Flight Club operator reports strong trading in 2023 with full-year revenue expected to exceed £68m: Red Engine, the team behind Flight Club and Electric Shuffle, has said it has seen “strong trading” across its venues in 2023 and expects group revenue to exceed £68m this year. The business, which is due to open new venues in Scotland this autumn – Glasgow in October, followed by Edinburgh – said there are “exciting years ahead” but “need to balance our short-term growth plans with market sentiment”. Looking ahead to 2024, the Red Engine team has confirmed openings for Electric Shuffle in both New York and Manchester, with a number of additional sites yet to be announced. It comes as the group reported record turnover of £53,810,544 for the year ending 25 December 2022 compared with £24,639,200 the previous year. Gross profit was up to £32,894,637 from £14,656,619 the year before. The group stated: “In 2022, the portfolio of venues traded beyond expectations, especially considering the persistent train strikes. Flight Club Cheltenham opened to great success in March, with the new venues coming thick and fast in autumn; Flight Club Cardiff in October 2022 saw a record opening weekend, swiftly followed by Electric Shuffle Leeds, and finally the second Electric Shuffle USA in Austin, Texas. These new venues traded well for the festive period and the team reported double-digit yearly growth for existing venues.” In the US, Flight Club franchise partner State of Play Hospitality “had a successful year of openings” with Flight Club Houston and Las Vegas and, as reported by Propel, Red Engine made a minority stake investment in the business. Chief financial officer Ross Shepley-Smith said: “Our strong 2022 performance gave incredible confidence in our business model and brands. That said, with the macroeconomic picture looking uncertain going into 2023, we needed to balance our short-term growth plans with market sentiment, while staying true to our business goals. We have signed new leases, continued to innovate on the experiences we offer, invested in our teams and created the right foundations for future success. We’re confident that 2023 and 2024 will be very exciting years for the business.”  

 

Panel session looking at the state of the investment market to be held at final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2023, three free places per company for operators: A panel session looking at the state of the investment market will be held at the final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2023. The conference takes place on Thursday, 16 November at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London’s Kensington, and is open for bookings. The all-day conference will focus on “progress in an era of strong headwinds”. Emma Bernardez, head of hospitality at haysmacintyre, will talk to David Roberts, corporate partner at CMS McKenna; Chris Miller, chief executive of White Rabbit; Thomas Boszko, partner at Alchemy Partners; Lizzie Ryan-Podbury, partner at Imbiba; and Steve Crosswell, relationship director at Cynergy Bank; about the current investment market, where the buyer activity is centred and current investment criteria in a volatile market. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Operators can book up to three free places per company by emailing kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

 

Premium subscribers to receive updated Database of Multi-Site Companies and conference videos today: The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, will be sent to Premium subscribers today (Friday, 29 September), at midday. It will include 55 new multi-site companies operating a total of 621 sites, taking the number of companies featured to 2,982. The database is updated monthly and provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different. Premium subscribers will also receive access today to all the videos from this month’s Propel Multi-Club Conference and summer party. They will be sent 12 videos at 9am. Premium subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the New Openings Database; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database; 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.

Britain loses 30% of nightclubs since covid as consumers’ late-night habits evolve: Covid and changing consumer habits have led to a sharp drop in Britain's nightclubs as consumers’ habits diversify and shift towards a broader range of outlet types and periods of the day, according to new research. CGA and AlixPartner's latest Hospitality Market Monitor reveals a 30.0% net decline in nightclubs between the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and June 2023. This is more than double the 13.0% drop in all licensed premises over the same period. Ten years ago, Britain had nearly 1,700 nightclubs, but in June the total was barely half that at 873. The sharp decline reflects the impact of long periods of covid-related closures of nightclubs, which were among the last venues to emerge from trading restrictions. It also follows longer-term changes in people's habits that have diversified the late-night market and increased the popularity of competitive socialising venues and other experience-led and immersive concepts. Despite the significant losses among nightclubs, the market has seen a growing diversity of alternative “high-tempo” experiences, and bar numbers have fallen by only 3.1% since March 2020 – a fraction of the 30.0% drop in nightclubs. There’s also increased interest in experiential experiences within hospitality, as research from CGA’s REACH Global Survey shows half of global consumers plan to visit venues that offer an exciting experience, with street food/pop-up markets and food and drink festivals also showing popularity with more than half of consumers (57%). Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “The late-night market isn’t disappearing, it’s just changing.” Graeme Smith, AlixPartners’ managing director, added: “We’ve seen a recent explosion of experiential bar and restaurant concepts across the industry, and with bars and other venues also now staying open later into the early hours, consumers have a wide array of experiences and options to choose from.”

