Rescue deal on table for Vinoteca: A deal to rescue wine bar, shop and restaurant concept Vinoteca is being worked on after the business filed a court notice of its intention to appoint administrators, Propel understands. The five-strong, London-based company, which was launched by Elena Ares, Brett Woonton and Charlie Young in 2005, has filed a court notice of its intention to appoint administrators to secure breathing space from creditors and faces falling into full insolvency if it cannot restructure its debts within ten days. The business, which earlier this year closed its sole regional site in Birmingham’s Paradise development to focus on its London-based estate, is understood to have been adversely impacted by the rail and tube strikes, and rising costs. Propel understands the Gresham House Ventures-backed business has been working with advisors Interpath on its options, and that talks on securing new backing are ongoing with an unnamed party. The business opened its debut site in Farringdon in 2005. It currently also operates prominent sites in Borough Yards, the City (Bloomberg Arcade), Chiswick and King’s Cross. It had warned that it was facing “difficult trading conditions” when it closed its Birmingham site in May. At the time it said: “The challenges of a much-changed economic landscape over the past 12 months of rising costs, inflation, spiralling energy charges and regular train strikes have proved too great for a site that Vinoteca had hoped to continue to grow over the coming years.”
Premium subscribers to receive two databases this week including new UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database tomorrow:Propel Premium subscribers are to receive two databases this week, including the new
UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. It is the first time that profiles of 100 of the top food and beverage franchisees have been available in one place in the UK. The go-to database – which will be released tomorrow (Wednesday, 16 August) and features many of the big franchise operators running Costa Coffee, McDonald’s and Domino’s sites – brings together a wealth of information on an increasingly important part of the market, and the first edition will feature more than 32,000 words of content. The sixth major database exclusive to Premium subscribers, it will be sent out bi-monthly, including new entries and updates to existing entries. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around the company’s background, site numbers and board make-up. Premium subscribers will also receive the next
Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage on Friday (18 August). A total of 12 companies have been added to the database, which now features 726 companies. This month’s edition also includes 64 updated entries. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. 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
UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database. 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 are also being given exclusive access to the recording and slides to Propel Multi-Club Conferences. They 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.
‘Bob the Builder’ tycoon’s holiday parks tumble into administration: Fresh problems have emerged within the property empire of a billionaire bungalow tycoon dubbed “Bob the Builder” after two of his businesses filed for administration. Robert Bull, who was named among Britain’s wealthiest individuals earlier this summer, has called in administrators for his caravan parks in Kent and Portsmouth. Legal filings seen by The Telegraph reveal that Golden Leas Holiday Park and Hayling Island Holiday Park, both ultimately owned by Bull, filed separate notices to appoint advisers last week. Bull insisted it was “business as usual” within his company. The entrepreneur was thrust into the spotlight in May when he became a new entrant on the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of nearly £2bn. RoyaleLife, the company he co-founded, is Britain’s largest bungalow provider and Bull has built the business by turning caravan parks across the country into single-storey villages. However, his companies have been subject to repeated court actions over the past year in relation to debts. A winding-up petition was filed against Bull’s leisure estates business, Time Group Holdings, by City law firm DLA Piper in May. This followed an earlier winding-up petition against the same entity from HM Revenue & Customs at the end of last year. Bull said: “Like many companies we had a challenging time emerging from the pandemic and, as an entity, we became subject to winding up orders based on false claims and unfounded information. These have either been dismissed or are the subject of legal action. More than 200-plus legal entities comprise the Royale Group and these remain unaffected.”
Domino’s Pizza director steps down: Domino’s Pizza Group has announced Usman Nabi has stepped down as a director. The company stated: “Usman joined the board in November 2019 and since then has played in important role in supporting the transformation of the business. In particular, Usman played an instrumental role in the searches for a new chair in 2020 and, most recently, a new chief executive, culminating in the recent appointment of Andrew Rennie. Usman is founder and managing partner of Browning West, which continues to be a significant shareholder in Domino’s Pizza Group.” Nabi said: “I joined the board of Domino’s because I wanted to play a role in putting a world-class leadership team in place. With Matt Shattock as chair and our new chief executive Andrew Rennie in place, I now believe this has been achieved and so it is the right time for me to step down from the board. As a shareholder I look forward to continuing to engage with the company as it moves to the next level.”
