group to the next stage under Andy’s direction.”

Stephen Owens to speak at final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2022, three free places per company for operators: Stephen Owens, managing director – pubs and restaurants at Christie & Co, will be among the speakers at the final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2022, which takes place on Thursday, 10 November, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London, and is open for bookings. The all-day conference will focus on “new ways of working”. Owens will update on the current state of the market. Operators can book up to three free places per company by emailing jo.charity@propelinfo.com.

 

One day to go before release of updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, 60 businesses being added: A total of 60 new multi-site companies, operating 520 sites, have been added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released tomorrow (Friday, 30 September), at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, includes regional bar and restaurant operators, expanding hotel companies, and growing entertainment concepts. Premium subscribers will also receive a 4,100-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 now features 2,677 companies. Premium subscribers will also receive the next edition of the New Openings Database on Friday, 7 October, at midday. It focuses on newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and is updated every month. The next edition also includes a 13,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is produced in association with Mapal Group, and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database. 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 Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

 

Trade bodies write to chancellor repeating urgent need for sector support: Leaders of sector trade bodies have written to the chancellor following the “mini-Budget”, highlighting the urgent need for further support to safeguard hospitality businesses. In the letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, representatives from across the industry thanked him for his support via the business energy price guarantee. They also recognised the positive approach he plans to take to reduce the huge burden of excessive business regulations and welcomed the freeze to alcohol duties. However, they warned these measures were simply not enough to safeguard the future of the sector – with the combination of pandemic debts, minimal cash reserves, ongoing staffing issues and escalating inflationary costs, all against a backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, having a devastating impact. The industry leaders again called for an immediate reduction in the headline rate of VAT for hospitality on all food and drink sales, and a cancellation of business rates for the remainder of this financial year. In a joint statement, they said: “Targeted support for hospitality businesses at the heart of their communities in villages, towns, cities and high streets across the UK will now be critical to ensure they can play a key role in the government’s growth and levelling up agenda. We need a plan for wide-ranging support that is in place for more than six months, allowing these businesses time to plan for their futures. The current uncertainty facing hospitality businesses is a huge barrier to growth and the immediate support we are calling for will give many the breathing space they need to ensure their survival past this winter.”

Convenience reigns king as food delivery sales soar over takeaways: Britain’s consumers have switched from pick-up food takeaways to third-party deliveries, continuing the habits they picked up during covid-19 lockdowns, the latest CGA Hospitality at Home Tracker has revealed. The monthly report showed delivery sales at managed restaurant, pub and bar groups in August 2022 were 13% higher than in August 2021. By contrast, takeaway and click-and-collect sales were 25% down from a year ago. Compared with August 2019 – the last comparable month before the covid-19 pandemic – delivery sales were 263% higher – more than five times the growth of 49% for takeaways. Deliveries accounted for almost 15p in every pound spent with managed groups offering delivery in August 2022, while takeaways attracted only 7p. The tracker showed how total at-home sales have fallen since covid restrictions ended, but remain much higher than pre-pandemic levels. Combined delivery and takeaway sales in August 2022 were 8% down on August 2021 – the tenth month of year-on-year decline in a row – but 102% ahead of August 2019. Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “Restaurant closures and covid concerns led many consumers to order in food and drink instead of going out in 2020 and 2021, and while restrictions have ended, it is clear delivery habits are here to stay.”

Operators urged to take part in latest Haysmacintyre's snapshot survey: Hospitality specialist Haysmacintyre is inviting operators to take part in its latest snapshot survey of the sector as it continues to monitor the industry’s recovery from the pandemic and the effects of the cost-of-living crisis. The company launched a series of snapshot surveys in 2021 to track developments in sector sentiment. The business is now conducting a second snapshot survey of 2022 following on from the one in May. The survey will deliver an update from operators on future prospects for the sector, as well as the challenges operators currently face, and may face in the future. The survey consists of nine key questions covering future prospects, the outlook for the industry, challenges facing operators, strategic priorities and staff costs. The survey will remain open for few weeks and operators can choose whether to remain anonymous or submit their details. Results will be shared with participants alongside expert commentary from Haysmacintyre’s specialist team. To complete the survey, click here.