 

UKHospitality calls for ‘agent of change’ principle to be made legal obligation for developers: UKHospitality is calling for a legal strengthening of the “agent of change” principle, to make it mandatory for developers to mitigate any noise issues from existing hospitality businesses. In its response to government proposals to make it easier to change the use of hotels and other accommodation buildings to residential premises, UKHospitality has highlighted that current requirements for developers building close to hospitality businesses lack teeth. This can result in tensions between residents in new developments and pre-existing venues. The trade body also supports proposals that hotel businesses converted into residential properties cannot be used for short-term letting purposes. Before any conversion to residential properties, there must be assessments made to determine that the loss of such businesses do not lead to significant negative impacts on the local economy, it said. Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “It is entirely reasonable for the government to explore new ways of increasing the nation’s housing stock but this simply must not come at the expense of viable hospitality businesses or in a way that increases tensions between local businesses and residents. The ‘agent of change’ principle is absolutely crucial in this regard and we wholeheartedly support its intentions.”

Report calls for greater support for pubs with tax rebates and by reintroducing dedicated minister: Government must give pubs at the hearts of their communities greater support with tax rebates to safeguard vital social lifelines, a new report from think-tank Localis has urged. In its “Inn-Valuable: unlocking the socio-economic potential of our nation’s pubs” report, Localis also argued for a minister for pubs role be reinstated to join up help for the country’s pubs sector – which cumulatively supports 936,000 jobs, generates £28bn in GVA to the economy and delivers £15bn in tax revenues annually. According to polling undertaken by YouGov for the report, 75% of people felt the impact of pubs to community life to be positive. When asked if pubs are important in bringing people together, more than four-in-five (81%) agreed they are. Meanwhile, 68% felt pubs help combat loneliness in their local area. The report also makes the case for business rates rebates for those pubs that take on socially valuable roles such as food banks or in providing warm spaces for vulnerable people, with a call for a “modest” £4m cash pot to help 1,000 pubs to diversify. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “With closures continuing to rise and pubs under threat from further duty and business rates cost hikes, we hope the government will consider the proposals put forward by this report so the foundations can be laid to help pubs continue to do this brilliant work in their communities long into the future.” 

 

NTIA – ‘destructive’ transport policies threatening London’s economy and tourism: “Destructive” transport policies are threatening London’s economy, livelihoods and tourism, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has warned. At the centre of these policies is the impending abolition of the day travel card in January 2024, accompanied by the introduction of a tariff for using the Blackwall Tunnel and heightened parking fine charges. These changes coincide with the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone. NTIA chief executive Michael Kill said: “These decisions, while ostensibly aimed at promoting eco-friendly measures, which cannot be understated, appear to place an undue burden on ordinary citizens, particularly at a time when many are grappling with a cost-of-living crisis. The impact on thousands of commuters, tourists, and night workers cannot be ignored. Moreover, the secrecy surrounding the removal of the day travel card is alarming, as it leaves many commuters unaware of the impending cost increases.”

Just Eat calls on government to drive down cost of sustainable packaging for restaurants: Just Eat has called on the government to help drive down the cost of sustainable packaging for restaurants as new research showed almost three quarters (73%) of Brits believe the single-use plastic ban should be extended to include takeaway boxes. The findings, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Just Eat, showed tackling plastic waste tops the list of the public’s environmental concerns – above water quality, extreme weather and air pollution. It comes as a ban on the supply of a wide range of single-use plastic items, including plates, trays, bowls and cutlery, comes into force in England on Sunday (1 October). While plastic waste continues to be a concern for Brits, the research points to a decline in people willing to pay a premium for more eco-friendly packaging, when compared with polling initially conducted by YouGov in April 2019 – 33% compared with 50% previously. Just Eat wants to see government action to support the sustainable packaging sector, “essential to making these items more widely available and driving down costs for businesses and consumers”. The campaign is part of Just Eat’s wider mission to raise awareness of the barriers facing restaurants when it comes to implementing sustainable packaging, and its mission to reduce plastic waste in the takeaway sector. Just Eat’s aim is to offer sustainable packaging for all cuisine types, and the business is continuing to test new plastic-free solutions as well as reusable options. 

