Latest UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database to feature more than 98,000 words, released today: The latest UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database will feature more than 98,000 words when it is sent to Premium subscribers today (Wednesday, 21 June), at midday. Among them is Boss Pizza, a pizza concept started as a lockdown project by Ajmal Mushtaq, chef-director at Mushtaqs restaurant in Hamilton, Scotland. Also featured is Paris Baguette, a South Korean multinational chain of bakery-cafés which plans to expand to 200 UK sites by 2036 through franchising. Pan-n-Ice, a rolled ice cream concept founded in 2015 when student Henry Milroy discovered it while travelling in Thailand, features too. The database, which is an exhaustive guide to the companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK, is updated every two months. Premium subscribers also receive access to four other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the New Openings Database; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; and the Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Several hospitality businesses among 200 employers named by government for failing to pay lowest paid staff minimum wage: Several hospitality businesses are among 200 employers named by the government for failing to pay their lowest paid staff the minimum wage. The businesses have since paid back what they owe to their staff and also faced financial penalties. The investigations by HMRC concluded between 2017 and 2019. The biggest sector offender was bingo club chain Buzz Group, which failed to pay £319,297.21 to 3,448 workers. Caterers BaxterStorey failed to pay £185,242.24 to 2,166 workers, while pub group Brunning & Price failed to pay £98,675.37 to 1,500 workers. John Bowden and Gary Bowden, trading as Dulhorn Farm Holiday Park in Weston-Super-Mare, failed to pay £37,880.77 to 13 workers, while The Lion Hotel in Criccieth failed to pay £20,322.27 to nine workers. Macdonald Hotels (Management) failed to pay £16,111.76 to 64 workers, while pub group Hall & Woodhouse failed to pay £14,354.5 to 23 workers, and Hickory’s (ROS), trading as Hickory’s Smokehouse, failed to pay £14,141.12 to 157 workers. BaxterStorey Scotland failed to pay £13,618.29 to 186 workers, while Oulton Hall Hotel Trading, which went into liquidation in 2020, failed to pay £13,326.97 to 66 workers. Park View Health Clubs in London failed to pay £12,191.87 to four workers, while The Park Hotel Ayrshire failed to pay £10,088.99 to 129 workers, and Lucknam Park Hotels in Colerne failed to pay £6,990.12 to 33 workers. Harbhajan Singh Walia, trading as Parkside International Hotel in Reading, failed to pay £5,936.40 to two workers, while Delta Forest Pines, trading as DoubleTree by Hilton Forest Pines Spa & Golf Resort in Brigg, failed to pay £5,471.81 to 17 workers. Tenpin (Scotland), trading as Pro Bowl Glenrothes, failed to pay £5,174.65 to one worker, while gym brand Virgin Active failed to pay £5,074.96 to 80 workers. Dr Tyrone Castles, trading as The Royal Hotel in Penrith, failed to pay £4,974.72 to nine workers, while Casual Dining Restaurants Group, which was dissolved in 2022, failed to pay £4,647.70 to 20 workers. Reading-based caterers Cater Link failed to pay £4,285.35 to 61 workers, while H.S. Walia, trading as Lawn & Parkside International Hotels, also in Reading, failed to pay £4,198.85 to one worker. Cotswolds pub group Few Inns failed to pay £3,756.10 to six workers, while Reahs Restaurant, trading as The Portmor in Blackwatertown, failed to pay £3,292 to eight workers. Landlet, which traded as Belgrave House Hotel and Comfort Hotel in Luton, which went into administration last year, failed to pay £3,224.06 to nine workers, while The Inveraray Inn, trading as The George Hotel in Inveraray, to pay £2,933.93 to 25 workers. Blackpool Pleasure Beach failed to pay £2,866.95 to 12 workers, while K&R Blue