 

Likelihood of no-shows almost halves, reducing cost to sector by £5bn a year: The likelihood of restaurant no-shows has almost halved, from 11% to 6%, according to new research. The findings by hospitality tech provider Zonal and CGA by NielsonIQ also showed the number of consumers making reservations and honouring them has increased by 15 percentage points, reducing the cost of no-shows to the hospitality sector to £12.6bn – saving the industry £5bn a year. The new research marks the one-year anniversary of Zonal’s #ShowUpForHospitality campaign, which found customers not showing up for bookings was costing the industry an estimated £17.6bn a year in lost revenue, with one in seven people not turning up to their reservations and not informing the venue. Olivia FitzGerald, chief sales and marketing officer at Zonal, said: “While no-shows continue to have a costly impact on the hospitality industry, something which is felt even more keenly by already hard-pressed hospitality businesses, it is welcome news the number of people honouring their bookings has increased.”

 

BrewDog co-founder awarded £600,000 from former girlfriend he hired to stop campaign of online abuse: James Watt, co-founder of Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog, has been awarded £600,000 from a former girlfriend who conned him out of crypto-currency worth thousands of pounds, and who he believes secretly orchestrated an online smear campaign against him. Watt said Emili Ziem had told him she could help track down the people spreading “false and malicious lies” about him on social media, and he transferred her £100,000 worth of Bitcoin to do so. However, after hiring a private investigator, it became clear Ziem had, in fact, been one of the perpetrators of the trolling. Ziem was ordered by Edinburgh’s Court of Session to repay Watt the £100,000 in Bitcoin, as well as a further £500,000 in costs. “For the past two years, I have been the subject of a vicious and relentless campaign of abuse, often by troll accounts posting and sharing appalling lies about me (often direct to family and friends) – lies that were then amplified all over the internet,” said Watt in a LinkedIn post. “I needed to do all I could to bring the campaign to an end. I want to say I didn’t go to court lightly, but I have been harassed, defrauded and defamed, and it has deeply affected me, my family and my business. I had no choice.” Watt also claims Ziem was the source behind a BBC documentary earlier this year that accused him of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees. “This has been a massive distraction for me, with all the challenges we face as a business in a struggling economy, but I hope you understand it was incumbent on me to defend my reputation in the face of relentless hostility,” he added. “I hope the outcome of this case provides some context and begins to tell a slightly different story to what you may have read about BrewDog (and myself) over the past 18 months.”

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a tech platform-led business that has developed an instant food concept using modern pay systems such as face recognition. The business has a range of services from quick counters, 24-hour multi-brand shops and vending machines. It is looking to grow both its locations, product and brand partnerships. It is hoping to bring in a couple of non-executive directors to support the business going forward, ideal with backgrounds including one of the following: restaurant/food retail expert with previous executive leadership experience, a food retail/trading/category expert to support strategy for account management and finance experience with extensive funding experience. A COREcruitment spokesman said: “Knowledge of working with start-ups would also be ideal as would experience with private equity deals and listing exposure. Time commitment for this is flexible between one to five days a month depending on your other commitments.” For more information, email Hollie@corecruitment.com

 

Jonathan Neame – consumer demand for going out will stay strong despite rising costs as long as jobs market doesn’t collapse: Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Kent brewer and retailer Shepherd Neame, has told Propel he believes consumer demand for going out will stay strong despite rising cost pressures on households – as long as the jobs market does not collapse. Speaking following the company’s interim results, Neame said labour market pressures on the sector appear to be receding, but inflation pressures are causing major concerns. He added: “In the short-term, with the support people are now receiving with their energy bills, which I think has been their major concern over the past few months, I think the demand for going out, in particular to pubs, which on the whole offer good value for money, will continue. The issue will be if people are not in work, and this is why businesses need further support from the government to deal with rising costs and inflation. If companies have to start making redundancies, then that’s the big worry. At the moment it’s different from 1991, when interest rates were rising because unemployment was high. At the moment people are staying in work and a lot have also received pay rises to help cope with the increase in bills, and hopefully that’s enough to encourage them to keep coming out and spending.” Neame said the group’s pubs were seeing further softening of trading in the early part of the week but weekends “were holding up well”. He added people appeared to be coming out earlier. Recruitment challenges remained in the business – particularly in kitchens – Neame said, but there had been an improvement in the situation in recent months, and he was confident in its pubs having adequate staff for the busy festive period. He added the business would look at further acquisitions but “sets the bar pretty high”. The three pubs in Essex and Urban Reef bar in Bournemouth that were acquired in the summer were “performing as hoped”. He added: “We’ve got a strong balance sheet, debt is down to 2018 levels, we’re paying a dividend again and we’re buying pubs again. We recognise there’s challenges ahead but it’s good to be putting a peg in the ground.” Shepherd Neame reported turnover increased to £151.6m for the year ending 25 June 2022 compared with £86.9m the previous year. The business had underlying pre-tax profit of £5.8m compared with a loss of £8.2m the year before. Ebitda rose significantly to £23.4m (2021: £7.7m). Total retail like-for-like sales were down 8% versus 2019 but up 130% versus 2021.