 

Wood – New World Trading Co out to ‘balance portfolio’ with more southern openings, eyes runway to 60 sites for The Botanist: Amber Wood, the new chief operating officer at New World Trading Co, has said the business is out to “balance its portfolio” with more southern openings, as it eyes a runway to 60 sites for its The Botanist brand. Wood, who helped triple the size of Loungers’ Cosy Club estate before taking on her new role, was speaking barely a fortnight after joining New World Trading Co, which currently operates 25 The Botanist sites, two each of its the Florist and Club House concepts, and five more under single-site brands. “We have a strong pipeline of four to seven openings next year, primarily The Botanist sites, which is our strongest brand,” Wood told Casual Dining 2023. “We’re going to open in Brighton and Bournemouth and then go back up north. We want to balance the portfolio and get more in the south. We can see The Botanist getting to 60 sites, but we’re not looking to grow our other concepts yet. We need to identify what those concepts are more strongly, and we’ll be looking next year at how we differentiate The Florist from The Botanist – the Florist is probably a younger demographic. But before we get into an aggressive roll out we need to work on our operations – we’re in phase two of our consumer roll out and making progress on things like an extended menu, plant-based and healthier foods.” Wood said the business is also looking to “leverage” its entertainment offer, saying live music is “embedded in its offer but hasn’t been leveraged”. She added: “The Botanist started life 11 years ago as a reimagined local pub that morphed into a high street bar or restaurant. As the estate has stretched it’s been hard to pinpoint, but our future vision is for it to be a bar and restaurant equally – we have exciting plans for the bar side. We’re not going to go fast-casual, but premiumisation is also a dangerous word. The premium end of the high street is where we want to put ourselves, but accessible and with a real price point.” Wood added the business had started the year strongly but that the latest quarter had been “so-so”.

Lake – I expect there to be further consolidation, exploring overseas territories and new formats: Jon Lake, managing director of fast-growing quick service restaurant concept Chopstix, said he expects further consolidation in the QSR category, and that entering new overseas territories over the next couple of years is a key focus for the business. Speaking at Lunch! 2023, Lake said: “We have a long way to go to 500 sites, but we have identified franchise partners that can help us get a way down that roadmap. We love being alongside the big established QSR operators such as KFC and McDonald’s because we provide a point of difference. I do think there will be more consolidation, and we can play a part, but for us, it will be site-driven and not to grow another brand. We are very attractive to franchisees, many of which are well-capitalised and looking for new brands to scale. We keep it simple and we are relentless on capex, with a cost of around £250,000 per unit, which is well below the industry average. Simplicity leads to scalability, which is key if and when we move into new territories such as Europe. If you’re crossing a border, it has to be simple. If we want to match our ambition of being the largest Asian QSR brand on the continent, we have to prove ourselves overseas, in more than one territory. We are having conversations about taking that next step.” Lake, who said the business was on track to report systemwide sales of close to £100m in its current year, said the company was also continuing to look at new formats, whether that be drive-thrus, a smaller express concept or opening in supermarkets, as part of its evolution. He said the business was self-funded and at present didn’t need any external capital, but added that’s “not to say we won’t take it on in the future”.

