Restaurant Brands International eyes UK launch for Firehouse Subs brand: Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the owner of Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, is eyeing a launch in the UK for its Firehouse Subs business. Propel understands officials from RBI have visited the UK recently to explore the opportunity of launching Firehouse Subs here, including talking to sector experts about the market and sounding out possible franchisees. The company has also recently trademarked the Firehouse Subs name for use in the UK. In November 2021, RBI entered into an agreement to acquire US brand Firehouse Subs for $1bn (£740m). Florida-based Firehouse Subs has circa 1,200 sites. The deal was the biggest restaurant transaction of that year and marked RBI’s first since it bought Popeyes in 2017 for $1.8bn. Talking at the time, RBI chief executive Jose Cil said: “Firehouse Subs is a special brand with a talented team, impressive culture and community focus that resonates with guests and closely aligns with our core values at RBI. We see tremendous potential to accelerate US and international growth at Firehouse Subs with RBI’s development expertise, global franchisee network and digital capabilities.” Canadian coffee concept Tim Hortons made its UK debut, in Glasgow, in the summer of 2017 and now operates circa 65 sites here. Popeyes made its UK debut in November 2021, in Stratford. It currently operates 17 sites here, and expects to open 20 restaurants in 2023. At the end of last year, the $3.5bn (£2.95bn) Buffalo Wild Wings chain denied it was planning to open in the UK after it registered its trademark here. The casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise currently operates circa 1,350 sites globally. Despite its denial on a UK launch, Propel understands the business did carry out some exploratory visits here last year. Firehouse Subs declined to comment.

 

One day to go before next edition of The New Openings Database release, to show details on 266 new sites, 12,700-word report included: The next edition of The New Openings Database will show the details of 266 newly announced site openings and upcoming launches for Premium subscribers when it is published tomorrow (Friday, 3 February), at midday, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis, and the next edition features growing restaurant and bar brands, niche cuisine, and expanding experiential concepts. Premium subscribers will also receive a 12,700-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to four other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; and the Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage, which was sent to Premium subscribers for the first time last week. 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 Friday Wrap interviews and 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.

 

BBPA – invest in pubs and breweries now or lose them forever: The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has told the government it risks losing pubs and breweries forever if it fails to invest in them now. Ahead of the spring Budget, the trade body has called on chancellor Jeremy Hunt to deliver a plan for sustainable growth in what is a “make or break” moment for the industry. This includes fair and modernised tax rates and a focus on skills and training. The BBPA wants to see no increase in the headline rate of beer duty this year and a significant increase in the discount for draught beer in pubs. It also wants a reformed business rates system that commits to saving community assets such as pubs, alongside the implementation of training, development and in-work incentives to help with recruitment. BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Our country’s pubs and brewers find themselves in an extreme position. The spring Budget is an opportunity for this government to show it understands just how much pubs and breweries mean to communities in every single part of the UK. It is an opportunity for the chancellor to invest in a sector that brings so much to so many and help reduce pressures piled on by inflation. If he fails to act, there is a genuine possibility that many of our beloved pubs and breweries simply won’t make it through another year and will be lost from communities forever.” Meanwhile, the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has written to the chancellor, calling for further support for its members ahead of the Budget. BII chief executive Steve Alton said: “Our nations pubs have been devastated by the huge inflationary rises across all areas of their businesses and in particular energy costs, which now represents the biggest single threat to their survival. They need and deserve support and investment, and without it we will see widespread business failure on a huge scale. We are calling on the chancellor to provide that support with a sector specific reduction in VAT and a long-term business rate reform through a reduction in the rates multiplier for our sector, recognising our unique social value in every community. We are also asking for government to deliver fair and reasonable energy costs for pubs and an ability to re-contract poor and unfair energy deals secured in 2022.”

