Safestay reports sales outperform pre-pandemic levels as business sees strong demand from diversifying customer mix: London-headquartered hostel operator Safestay has reported revenue grew 44% to £10.5m for the six months ending 30 June 2023 compared with £7.3m the previous year and outperforming pre-pandemic levels (2019: £8.1m). Ebitda in the period rose to £2.6m, compared with £2.5m the year before “held back by a one-off payroll increase and abnormally high energy costs”. Occupancy was 68.5% (2022: 51%), which was still lower than historic levels pre-covid, but revenue per bed is £16.06 (2022: £11.77) compared with £15.47 in 2019. Safestay said it saw a strong summer with sales in July and August up 11% and 16% respectively on 2022 and forward bookings for the remainder of 2023 “significantly ahead of last year”. It said it was attracting a diverse mix of customers “as families and business travellers choose hostels for greater value accommodation”. The business said the focus was on driving organic growth across the business and it has established a new office in Warsaw to focus solely on attracting group bookings from colleges, schools and universities. It said the launch of new website in July 2023 was set to drive direct sales and it was continuing to seek earnings enhancing acquisitions. Chairman Larry Lipman said: “It was difficult to know if our strong performance in 2022 was due to a one-off bounce back from the pandemic or the return to normal trading. Based on our performance so far in 2023, it is clear we have returned to a healthy market with some key points of difference. Having been through the pandemic, we have re-emerged as a leaner, financially stronger business with an excellent portfolio of premium hostels in prime locations. Added to this, demand has been strong and pricing has improved by circa 20% since 2019 which has enabled us to generate new sales records. With occupancy still below 2019 and school and college groups still to come back to historic levels, there remains plenty of scope for further growth.”
Call for PM to introduce anti-terror Martyn’s Law ‘without delay’: The mother of a man killed in the 2017 Manchester attack has urged prime minister Rishi Sunak to introduce a law to ensure stronger protections against terrorism in public places “without further delay”. Known as Martyn’s Law, the legislation is named after Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. His mother Figen Murray has delivered a letter to Downing Street, asking Sunak to “make this legislation happen”, reports the BBC. The government has said it was being reviewed. Ministers published draft details of Martyn’s Law in May after years of campaigning by Murray. Her letter to the prime minister comes after the Home Affairs Select Committee warned in July that the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn’s Law, would put small businesses and organisations at risk of closure and fail to “make a significant impact” on preventing attacks. But Murray, who received an OBE for services to counter terrorism in June 2022, claims the committee reached a “dangerous and misguided” conclusion after scrutinising the draft legislation. “It is not meant to restrict us but empower us by making the general public more resilient to such attacks,” she added. In July, the Home Affairs Select Committee found the Bill, which has different standards based on venue capacity, would require a local village hall to have certain safety precautions while an outdoor market in a city centre would not. It said after looking at the draft it had “serious concerns” about the financial burden of requiring venues to have potentially costly safety measures in place. But Murray told Sunak: “Watering this Bill down by removing smaller venues, as some have suggested, would create dangerous loopholes that terrorists could exploit.” A government spokesperson said Downing Street was “carefully reviewing” the committee’s recommendations “to ensure the implementation of Martyn’s Law is properly understood and effective”.
Berry Bros & Rudd and Symington Family Estates partner to buy England’s oldest commercial vineyard for £22.3m: Berry Bros & Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, and Symington Family Estates, producer of some of the world’s most famous ports, have joined forces to buy Hambledon Vineyard in a £22.3m deal. They have launched a 180p-a-share offer through CVI UK, a newly incorporated company, reports The Times. The Hampshire village of Hambledon been home to England’s oldest commercial vineyard since it was established in 1952 by Major-General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones with help from the Pol Roger champagne house. It was acquired in 1999 by Ian Kellett, who restored its fortunes after it had shrunk to four acres. Today it has more than 200 acres of vineyards and a winery that produces award-winning sparkling wine. However, the capital investment needed to develop new vineyards and build new visitor centre facilities, along with the impact of covid, caused the business financial stress. This led to the search for a long-term capital partner for the company, albeit without success, and the consortium provided emergency financial support. According to the offer document, the price of 180p for the ordinary shares and non-voting B shares is lower than the levels at which previous equity has been raised, adding: “A robust negotiation with the offeror has been undertaken and, in the context of Hambledon’s current financial position, the offers are now the company’s only viable alternative.” Berry Bros, which was founded in 1698, holds two royal warrants. The Symington family, which traces its lineage to 1652 and the earliest days of port, also holds a royal warrant as supplier of Graham’s Port and owns Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s ports as well some of the Douro Valley’s top wine. Both members of the bidding consortium said they saw a “strategic opportunity” to diversify their existing family businesses through a long-term investment in English sparkling wine. As well as tapping into its growth potential and “taking the brand to the next level”, they said they regarded the acquisition of Hambledon Vineyard as “an important mitigation against the risk of climate change”.
AA reveals new rosettes and award winners: Two British restaurants have been awarded five AA Rosettes, while six have received four AA Rosettes. The new five AA Rosettes are Muse, London; and Steve Smith at Latymer, Surrey. The new four AA Rosettes are The Cellar, Fife; Where The Light Gets In, Manchester; Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, North Yorkshire; MO, Dormy House, Worcestershire; The Samling, Cumbria; and Ben Wilkinson at The Pass, West Sussex. There were a total of 28 new three AA Rosettes including: The Lantern Room, West Yorkshire; The Lanesborough Grill, London; 8 By Andrew Sheridan, Liverpool; The Bulls Head Inn, Derbyshire; The Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire; and The Ethicurean, Bristol. The Coaching Inn Group, part of RedCat Pub Company, was named group of the year, Paul Ainsworth took home the chefs’ chef award and The Pig Hotel Group scooped the sustainable accolade. Restaurant of the year awards went to The Old Stamp House Restaurant, Ambleside (England); Chutney Mary (London); The Jackdaw, Conwy (Wales); and Cail Bruich, Glasgow (Scotland). The hotel of the year winners were Forest Side, Grasmere (England); The Lanesborough (London); Penally Abbey Hotel, Penally (Wales); Fingal, Leith, Edinburgh (Scotland); and Killeavy Castle Estate, Killeavy (Northern Ireland). The restaurant with rooms winners were The New Inn, Hereford (England); Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, Eglwys Fach (Wales) and Cail Bruich, Edinburgh (Scotland). Simon Numphud, managing director at AA Media, said: “The last year has been tough on the hospitality industry as we’ve felt, like many others, the challenges facing businesses. Yet I’m so proud of the resilience, innovation and quality shown by the UK hospitality industry in response.”