 

Chilled Pubs reports £1.5m pre-tax profit: Chilled Pubs, the award-wining group of five Derbyshire pubs that was founded by Richard and Loren Pope, has reported turnover rose 37% to £10,538,632 in the year to 2 January 2022. Profit before tax was £1,471,928 compared with £432,720 the year before. It stated the company experienced significant demand when government restrictions to combat the covid pandemic were relaxed. The company paid dividends of £255,000 (2021: £165,000) during the year. It received £662,085 in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants (2021: £1,171,868) and £206,389 in local authority covid support grants (2021: £48,500). Turnover in the last full year before the pandemic, the year to 29 December 2019, was £11,176,657, and profit before tax was £842,235. The company was founded at the Bull’s Head, Repton. It also owns The Three Tuns in Lichfield, The Hunloke Arms in Chesterfield and The Joiner’s Arms in Quarndon. The Popes are closely followed in the pub sector – their innovations include home-made gelato, a wood-fired pizza offer, a huge bottled beer selection and yakitori sticks. 

 

Popeyes accelerates UK expansion with four new sites, roll-out to be ‘ramped up’ in 2023: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the US fried chicken quick-service brand, has accelerated its UK expansion by signing for four new sites and its first UK headquarters. The business, which is led by Tom Crowley in the UK, has confirmed forthcoming openings in Derby, Leicester, Cambridge and Liverpool – revealed by Propel earlier this year. It has also signed the lease on its debut headquarters, a 6,000 square-foot site that will sit above its forthcoming restaurant in Ealing Broadway. Popeyes’ Derby site will open to the public in late October, with launch dates for the remainder of the restaurants to be announced soon. Before that, its Nottingham site, confirmed in June as being in the former Burger King unit opposite the Victoria Centre, will open on Saturday (1 October). The brand also has openings in Brighton and Reading in the pipeline. This comes off the back of recent launches in Gateshead and Oxford, where the company sold a company record of more than 2,000 Chicken Sandwiches in one day. Its debut outpost, in Westfield Stratford City, is the highest-grossing Popeyes restaurant out of its 3,700-strong global portfolio. Tom Crowley, chief executive of Popeyes UK, said: “We’re experiencing strong sales, significantly above expectations, across all locations at the moment, which is building an exciting energy in our business. We’re currently finalising our plans for 2023, which will see us ramp up our number of openings again. The planned, sustained period of growth we’ve executed since launch will stand us in great stead for our next round of openings, as well as our first drive-thru sites, which we’ll be announcing in due course.” Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and launched in the UK in November 2021, its 11th new global market.

 

West Midlands-based McDonald’s franchisee set to open four new restaurants, turnover above pre-pandemic levels: West Midlands-based McDonald’s franchisee Wright Restaurants is set to open four new restaurants. The company, owned by Douglas Wright, said terms have been agreed on the stores, due for completion on Monday, 10 October, subject to contract and McDonald’s corporation approval. This follows the opening of a new restaurant, in Perry Bar, in July, taking its estate to 21 restaurants. Turnover in the year ending 31 December 2021 returned to pre-pandemic levels, with an increase of 54% on the previous year, compared with a 16% decrease in 2020. It reported revenue of £82,939,974 in 2021, compared with £53,817,866 in 2020 and £63,850,772 in 2019. Pre-tax profits more than doubled, from £2,439,395 in 2020 to £5,239,328 (2019: £716,974). It received £218,820 in government grants, compared with £3,817,288 in 2020. A final dividend of £180,000 was recommended (2020: £120,000), and the company paid an ordinary dividend of £542,000 (2020: £459,000).