 

McDonald’s court ruling turns up heat on corporate executives: A court decision involving David Fairhurst, the former “global chief people officer” at McDonald’s, who was fired following allegations of sexual misconduct in 2019, could become a cautionary tale for companies across the US. The Financial Times reported a judge in Delaware found shareholders could sue Fairhurst for allegedly failing to attempt to prevent pervasive sexual harassment at the company, which lost billions of dollars in market value after chief executive Steve Easterbrook was dismissed over a relationship with a subordinate in 2019. Fairhurst, whom investors accused of fostering a “party atmosphere” at the group, “had an obligation to make a good-faith effort” to gather information about misconduct and alert the board, wrote vice-chancellor Travis Laster. The former HR chief “could not consciously ignore red flags indicating the corporation was going to suffer harm”, Laster added. The 64-page decision signalled for the first time the Delaware courts would put operating executives, not just board members, in the crosshairs for failing to implement the “oversight” needed to stop wrongdoing. Fairhurst had been promoted to chief people officer in 2015 by Easterbrook. He was not, however, on the company’s board. Shareholders alleged Fairhurst breached his fiduciary duties by allowing a corporate culture to develop that condoned sexual harassment and misconduct. Recruiters were encouraged to hire “young, pretty females” to work at its headquarters, they said, where he and Easterbrook hosted weekly happy hours and developed reputations for flirting with female employees. Executives “routinely made female employees feel uncomfortable”, the investors alleged. After several colleagues allegedly reported Fairhurst for pulling a female employee on to his lap at a party for HR staff, shareholders claimed Easterbrook recommended the company deviate from its zero-tolerance policy for acts of sexual harassment by cutting Fairhurst’s bonus but allowing the HR boss to keep his job. The lawsuit described “massive red flags” along the way, including numerous accusations that McDonald’s tolerated harassment of employees at restaurants, including in employee complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. McDonald’s declined to comment, but in its filings to the Delaware court, the company noted its board was not aware of the “red flags”. Lawyers for Fairhurst did not respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Easterbrook, who is not a defendant in the case and has settled separately with McDonald’s, declined to comment.

 

Hospitality Rising hits 55,000 job applications and ten million TikTok impressions: Hospitality Rising, the world’s biggest sector recruitment initiative, has received 55,000 job applications at the same time as reaching almost ten million impressions on TikTok. Hospitality Rising’s inaugural campaign, “Rise Fast, Work Young”, was launched in October. Since then, the initiative has seen more than 4,000 applications each week for the 37,000 roles that have been posted to the jobs page to date. Since its inception just over a year ago, the initiative has gained the backing of more than 300 businesses as well as celebrity chefs and hospitality leaders. Mark McCulloch, founder of Hospitality Rising and campaign director, said: “We are blown away by the reach and success of this initial campaign push. Some 55,000 job applications and counting is an incredible achievement and the TikTok results show we are hitting the mark with our target audience. We’re launching a second wave of advertising and social media now and fully expect to see another surge in traffic as a result. We clearly couldn’t have achieved any of this without the support of our partners and we need to ensure we maintain momentum and build on these great results. To achieve that we need more even more businesses to join us and would urge any operators or suppliers not already involved, to grab the opportunity to come together to help tackle the workforce crisis that is threatening our brilliant industry.”

 

Operators need to take advantage of ‘easy win’ TikTok, ‘damp lifestyle’ a trend for 2023: Hospitality operators need to take advantage of the “easy win” that embracing TikTok would bring, Sophie Abrahamovitch, co-founder of nightlife app DUSK, has said. ”Because of the raw and relatively instant nature of Tiktok, users love to share their favourite spots and recommendations,” Abrahamovitch told Propel. “Venues are beginning to tap into that, and it’s something I keep banging the drum on, because the opportunity to grow and connect on TikTok is so much easier now than Instagram. You don’t need expensive equipment or a talented photographer taking pictures of beautiful people; it just needs to be authentic, short and quick. It’s a low cost, low risk exercise with a huge potential upside. Whereas Instagram can be a slog, as brands tend to overly curate everything and create their own perfect ‘world’, TikTok is all about what’s going on in the ‘real’ world. Just scanning around the venue to show it’s busy could be enough, and videos always perform better when they’re less than ten seconds long. It sounds scary and can seem like a huge undertaking, but it shouldn’t be, and there’s a huge opportunity for the industry to do better on social media.” Abrahamovitch said as well as premiumisation in what people drink, there has been a rise in premiumisation of occasion too, “with Generation Z going out less but investing more time and money when it comes to trying something different”. Another trend for 2023 is “damp lifestyles”, where people “aren’t abstaining from alcohol, but instead are making more conscious decisions about socialising, opting for mocktails or zero-alcohol beer instead”. When it comes to going out, not only are Thursdays the new Friday, Abrahamovitch said, but Tuesdays are “much busier than they were pre-covid”, and while the train strikes had an effect on festive sales, “a lot of the bars we work with still had amazing Christmases”. She added: “Average user spend in the pubs we work with is up 50% in the last six months.”