Caravan co-founder excited at expansion outside London, looking at what next stage of investment might look like: Laura Harper-Hinton, co-founder of Caravan, has said she is excited at the restaurant, bar and coffee-roasting concept’s expansion outside of London, and is looking at what the next stage of investment might look like. “We’re about to do something outside of London for the first time, which is really big for us as a business,” Harper-Hinton told Casual Dining 2023. “It’s going to be in a fantastic city rich in music and sport history that doesn’t begin with ‘L’. We’ve chosen a city that reminds us of Wellington back in New Zealand. It’s a growing part of the city, which is riskier than going into a more established place, but we’re excited to be part of its growth. I’m really excited at the prospect of getting outside London, but not on a massive roll out or to scale up.” For all that, Harper-Hinton insisted Caravan is not done in London yet, and it’s next opening, in a fortnight’s time, will be in Covent Garden. “We want to do more in London too, but perhaps more in neighbourhood locations,” she said. “We have three formats we can play around with and we’re looking to do more brew bars. Covent Garden will be our biggest site yet – we try to do something different with each site, and this one will have a vintage music hall. It’s exciting to be able to grow again and it feels like optimism is back in the mix. We’ve done some really good deals with landlords and got cash in the bank, as well as having minority stakeholder private equity backers. We’re in the process of working out what we do further down the line for the next phase as we definitely want to grow.” Harper-Hinton said having a “nimble” menu meant Caravan could put prices up in a “very careful and strategic way” and enabled it to be “flexible in the way we protect our margins”. She said its Canary Wharf site has been an acute example of changing footfall trends, with people “more inclined to drink than come out for breakfast or lunch”, while its City site is “flying but doing so in peaks and troughs more so than ever”. She added: “People are also eating out earlier and we haven’t worked out why yet. We’ve only seen it in the last few months, along with a softening of alcohol consumption in the evenings, which I’d say are trends but not significant.” Caravan is also set to launch a retail range in Waitrose in the coming weeks, but Harper-Hinton said it won’t be out to mass market in retail and will be careful about who it partners with.

 

Burger & Sauce aiming to open up to 15 sites in 2024 as it confirms six new outlets this year: Burger franchise concept Burger & Sauce is aiming to open up to 15 sites in 2024 as it confirmed six new launches this year. The business, set up during the pandemic and officially launched as a franchise last year, will now open in Perry Barr, Shirley, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Telford. Anthony Round, franchise director, Burger & Sauce, said: “We had an amazing response to Burger & Sauce’s franchise launch. We now have 13 restaurants successfully trading; the four new franchisees who have joined us this year are all already looking for additional sites and we have 35 licences signed since the launch. But we are still hungry to grow! Our goal is to open ten-15 new restaurants next year.” To aid its growth plans, Burger & Sauce has launched a fixed term incentive offer to franchisees opening restaurants up to the end of 2024. Instead of a percentage of net turnover due for management services fees each week, Burger & Sauce has created a one-time offer that fixes the management service fee for the entire length of the franchise agreement. Burger & Sauce features in the Propel UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, an exhaustive guide to the companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK that is available exclusively to Premium subscribers. The database is updated every two months. 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. 

Rekom UK country director – we can't have a one-size-fits-all strategy: Russell Quelch, country director – UK at Rekom, has told Propel the business can’t have a one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to evolving and growing its estate. Quelch said the 45-strong business ­– which operates the Pryzm, Heidi’s Bier Bar and Proud Mary brands – has restructured into three divisions. He said: “We’ve got digital, we’ve got brands and we’ve got our operations. Developing our own brands both within our venues and outside is a key part of our strategy. Our digital platform Night Pay – our guest loyalty app that will be introduced by the end of this year – is a key to objective. It will initially operate with just our staff, then go into venues for guests. This change led to Nicola Romeo’s appointment as the commercial director, focusing on our digital and brand strategy in the UK. We also recognise the late-night and bar operations are two differing operations. We’ve got three people overseeing the different strands of the business now. Alex O’Reilly oversees the bigger nightclubs, where we need flexibility because we’re seeing the market change. We’ve got Tony Gorbert, who oversees the late-night business that includes the nightclubs with a smaller capacity. Then we’ve Brett Collier, who oversees the bars. We want a very clear definition on how they each operate, in line with other multiple operators in the sector. Then we ensure we get the balance right within the clusters.” In terms of further expansion, Quelch, who said the company had seen consistent trading over the summer, said the group’s focus was on the growth of Heidi’s and Proud Mary and a cluster approach in the major cities. He said: “That doesn’t mean we won’t invest elsewhere. We’ve recently refurbished and invested in two clubs, within our Cardiff and Swansea clusters. Pryzm Cardiff recently reopened as Circuit, and we need management to be able to make those localised decisions. How we manage Circuit is going to be very different to how we manage Proud Mary and Heidi’s and they’re within ten-minute walk apart, hence we can’t have a one size fits all strategy. We are looking at how we redevelop our existing estate to fit the long-term strategy with a focus on developing flexibility within our existing estate, utilising the space for either one of our existing concepts or alternative use.”