 

Ed Little joins Brasserie Bar Co as property director as business eyes further growth: Brasserie Bar Co, the Alchemy Partners-backed, White Brasseries owner, has appointed Ed Little, formerly of RedCat Pub Company, as its new group property director. The company said Little, who takes up his new role on Wednesday, 5 October, brings considerable experience to the Brasserie Bar Co board with a career spanning more than 15 years. He has worked with publicly listed and private equity backed leisure companies – including participating in the sale of Hawthorn to Admiral Pub Company. Brasserie Bar Co currently operates 32 sites across its Brasserie Blanc and White Brasserie pub formats. The business received investment from private equity fund Alchemy Partners in February and is now fully funded to grow to 70 sites over the next three to five years. It said Little, who most recently was property director at RedCat, will work closely with its existing property director, Jeremy Brown, who will take on the newly created role of acquisitions director, “dedicating 100% of his time to finding the right sites to meet the company’s ambitious growth plans”. Richard Ferrier, managing director of Brasserie Bar Co, said: “Ed brings with him a wealth of experience, particularly in freehold pubs where our acquisition plans are focused. I would also like to thank Jeremy for the incredible job he has done to date. I am sure that Ed and Jeremy will create a formidable working partnership that will underpin Brasserie Bar Co’s ambitious property strategy.” Propel revealed in August that Brasserie Bar Co had secured the former Maison Sax, at Ashley Cross, Poole, with plans to reopen the site this autumn under its old name, The Britannia, in the first acquisition since Alchemy acquired the business. RedCat’s property function is led by Donald Stevenson.

 

Everyman on track to at least meet expectations for the full year as losses narrow: Alex Scrimgeour, chief executive of Everyman, has said the cinema operator remains on track to at least meet expectations for the full year. He said the business, which currently has 38 cinemas and 129 screens, started the second half of 2022 in line with expectations and the outlook for the remainder is “promising”. In the 26 weeks to 30 June 2022, the company’s revenue stood at £40.7m, an increase of £11.8m versus the first half of 2019, with adjusted Ebitda of £7.5m (first half of 2021: £1.4m loss), and operating profit of £0.8m (first half of 2021: £7.7m loss). The company’s pre-tax losses narrowed to £798,000 in the period, down from a £9.19m loss a year earlier. Scrimgeour said the rise in revenue had been driven by a surge in admissions and healthy spending per head. He added: “This was the last comparative period where the estate was open for a full 26 weeks. We welcomed nearly 1.8 million customers into our venues, an increase of 0.3 million versus the first half of 2019, with our market share increasing from 3.0% to 4.5% accordingly. This demonstrates the appetite for the Everyman offer remains strong and is growing. The acceleration of our openings strategy is now well underway, and we are excited about the wealth of opportunities emerging to bolster and supplement the Everyman brand outside of the core proposition. We continue to be optimistic about the future. As we move through the second half, with encouraging admissions levels to date and a strong film slate anticipated in the fourth quarter, we remain on track to at least meet expectations for the full year. The economic backdrop at present is characterised by uncertainty, but we believe our premium, differentiated offering and strong balance sheet stand us in good stead.” Everyman said it was eyeing fresh openings in the months ahead, with a four-screen venue in Egham having opened this month and a Durham site slated for opening in November. 

 

WatchHouse closes crowdfunding campaign early due to high demand: Edition Capital-backed coffee concept WatchHouse has closed its crowdfunding campaign early due to high demand, as the raise hit more than £3m. The business, which launched the campaign last week to raise an initial £1m, raised £3,085,757.93 from 1,537 investors. The round closed at 5.30pm on Wednesday (28 September) – a week earlier than planned. The business, which recently opened its tenth site in London’s Mayfair, had launched the campaign through Crowdcube, initially offering 12.02% of equity, which would give it a pre-money valuation of £15m. It has since raised that equity offer to 17.06%. The new funding will allow the Roland Horne-led business to continue to scale across London and other UK locations, and online through its at-home bean and pod subscription service. WatchHouse plans to open five new London Houses alongside its first site outside of London, in Bath, and a flagship US debut in New York’s Fifth Avenue, scheduled for next year. In terms of the London openings, venues in Covent Garden, Marylebone, Notting Hill, Marble Arch and Fenchurch Street are in development. 