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a nationwide facilities management provider that is looking to recruit a head of food safety. The role is home based but will also require national travel to business units with a foodservice provision. A COREcruitment spokesman said: “The head of food safety will be the authority within the group across the UK and Europe. You will lead and drive ownership and compliance to the food safety management systems and processes and build excellent relationships across the larger business. This role will report to the UK & Europe Health and Safety Executive director, with a need to generate relationships with relevant people across the business units to support the improvement programme.” The salary is up to £80,000 per annum (depending on experience) plus package. For more information, email sheila@corecruitment.com

 

Bread Ahead set for significant international expansion with 40 sites planned in next three years: Independent bakery and baking school Bread Ahead is set for significant international expansion, with 40 sites set to open in the next three years, Propel has learned. The business, founded by Matthew Jones, made its international debut in June last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The opening is a joint venture with the Bugshan family and the expansion in the region is being led by Andy Skowronski, who has 30 years’ experience in the industry, including with Yum! Brands and Krispy Kreme. Bread Ahead’s second international outlet will shortly open at The Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and will be followed by launches in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi before the end of June. The Bugshan family has now signed a master franchise agreement that will also see Bread Ahead sites open in Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco. “We’re looking at 40 sites over the next 36 months so it’s exciting times for the business,” said Jones. “Eventually we’d like to go to the US and Asia, but that’s probably five years from now.” Bread Ahead is also set for growth in the UK as it adds to its five London venues with an opening in Bromley in mid-February. The 2,200 square-foot outlet at The Glades shopping centre will be the first UK site outside central London, and following that, Jones said expansion would focus on the Home Counties. “We’re looking at places such as Tunbridge Wells and Brighton,” he said. “With people working from home at least part of the week, we’re looking at those towns/cities that are about an hour from central London. We’re looking to open two a year in the UK.” However, Jones said the business is reporting buoyant trade in London and enjoyed a record December despite the rail strikes. “We’re seeing our best ever sales, but the trouble is we’ve got record costs as well,” he added. “Energy prices and food costs should come down and we’re seeing real appetite from people for what we do. The introduction of sourdough pizza a couple of years ago was a real game changer for us because it gave us a proper lunchtime offer. Borough Market is buzzing again with tourists and our Chelsea site is trading better than ever.” 

 

Vagabond lines up Gatwick airport opening: Imbiba-backed wine bar business Vagabond is set to open a site at Gatwick airport, Propel has learned. Vagabond, which last year opened a site at Heathrow airport, is thought to have secured a flagship site in the airport’s South Terminal for an opening later this year. Talking to Propel earlier this month, Vagabond founder Stephen Finch said the group’s Heathrow site has been a “game changer” for the business, and that it has a major new site in the works that will be “the equivalent of five typical Vagabonds”, which is understood will be the Gatwick opening. Finch said he is forecasting sales of £16m for the year ending 31 March 2023, an estimated 115% increase on 2022, driven primarily by its new site at Heathrow airport. He said: “Our London Heathrow site, launched in May 2022, is a game changer. It brings massive, high-quality turnover to the business (£6m-£7m per annum), increases our purchasing power, gives Vagabond a prominent presence in the prestigious and hard-to-get-into Terminal 5, and opens the door to an additional expansion route (global airports). On further adding to the group’s 11-strong estate, Finch said: “The major new site in the works will be the equivalent of five typical Vagabonds. We’re solely focused on getting this launched properly. It’s simply too important. After that, we’ll return to finding new sites.”

