Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Wendy’s confirms next six openings in the UK: Wendy’s, the third-largest quick service restaurant chain in the US, is to continue its expansion across the UK after confirming a further six openings for this year. The brand, which made its return to the UK two years ago, will open new sites in Derby, Leeds, Peterborough, Guildford, Cambridge and Middlesbrough over the next few months, creating circa 240 jobs in the process. The business currently operates 30 sites in the UK, through a mixture of restaurants and delivery kitchens. Abigail Pringle, chief development officer for The Wendy's Company, said: “As we continue to expand across the country, we are excited to bring more Wendy’s to more people. We have an exciting pipeline of restaurant openings that will bring Brits fresh options where they work, live and play.” Wendy’s has so far approved six franchisees in the UK, who will take on territories including Scotland and Wales. Last month, Todd Penegor, chief executive of Wendy’s, said the brand’s UK business has been “growing like-for-like sales really nicely”.

Stonegate draws backlash over ‘dynamic’ beer pricing: A campaign group representing pubgoers has criticised the move by Stonegate, Britain’s largest pub company, to hike the price of pints during its busiest trading hours in some of its venues by 20p to offset high costs. Stonegate said it had introduced a “dynamic pricing” system on drinks in around 800 of its venues during evenings and weekends to help cover the cost of extra staffing, licensing requirements and additional security. The pub group, which has 4,000 managed, leased and tenanted pubs across the UK, previously introduced surge pricing in some of its venues during the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup tournaments, but it has now made the move permanent. Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale, called the move “troubling”, adding that it could undermine transparency on price for pubgoers if the message was not clearly displayed. “We know pubs and brewers are having a difficult time at the moment, but we don’t think an extra charge penalising customers that want to support the industry is the right solution,” Stainer told the Financial Times. “Our fear is that it could convince people to stay away.” Stonegate said the use of “dynamic pricing” also allowed it to offer deals to customers during less busy trading hours, including two-for-one cocktails and discounts on food and drink. Steven Alton, chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping, which represents the independent pub sector, said the move was “indicative of the reality of operating costs right now where pubs are trying to find any opportunity to deliver decent margins”.

Strikes called off at UK’s biggest sandwich maker: Strikes have been called off at UK’s biggest sandwich maker. Hundreds of workers at Greencore, which supplies retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Boots and Marks and Spencer, were due to walk out over pay this week. Its products can also be found in coffee shop chains such as Starbucks and Caffe Nero, and petrol station convenience stores. However, a “last-chance saloon” offer from Greencore encouraged the Unite union to suspend the industrial action. Some Greencore factory workers currently make £10.53 an hour, only slightly more than the £10.42 national minimum wage, reports The Daily Mail. Unite regional officer Andy Shaw said: “Greencore has finally come back to the negotiating table after the threat of strike action by our members. As a goodwill gesture, we have called off industrial action while we put this new offer to our members.” Greencore’s latest accounts show it banked profits of more than £15m last year and made 975 million sandwiches and other food-to-go products at its 16 factories. The firm said 52% of its sandwiches are sold as part of a meal deal.

Rick Stein defends £2 fee for condiments at Padstow chip shop: When you buy fish and chips from a celebrity chef’s restaurant you might expect to be on the hook for a hefty bill, but Rick Stein’s customers in Padstow have decried the rise in price of condiments to £2 a pot. The seafood chef, whose culinary empire is centred in the Cornish fishing village, has blamed “skyrocketing costs” for the increase in cost of mayonnaise, tartar sauce and mushy peas. Stein’s Fish and Chips in Padstow charges £1.75 for condiments if customers take away but adds 25p if they eat in, reports The Times. The condiments, which include gravy, mayonnaise, aioli, Goan curry sauce, mango chutney and raita, cost £1.25 in 2017. Stein said he had not put up the price since 2020 but inflationary pressures had forced him to pass on some of the costs. A takeaway cod and chips at the restaurant is £14.90 while sea bass and chips is £16.90. One visitor said on TripAdvisor: “Having had excellent takeaway from here last year, we decided to treat some visiting friends to fish and chips in the restaurant — we were so disappointed. On top of the £16 for cod and chips, you were expected to pay an additional £2 for condiments such as tartare sauce or mayo.” Another said: “When we paid the bill, we discovered that the tiny pot of mushy peas was £2 extra, as was the tartar sauce, as was the curry sauce. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will be returning!” A spokeswoman for Stein said: “Our homemade condiments using Rick Stein’s special recipes are prepared in Padstow by our team of chefs. Food inflation and energy costs, along with rising wages, have driven up the cost of production significantly. We have held our condiment prices since 2020, but with skyrocketing costs, we have reluctantly, along with many others, had to pass on some of the costs to our customers.” Stein’s Fish and Chips opened in 2004.

Gym chain looking at ex-Wilko sites, installing fewer treadmills as women swap cardio for weights: One of Britain’s largest gym chains has said it would consider taking on sites owned by collapsed discount retailer Wilko as it expands across the UK. The Gym Group, which runs 230 sites across the UK, opened two new gyms in the first half of the year, with plans for a further five by the end of 2023. At least ten more will follow next year. Founder John Treharne told The Telegraph: “We’ve been very successful over the last 16 years in terms of converting existing buildings. More recently, we’ve done a lot of retail park development. We will be looking very closely at any opportunity, and certainly Wilko will be part of the assessment.” Treharne added that the group is installing fewer treadmills as a growing number of women swap cardio for weightlifting. “A lot more women are interested in free weight training these days,” he said. “I think you’ve seen that sort of cultural change. There is definitely a shift away from the predominance of [cardiovascular] equipment. If you looked at one of our gyms ten years ago, we would have had 35 treadmills, a high proportion of cross trainers and so on. The treadmill is still the most popular machine in the gym, but we don’t have as many today as we would have done. But the free weights area will probably be three times the size, the functional training area will have been introduced.”

Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat sign TfL’s road safety charter: Delivery platforms Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have signed a charter with the Transport for London (TfL) authority which pledges to make the companies’ motorcycle couriers and other road users safer in the capital. Reuters reports that the voluntary charter comprises ten road safety principles such as legal requirements for riding and working in Britain, riding safely and realistic delivery schedules. TfL chief safety officer Lilli Matson said: “People are tragically losing their lives in avoidable motorcycle collisions, which all too often also injure or kill other road users. This is why we’re working closely with delivery, courier and servicing companies to address these sources of road danger and protect the lives of riders and everyone else on London’s streets.” Matson added that a surge in motorcycle deliveries cannot come at the expense of safety. In addition to the food delivery companies, the voluntary charter was also signed by groceries company Getir and delivery company Stuart.