 

Kerb launches new London food market featuring eight street food traders in mentoring programme: Street food collective Kerb has launched its latest London food market, featuring eight street food traders undergoing a mentoring programme. Cowcross Yards Market, which opens for the first time today (Thursday, 29 September) is the first new venue to be opened by the operator in three years. Located a short distance from Farringdon and near Smithfield Market, Cowcross Yards will open every Thursday between 11:30am and 2:30pm. The traders are taking part in the “inKERBator” initiative, where they undergo a nine-week mentorship programme that includes three weeks of face-to-face workshops followed by six weeks of trading. Food entrepreneurs who have graduated from the programme in recent years have gone on to operate further pop-ups, brick-and-mortar venues and successful restaurant groups. The new line-up includes south east Asian-inspired Rice Bandits; Nepalese street food trader Filili; contemporary Colombian food from Los Gordos; takes on classic Spanish dishes from Tapas Bravas; Venezuelan cachapas concept Papelón; Filipino barbecue from Filigrillz; and fried chicken and wings from CraicBird. Celebrating its tenth birthday next month, Kerb runs two other weekly markets in the capital, as well its flagship indoor food hall, Seven Dials Market. It is also responsible for all food and drink at the National Theatre.

 

Jöro operators set to launch second grocery store-restaurant hybrid in Sheffield: Chef Luke French and wife and business partner, Stacey Sherwood-French, who operate Jöro in Sheffield, have lined up a second, larger site for their grocery store-restaurant hybrid concept, Shöp. The food and drink emporium, work and event space and food court is due to launch in spring 2023 following the transformation of the city’s 150-year-old Oughtibridge Paper Mill. It will be the duo’s second Shöp, having launched a much smaller version in the city’s Cutlery Works, in Neepsend Lane, in July. French and Sherwood-French, who also operate Asian robata-style concept Konjö and four-bedroom property House of Jöro within the city, said the new site will sell a selection of quality Yorkshire produce, natural wine, charcuterie, cheese and much more. By night, it will sell snacks and wine by the glass as well as hosting workshops and events such as meet the chef or producer. French said: “We are excited to be involved with the repurposing on this incredible site, and we cannot wait to open the doors of our new concept. We are passionate about the region and are proud to showcase a lot of food and drink from Sheffield, as well as the county of Yorkshire and further afield.”  Sherwood-French added: “Extending our group of hospitality businesses into retail feels like a natural step for us, particularly after we started selling products online during lockdown. Our customers are frequently asking us where we buy our produce and products from, and so it seemed like a logical move to grow our collection of businesses in this direction.”

 

Freehold of Covent Garden pub operated by Green King marketed with £9.75m price tag: The freehold of the Prince of Wales pub in London’s Covent Garden, which is operated by brewer and retailer Greene King, has been placed on the market with a price tag of £9.75m. The sale price represents a net initial yield of 3.11%. The Prince of Wales, which is in Drury Lane, is arranged over ground, basement and three upper floors, totalling circa 8,112 square feet. The entire property is let on a 30-year lease, expiring on 23 June 2034 at a current passing rent of £323,672 per annum, to Spirit Pub Company (Managed), and guaranteed by Spirit Intermediate Holdings, which forms part of Greene King. Paul Breen, director in the licensed leisure team at Savills, said: “This is an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire a trophy freehold public house in a prime Covent Garden location. London continues to be recognised as one of the worlds safe havens for property investors with demand for assets remaining incredibly strong, particularly for buildings which are let to strong covenants on long leases.”