Stonegate reopens flagship Slug & Lettuce site: Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub group, has reopened its flagship Slug & Lettuce site, in Manchester’s Deansgate, after a £680,000 renovation. The business said the site was the first under the circa 80-strong chain to “experience a redesign aligned with the evolved brand vision”. The company said: “All elements of the new scheme have been designed to signal the evolution of the brand as the place to make and share memories with friends, family, and colleagues. The iconic site’s redesign follows the launch in June of all-new menus with cocktails and small plates at the core, perfect to share with friends or indulge on your own.” It also features a supersized selfie phone photo booth perfect to capture group memories. Kate Wilton, operations director at Slug & Lettuce said: “We’re delighted that Deansgate has been chosen as the first Slug & Lettuce venue to experience a redesign aligned with the evolved brand vision. This brand innovation will allow us to elevate our services even further, ensuring an advanced guest experience.”

Urban – all parts of business performing well, late night still the weakest: Phil Urban, chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the Harvester, All Bar One and Toby Carvery operator, has told Propel that all parts of the business are “performing well” but that “late night was still the weakest”. Urban was talking after M&B reported year-to-date like-for-like sales up 10.5% on pre-covid levels, with growth driven by spend-per-head. Like-for-like sales were up 9.7% in its fourth quarter compared with last year. “reflecting an increasing outperformance of the market”. In terms of Christmas bookings, Urban said they have been “encouraging so far, but we have been quicker out of the blocks, so it may just be that”. Urban said the group’s Ego and Browns estates have the potential to “grow comfortably to over 50 sites”. Propel revealed in April that M&B had agreed to acquire the remaining 60% stake in Ego Restaurants, having entered a joint venture with Ego’s parent company, 3Sixty Restaurants, in August 2018. The Ego business currently operates 26 sites and 26 Browns sites. Urban said: “Ego has potential to grow comfortably to over 50 sites, as does Browns. However, both teams are currently relatively small, so we will go at a sensible pace next year, with between three to five conversions in each.”

Welcome Break ‘performing well’ in 2023 as it reports record turnover of £944m: Welcome Break, the Applegreen-owned operator of 34 motorway service areas, four trunk road service areas and 29 hotels in the UK, has said the business is performing well in 2023 as it reported record turnover. The company – which opened a new trunk road service area in Newark, Nottinghamshire, in March 2023 – saw turnover increase 25.2% to £944,119,000 for the year ending 31 December 2022 compared with £754,086,000 the previous year. Pre-tax profit was down to £26,688,000 from £31,520,000 the year before due to “unprecedented” cost increases. Capital expenditure in the year was £27.2m, which included the remodelling of a number of retail stores and significant refurbishments to the hotels and customer toilets in the amenity buildings. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “Outside of the peak holiday periods, motorway traffic continues to be below pre pandemic levels due to continued homeworking. The very high inflationary environment was a cause for concern during the year with both cost of goods and energy prices seeing unprecedented increases. The business was able to partially offset these costs with increases to selling prices but had also to consider how high price inflation may impact customers and consequently a negative effect on transaction volumes. It appears that the right balance has been struck between the recovery of costs and consumer sentiment. During the final quarter of the year, the business experienced a significant rise in electricity costs as the previous deal came to an end. The directors are comfortable with the risk moving forward in terms of volatile energy costs with prices having been agreed with suppliers out to March 2024. The business delivered a performance that was slightly ahead of what was a challenging 2022 budget arid is performing well in 2023.” The business did not receive any government grants (2021: £3,771,000). A dividend of £60m was paid (2021: £30m).