 

Daisy Green raises £1.3m of additional equity to support growth plans: Australian restaurant group Daisy Green Collection raised £1.3m in additional equity last year to support its growth plans, Propel has learned. The new funding came after the business reported turnover of £13,646,921 (2021: £4,041,656) and company Ebitda of £1,326,905 (2021: £546,098) in the year to 22 April 2022, a performance, the group’s directors “believe is in line with best in class comparable operators in the UK”. Pre-tax losses in the year narrowed from £872,688 in 2021 to £169,912. The 14-strong company opened no sites during the year but has launched three more in London since. In November 2021, the company closed its latest crowdfunding campaign after raising almost £2.7m. In October last year, it opened Paradise Green, its most “ambitious and largest project to date”, in London’s 100 Bishopsgate. The 10,000 square-foot space was designed to bring together “art, design and food on an epic scale in an art gallery-style restaurant”. It also opened Johnny Green on the former Gate site in Allitsen Road, St John’s Wood, and floating barge restaurant Peggy Jean, which is moored on the Thames at Richmond Bridge, last year. It said it intends to continue to expand in a similar manner over the coming years.

 

Champneys returns to profit as turnover exceeds pre-pandemic levels: Champneys, the spa resort business owned by Dorothy and Stephen Purdew, has reported turnover increased 312% to £56,554,245 for the year ending 30 April 2022 compared with £13,719,013 the previous year. Revenue also exceeded the £49,821,877 for the year ending 30 April 2019 – the last full year before the pandemic. The business made a pre-tax profit of £834,774 compared with a loss of £16,239,233 the year before (2019: profit of £2,531,864). The total number of guests during the period was 263,620 versus 52,122 the previous year, with revenue per guest increasing to £204 from £192. Royalty income was £813,301 versus £825,917 the year before. Champneys said capacity was not still exceeding 80% “to ensure the safety of customers and employees alike in these uncertain times”. During the period, the company completed a major refurbishment of Mottram Hall in Cheshire, having acquired the property in October 2018. The business received £236,722 in government grants (2021: £7,174,944). No dividend was paid (2021: nil). As previously reported, in July 2022, Champneys secured a £108m loan to refinance and consolidate its existing facilities.

 

Awesome Chips set to open five UK franchise sites by the end of 2023: Belgian frites concept Awesome Chips has said it expects to open five new franchised shops in the UK by the end of this year. The company, which launched its franchise model last month, was set up in 2015 and serves fresh hand cut chips, complimented with a range of sauces, rubs and spices. The business currently has company-owned sites in Leicester, Wood Green in London and the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham. Franchise director Anthony Round said: “We have seen double the anticipated enquires from potential franchisees in the first month after the franchise launch, with some great applications. We are very comfortable we will be able to open five new shops by the end of 2023.” The company, founded by Roni Dalal, said it is still inviting applications from “ambitious potential franchisees with drive and ambition and a background in management and business” as its looks to expand the brand across the UK and Europe. 

 

Montpeliers losses grow but company restructure allows repayment of all bank loans: Edinburgh pub and restaurant business Montpeliers saw its losses grow in the 18 months ending 25 April 2022 but said a company restructure has allowed for the repayment of all its bank loans. Its pre-tax losses grew from £1,432,058 in the 18 months to £2,414,788. This compares with a pre-tax profit of £119,294 in the year to 28 April 2019. Turnover in the 18-month period stood at £17,375,339 (2019: £15,762,183). It received £1,690,453 in government grants (year to 25 October 2020: £1,506,379). In its previous accounts, Montpeliers said it was exploring various strategies to de-risk the company following the “wake-up call” of covid. It gave an update in its latest accounts, saying a “return of capital” demerger separated the trading activities from the holding of its three freehold properties – Montpeliers Bruntsfield, Indigo Yard and Rabble. Two new companies were incorporated – EWP (Edinburgh) and Montpeliers (Edinburgh) Holdings – with the shareholdings held in the same proportions to Montpeliers Edinburgh (ME) prior to the restructure. EWP acquired the entire ordinary share capital of ME and purchased the three freehold properties in October 2021 for £5.5m, which were immediately leased back to ME on short-term leases. This was funded by a £3.5m loan to EWP from its shareholders and a £2m dividend from ME. The funds received by ME enabled all bank debt to be repaid, including the £1.5m Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme loan drawn down in February 2021. Director David Wither, in his statement accompanying the accounts, said: “The board is confident the company can cope with the headwinds it currently faces but is not in any way complacent about the impact on the business of the reduction in consumer disposable income and the higher cost base due to increases in labour, food, energy and many other critical overheads which are already eroding the profitability of the hospitality sector. The restructure has put ME in a stronger position than many of its competitors who remain burdened by higher borrowings from the covid support schemes.”