 

St John confirms location and opening date for third London restaurant: St John, the restaurant concept from Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver, has confirmed the location and opening date for its third London restaurant. Propel reported in July that the duo were set to open St John Marylebone to add to its 1994 debut site in Smithfield, and St John Bread and Wine in Shoreditch, which opened in 2003. The location has now been confirmed as 98 Marylebone Lane, in Marylebone Village, with an opening date of Tuesday, 18 October. It will offer early morning coffee with bread and pastries from its Bermondsey bakery, followed by a daily-changing menu of nose-to-tail plates and a selection of French wine from the pair’s own vineyards. The menu, led by head chef Fintan Sharp in collaboration with Henderson and chef director Jonathan Woolway, will include dishes like bone marrow toast and parsley salad; and deep-fried Welsh rarebit. The restaurant will be split over two levels, with the upstairs reserved for walk-ins and the downstairs dining room open for reservations.

 

London coffee roaster opens second cafe site: Exmouth Coffee Roasters, the London artisan specialty coffee roaster and cafe concept, has opened a second cafe site. Called Camden Coffee Roastery and based at Camden Market Hawley Wharf, it offers all-day breakfast and brunch dishes, plus comprehensive vegetarian and vegan offerings, with a menu inspired by the company’s Grounded brunch site in Whitechapel Road. The interactive concept also features a ten-metre-long wall of coffee from around the world, a selection of brewing and serving kits and a line-up of coffee silos, where visitors can customise their own blends in a dedicated interactive bar, with a team on hand to offer blending advice. The 1,600 square-foot site has a double frontage, opening on to both Castlehaven Road and the Wharf’s central courtyard, and space for 30 covers inside and 30 outside. A spokesman for Camden Coffee Roastery said: “Our opening at Camden Market Hawley Wharf is an important next step for us as a concept as we expand across London and join a thriving destination with an already strong line up of operators. We are so much more than a café, and our new space allows us to fulfil our full, experiential potential via the new Camden Coffee Roastery concept.” Founded in east London in 2013, Exmouth Coffee Roasters operates a roastery and a handful of coffee shops across Clerkenwell’s Exmouth Market and Whitechapel. Colliers and CBRE represented Camden Market Hawley Wharf.

 

Gosnell’s opens UK’s first mead bar: London’s only meadery, Gosnells, has opened the UK’s first mead bar. The venue has launched under the railway arch at 72 Enid Street in Bermondsey and has capacity for more than 100 people. Founder Tom Gosnell said: “We are excited to be able to offer them such a wide range of flavours from 0% to 12% ABV of the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, mead. Our meads are based on just honey and water, fermented to show the brilliance of the honeybee and its flowers.” The bar serves eight meads on tap as well as bottles and cans.

 

Experienced London chef acquires award-winning North Yorkshire restaurant: Experienced London chef Jon Atashroo has acquired award-winning fine dining restaurant, Vennell’s, in Masham, North Yorkshire, for an undisclosed sum. Opened in 2005 by Jon and Laura Vennell, Vennell’s has featured in the Michelin Guide, AA and Good Food Guide for 14 consecutive years. The recently renovated restaurant is set in a large, grade II-listed Georgian property just off Masham’s town square and comprises a contemporary ground floor dining area, private dining room and living accommodation. Atashroo will be relocating from London with his wife, Arlette, to run the business. Christie & Co acted for the Vennells on the deal.

 

D&D London reveals opening date for Birmingham restaurant: Restaurant operator D&D London will open its new French restaurant in Birmingham next month. The company, which announced it would launch a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views at the 103 Colmore Row development in Birmingham at the start of 2020, will open Orelle at the rooftop site on Friday, 14 October. Located on the 24th floor of the city’s tallest office building, the 3,767 square-foot double-height restaurant venue will offer “panoramic views across the city and beyond”. From noon until 1am, a modern French menu will be served by a team led by executive chef, Chris Emery, who joins Orelle following positions at The Alice in Oxford and Jason Atherton’s Michelin-starred restaurants, Pollen Street Social in London and The Clocktower in New York. Alongside Emery’s menu is an extensive list of wine, spirits and more than 20 cocktails. On the ground floor, Orelle’s 38-cover cafe and 28-cover outdoor terrace will be open from 8am until 11pm, serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. In the evening, the space will evolve into a cocktail bar. D&D owns and operates more than 40 restaurants in major cities in the UK (London, Manchester, Leeds) and overseas (New York, Paris).