 

Tortilla launches ‘dinner for a tenner’ menu across UK: Tortilla, the UK’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, has launched a “dinner for a tenner” Sunsets evening menu across the UK. Customers can enjoy a full evening meal after 5pm, including freshly prepared burritos, tacos, naked burritos or salads, complete with a side of choice. Tortilla Sunsets also includes a £2.50 “happy hour” offer, available from 5-8pm daily (or all day Thursday-Saturday in Scotland) for Tortilla Club loyalty members when they eat in.

 

Bannatyne Group ‘turns the corner’ after covid as it returns to profit: Health club company Bannatyne Group, led by Duncan Bannatyne, has “turned the corner” following the covid-19 pandemic after returning to a pre-tax profit. The company operates 70 health clubs and four hotels across the UK and employs more than 2,000 staff. For the year ended 31 December 2022, turnover jumped from £75.5m to £127m, while Ebitda more than doubled from £14.8m to £29.6m. Profits also recovered, with the business reporting a pre-tax profit of £1m compared with a loss of £12.9m the year before. Bannatyne said: “The business has turned the corner following the difficult covid period. Membership grew by 10.7% in this financial period. It currently stands at 210,000 with a sector leading retention rate of more than 95%. We are also on track to pay off all our covid loans next year. The performance is especially impressive as over recent years, the company experienced high impact increases in minimum wage, energy, and interest rates, adding £11m to our planned costs. The hard work of our leadership team puts the business in a positive position for further growth in the years ahead.”

 

Former Hero Brands franchise director sets up consultancy: Former Hero Brands franchise director Nil Naik has sets up his own franchise consultancy, Franchise With Us. Naik said he will continue to work alongside Hero Brands, where he has spent the last nine months as franchise director, having previously held the same role at Doner Shack and Chaiiwala. He also previously worked in franchising for Domino’s UK & Ireland, Papa John’s International and Coffee Republic. “After years of resisting approaches, playing it safe and, on reflection, probably guilty of not backing myself enough, I have made the decision to work independently in a franchise agency capacity and only work alongside a select number of growing brand owners to assist, advise and influence growth plans both locally and in international markets,” he said. “I will only represent brands that I genuinely believe in, and will not agree to every single enquiry received. I won’t duplicate any type of offering that I am already representing, to not have any cannibalisation.” Naik revealed his first client as being London “fine-dining” Indian restaurant concept Noir, which is set to open its second site, in Manchester, in the coming weeks. “Noir’s first restaurant in London has already massively exceeded all expectations and is already gaining momentum, popularity and attention,” Naik added. “Its second location will certainly raise a lot more eyebrows, with its 350-cover restaurant serving sensational, fine-dining Indian cuisine, with the addition of separate high-end Shisha lounges to complement the offering.”

 

BaxterStorey secures £40m Birmingham City University catering contract renewal: Contract catering company BaxterStorey has secured a nine-year contract renewal to deliver on-campus catering at Birmingham City University (BCU). The deal, worth £40m over the nine years, will have a focus on sustainability and the reduction of food waste, with measures such as using surplus fruits and vegetables in salads and smoothies. BaxterStorey has held the contract with BCU since 2015, and as part of the extension has invested significantly in revamping the hospitality space of BCU’s Curzon building. The new culinary destination includes Rahina's Food Fusion, which offers a weekly-changing menu inspired by the flavours of Indian and Pakistani cuisine. A new theatre bar called The Assembly will also deliver an ever-changing menu, including Korean BBQ bao buns with spicy kimchi and Wildfarmed Pizzas. It will also include a “student saver” space, offering comfort food and grab-and-go items at a price accessible to all. Peter Kent, regional managing director of BaxterStorey, said: “Our revamped offering will introduce game-changers to create a new era of dining experience at BCU. Our goal is to promote sustainability and community engagement while ensuring everyone enjoys delicious and healthy meals.”