 

Chickpea Group adds Wiltshire pub with rooms to portfolio: Chickpea Group, which was founded in 2019 by siblings Ethan and Jordan Davids, along with their friend Tommy Tullis, has added a Wiltshire pub with rooms to its portfolio. The group has taken on the 19th century The Queen’s Head in Broad Chalke, which has a sheltered terrace area to the rear with space for 80 guests and a beer garden in a wild meadow over the road. A two-phase renovation will see the pub initially close for works that will involve opening up the bar and restaurant, before the four bedrooms, which are housed in an annexe building, are restyled in keeping with the group’s style. A food offering championing local and seasonal produce will include Cornish ray wing with monk’s beard and Herdwick lamb shoulder with borlotti beans and salsa verde. The Queen’s Head will be a fifth pub with rooms for the group, which also operates two sites under pizza concept Nole. Ethan also founded a wet-led vehicle, Great Boozers, with TV sandwich chef Max Halley in 2021, which secured a second site last year.

 

Chinese restaurant group opens at London’s The Hippodrome: Chinese restaurant group Four Seasons has opened a new site at London’s The Hippodrome. Chop Chop at The Hippodrome has opened on the ground floor of the Leicester Square venue, offering casual Cantonese dishes as well as late-night dining until 4am. A company spokesman said: “Four Seasons is renowned for serving some of the best Cantonese food in the country and the same care and attention has gone into the menu at The Hippodrome as its sister restaurants expanding around the world.” The menu features Four Seasons’ signature Hong Kong-style roast duck, marinated with a special mix of spices and herbs, while a mix-and-match mains menu, starting at £13, includes char sui barbecue pork, roast crispy pork belly, black pepper lobster with asparagus and a vegan braised aubergine. Chop Chop ice cream sticks are available in various flavours for dessert, while the drinks list includes wine, cider, Chinese beer and various teas.

 

Mitchells & Butlers to relaunch Covent Garden Browns after £2m investment: Mitchell & Butlers (M&B) is to mark the 50th anniversary of its Browns brand with the relaunch of its Covent Garden site, in London’s West End. The relaunch will feature a £2m refurbishment of the grade II-listed building in St Martins Lane, which once housed the old Westminster County Court building. Set to reopen on Tuesday, 4 April, the project is currently underway to completely renovate the interiors, highlighting the features of the historic building. The main dining room will be transformed, while the three private dining rooms, originally courtrooms and the judge’s chambers and study, will also have new looks. The site will also launch a new bespoke cocktail bar upstairs. Browns was the first hospitality venture established by Jeremy Mogford, who in 1973 invested £10,000 in the first Browns Restaurant and Bar in Brighton, East Sussex. He established a chain of seven restaurants, mostly in university towns such as Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford. Now, the group consists of 25 restaurants throughout the UK, with sites across London as well as Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Last year, M&B launched Browns into more suburban locations, and speaking to Propel last month, chief executive Phil Urban said that in terms of converting sites to new brands, his focus at the moment is on Browns. The company has so far converted two suburban sites in Beaconsfield and Ruislip to Browns. 

 