Bakery of Bognor Regis, which was dissolved in 2021, failed to pay £2,574.87 to four workers. O’Connor’s Bar and Restaurant in Omagh failed to pay £2,413.89 to one worker, while Curran Court Hotel in Larne failed to pay £2,003.07 to 63 workers, and Disha (Newcastle), trading as Subway in Newcastle, failed to pay £1,948.98 to two workers. Central Fitness in Accrington failed to pay £1,909.17 to one worker, while Makudur Rahman, trading as Ghandi Indian Restaurant in Exeter, failed to pay £1,896.70 to two workers and Zara Emma Mason, trading as The Lamb Inn in Salisbury, failed to pay £1,567.39 to three workers. Westbourne Leisure, trading as The Strawberry Bank Hotel in Coventry, failed to pay £1,513.44 to 31 workers, while Delta Ashford Op Co, trading as Ashford International Hotel in Ashford, failed to pay £1,435.91 to 12 workers, and pub group Whitbread failed to pay £1,118.37 to one worker. Vue Cinemas (UK) failed to pay £1,029.13 to eight workers, while Heritage Hotels Blackpool, which traded as Melville Hotel and went into liquidation last year, failed to pay £1,027.65 to two workers. Bar Lounge in Chester failed to pay £951.17 to 23 workers, while North Norfolk Hospitality, trading as The Cliftonville Hotel in Cromer, NR27, failed to pay £908.56 to three workers, and LDH Hotels, trading as The Tongue Hotel in Lairg, failed to pay £771.48 to 11 workers. Pizza & Co West Road in Newcastle which was dissolved in 2020, failed to pay £757.62 to one worker, while Delta Hampshire Court Op Co, trading as Hampshire Court Hotel in Basingstoke, failed to pay £737.96 to ten workers. Cafe group Benugo failed to pay £717.80 to 12 workers, while AMYU, trading as Golden Spice Kebab House in Derby, which was dissolved in 2020, failed to pay £710.20 to four workers. You Me Thai in Hastings, which was also dissolved in 2020, failed to pay £667.70 to two workers, while Ripon Spa Hotel failed to pay £654.85 to eight workers. Henry Gornall, Joesphine Gornall, Lisa Gornall and Richard Gornall, trading as The Hideaway at Windermere, failed to pay £620.75 to three workers, while Al-Haqq UK, trading as Heavenly Desserts in Northampton, failed to pay £594.62 to three workers. Shobuz Ali, trading as Khalisa Indian Restaurant in Liverpool, failed to pay £526.07 to two workers, while Edenmore Golf & Country Club in Magheralin failed to pay £506.52 to 11 workers. Minister for enterprise, markets and small business, Kevin Hollinrake, said: “Paying the legal minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working staff. Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences.”

Luxury hotel chain confirms September opening for London debut: The first-ever UK hotel by the luxury Peninsula chain, Peninsula London, will welcome its first guests on September 12, with rooms starting from £1,300. The Peninsula Hotels group has a portfolio of properties, from Hong Kong to Paris and from New York to Beverly Hills, reports The Daily Mail. Peninsula London is located in Hyde Park Corner, Belgravia, and offers 190 “understatedly luxurious guest rooms (from 549 to 635 square feet) and suites that “feature bespoke furnishings, textiles, and artworks that evoke the feel of chic private residences”. It will also offer a “diverse array of relaxation and well-being choices” later in the year in its spa, which boasts “a dramatically lit 25m indoor swimming pool”. A rooftop restaurant, Brooklands, will offers modern British cuisine from Michelin-starred chef director Claude Bosi, while Canton Blue and its adjacent bar, Little Blue, will offer “innovative Chinese cuisine, cocktails and teas”. The Lobby will serve “traditional Peninsula Afternoon Tea and globally inspired fare”, and there will be a more casual offering, including fresh-made salads, sandwiches, and sweets, throughout the day at The Peninsula Boutique and Cafe. The £1,300 opening room offer includes daily breakfast for two, use of a house car and complimentary airport pick-up.