Masala Zone co-owner – City has lost its appetite for daytime dining: The number of people eating out at lunchtime, particularly in the City, has not recovered from the pandemic, but dinner has become more popular, according to a leading London restaurateur. Ranjit Mathrani, chairman and co-owner of MW Eat, which is behind nine Indian restaurants including the Masala Zone chain, told The Times: “Lunch covers [or the number of guests] as a whole are 70% and dinner covers are 10% up. Since, in our case, lunch covers are 30 %of total covers, the combined effect is for total covers to be about 11% less than pre-pandemic.” He said this applied particularly to the City and Canary Wharf, but not to the suburbs or rural areas. Mathrani has opened a new Masala Zone in Piccadilly Circus. It adds to outlets in Covent Garden, Soho, Earl’s Court, Bayswater and Camden. “I’ve been looking at the area for 15 years,” he said. “The [business] rates were absurd, then Brexit hit. It would have been unaffordable pre-pandemic.” The new branch is staffed by students from India and Mathrani believes rising labour costs mean the future of informal dining lies in larger-format restaurants. Mathrani, who is also behind the upmarket Amaya, Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy restaurants, describes the company’s style as “Indian decadent themes combined with modern design”. “India is a great resource to plunder,” he said. A restaurant outside London could be on the cards, but “not yet”. Chutney Mary, MW Eat’s first restaurant, was opened in 1990. Amaya was awarded a Michelin star within 12 months of opening in 2005, while Veeraswamy is believed to be the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant.

Sky News – Cinepolis executive Acuna screened for top Cineworld job: An executive at a major Mexican cinema operator has been identified as a potential candidate to take over at Cineworld as it prepares to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings. Sky News reported that Eduardo Acuna, who runs Cinepolis’s operations in the Americas, has been sounded out about taking over the British-based business. It was unclear whether Acuna was formally in the frame to take the job or how quickly Cineworld’s new owners – its syndicate of lenders ­– were seeking to make an appointment. News of Acuna’s potential candidacy comes days after Cineworld confirmed a Sky News report that it was filing to place its London-listed holding company into administration. A new chief executive will replace Mooky Greidinger, who helped to found the business but is expected to step down in the wake of its rebirth under a new holding company. Under the plans agreed with lenders, more than $4.5bn (£3.5bn) of debt is being wiped out, with $800m of new equity injected into the business and a further $1.46bn (£1.2bn) of debt raised to support the company. It has also announced the appointment of Eric Foss, a former Pepsi executive, as its new chairman.