Apex Hotels narrows losses, preparing to refinance when final £10m CLBILS payment due next year: Apex Hotels narrowed its losses in the year ending 30 April 2022 but is preparing to refinance when its final Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) payment of £10m is due next year. The company, which operates ten luxury hotels in five UK cities, reduced its pre-tax losses from £16,435,000 in 2021 to £2,707,000. In the last full year before the pandemic, ending 30 April 2019, it made a pre-tax profit of £12,378,000. Turnover rose from £8,073,000 in 2021 to £47,293,000 but is still behind the last pre-pandemic figure of £75,470,000 in 2019. It received £167,000 in government grants (2021: £830,000) and £522,000 in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments (2021: 7,596,000), plus £62,000 in insurance payments (2021: £2,558,000). Net liabilities at the year-end were £6.7m (2021: £29.7m). The group said it ended the year with “strong trading dominated by domestic staycation guests”. It sold 277,053 rooms in 2022 (2021: 73,635) at an average room rate of £129.68 (2021: £87.44). Occupancy was 51.4% (2021: 13.8%), with revpar of £66.69 (2021: £11.96). The group said it will be required to refinance its Royal Bank of Scotland facilities in February 2024 when the final £10m CLBILS is due for repayment. An extension with the bank was agreed in December 2021, due to expire in December 2024. Its rolling credit facility of £4.35m was reviewed in January 2023 and is next due for renewal in April 2024, with £2.5m utilised in April 2022. Director Angela Vickers, in her report accompanying the accounts, said the group will continue to evaluate further expansion plans as opportunities arise. She added: “The group remains in a strong strategic position, with a wide geographical spread across key cities within the UK.” In September 2022, the group sold its three-star hotel, the Apex Haymarket, to “focus on the competitive advantage it has within the four-star market”. 

 

Greene King donates £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charity Switchboard: Brewer and retailer Greene King has donated £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charity Switchboard, raised through the sales of its limited-edition Progress Pale Ale in Greene King pubs. The company first launched the ale on a limited run in 2021 to celebrate Pride, with 20p of every pint and 10p of every bottle sold donated to the charity. Due to its success, a second run went on sale last summer and has resulted in a further donation. The funds raised will go towards supporting the ever-increasing caller volumes Switchboard is currently facing. Switchboard is run mostly by volunteers and provides a confidential and non-judgemental helpline 365 days a year for LGBTQ+ people looking for support and advice. The development and launch of Progress Pale Ale was driven by The Village Greene, Greene King’s LGBTQ+ employee-led inclusion group, which champions and supports lesbian, gay, bi and trans team members. Village Greene has helped it take positive steps such as encouraging team members to share pronouns on email signatures and providing internal resources to learn more about gender and sexual identity. 

 

Former Chancery head chef set to double up with new Clerkenwell wine bar: Yuma Hashemi, former head chef of London’s The Chancery, is set to launch his second solo venture this spring. Hashemi, who opened sharing plates concept The Drunken Butler at 20 Rosebery Avenue in 2017, is preparing to open Emmanuelle just over the road from the restaurant, at number 5a. “Most of you will know our treasured ‘Emmanuelle’ throne-like rattan chair, which sits pride of place in The Drunken Butler dining room, which was the inspiration for our new wine bar,” the team posted on Instagram. “I envisage Emmanuelle as a place for everyone to explore wine that I love. We will have an extensive list of bottles from small-scale producers from across the world and encourage conversation around wine – from new and old world wine, natural and biodynamic – and, of course, we will serve our famous negronis.”

 

Burleighs Gin owed £1.58m when it went into administration: Leicester gin distiller and retailer Burleighs was £1.58m in the red when it went in administration, new documents have revealed. Administrators at Begbies Traynor said they still hoped a new owner would step in and said “the company is not going to be liquidated”. It comes as a statement of affairs for Burleighs Gin suggested the total assets of the business available to its creditors – from machinery, furniture and less than £15,000 cash in the bank – stood at less than £20,000 on 5 December, when the business went into administration. Meanwhile the documents show the distiller owed almost £268,000 to the FSE Group for a loan issued on behalf of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and more than £852,000 to a company called Autarky Ventures, the previous name for Burleighs Holdings. Burleighs Gin owed a further £294,500 to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The administrators originally stepped in following a petition to wind up Burleighs from HMRC. The Burleighs website remains live but is not taking orders. The distillery was launched at Bawdon Lodge Farm, in Nanpantan, near Loughborough, in July 2014. In February 2021, it announced £250,000 of investment to scale-up its operations from the MEIF. The MEIF package was provided by The FSE Group and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. As well as helping it launch new products, the funding was also going to allow the company to build export sales in Europe and the Far East, and expand into the United States. In 2020, a crowdfunding campaign was heavily oversubscribed, bringing in £130,000 from 260 investors who gained a 5.25% stake in the business. The campaign valued the business at £2.3m.