Brighton operator Redroaster awarded B-Corp status: Brighton restaurant and coffee operator Redroaster has become B-Corp certified. The business, which is led by former ex-Mitchells & Butlers executive Mike Palmer, operates two Redroaster sites in Brighton, plus Lucky Beach, the award-winning cafe on Brighton beach, which has been recognised as one of the country’s most sustainable restaurants, and Lucky Khao, a Northern Thai BBQ restaurant. Palmer said: “Becoming B Corp certified wasn’t a walk in the park. However, joining a movement of like-minded businesses that care about the planet and people as much as we do, drives us in our continued effort to use our business as a force for good. Sustainable and ethical practices are at the core of everything Redroaster does.”

Honey & Co opens fourth site: Middle Eastern restaurant concept Honey & Co has opened its fourth site, in London’s Fitzrovia. Propel revealed in July that husband-and-wife duo Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich had applied to open a restaurant on the ex-Co-op site at 19-21 Store Street, under the name Honey & Co Daily. The new deli, bakery and café has now opened, joining the duo’s Honey & Co Bloomsbury, Honey & Smoke Grill House and Honey & Spice Food Store sites. It is divided into two sections, with a dedicated deli-takeaway area at the entrance offering coffees, pastries, cakes and lunches to go, and a casual 40-seater café dining room serving a more substantial eat-in menu from 9am-5pm. Srulovich said: “We’ve been testing out the bakery and deli side for the past few weeks, and the harissa tuna sandwich and Bloomsbury buns are gaining a cult following over here. Now we’re ready to introduce the dining-in option and we’re open all day from breakfast – we want it to be a home away from home for everyone.” The dine-in menu features Honey & Co favourites such as shakshuka with challah, boureka pastries filled with aubergine or spinach and herbs, and seasonal Middle Eastern inspired salads like bursa figs with goat’s cheese, mint and thyme honey. There are also hot sandwiches, soups and daily dishes that will change with the seasons. The couple will also be hosting supper clubs on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as special holiday celebrations.

 

Pretzel brand Auntie Anne’s opens fourth London location and 40th overall: Pretzel brand Auntie Anne’s has opened its fourth London location and 40th overall in the UK. It has opened at 59 Kingsland High Street in Dalston, joining its other London sites in Brent Cross, Ealing Broadway and Hammersmith. Auntie Anne's is an American franchised chain of pretzel shops founded by Anne F Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988 – which started as a market stand in Pennsylvania. The chain has more than 1,800 locations, including more than 600 in around 25 countries overseas, and arrived in the UK in 2003.

 

Afrikana opens second site under Lil’ Afrikana concept and 13th overall: African restaurant concept Afrikana has opened the second site under its Lil’ Afrikana concept and 13th overall. It has followed the launch of its first Lil’ Afrikana in Aldridge, Walsall, with a second at 57 Great Horton Street in Bradford. It will share the site with bubble tea concept Mowchi, which opened its first franchise site and third overall at the location in July. Mowchi founder Syeda Kayanath is Afrikana’s brand and marketing director. Afrikana has also applied for planning permission to open at 40 Moor Street in Earslden, Coventry, and 430 Sauciehall Street in Glasgow – its first Scottish site. Propel revealed in April that Afrikana is targeting 20 sites by the end of 2023, with openings in Hounslow, Ilford, Leeds, Sheffield, Southampton, Hayes, Edinburgh and Wolverhampton also in the pipeline.

 

North east smashed burger concept launches third site, plans international debut: North east smashed burger concept Craft Burger has launched its third site, in Sunderland, and is planning its international debut. The business has followed its locations in Middlesbrough and South Shields by opening in Grangetown, Sunderland, offering smashed burgers, grilled sizzlers, loaded fries, freakshakes and more. The 50-cover site is set over two floors and offers takeaway and delivery as well as eat-in. Co-owners Arafat Rashid and Riszwan Rehman are now planning to take the concept overseas for their fourth site, in the Middle East. “Craft Burger originally started in Middlesbrough last year when Riszwan set up the first branch in Linthorpe Road with his brothers,” Rashid told the Sunderland Echo. “They are big foodies with a passion for food and he was really well known in the area already for his charity work. They hit the ground running and Craft Burger really took off.” Rashid came on board earlier this year when they opened the South Shields branch in Ocean Road. He added: “What sets us apart is that we use 100% Angus beef in our burgers, and people love them. There's definitely a gap in the market in this area for this kind of food and the value we offer.”