Next Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage to feature record 142 updated entries and 57 new companies, released tomorrow: The next Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage will feature a record 142 updated entries and 57 new companies when it is released to Premium subscribers tomorrow (Friday, 19 January), at midday. This month’s edition includes 838 companies and more than 227,000 words of content. 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 members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the New Openings Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. Propel is evolving its Premium subscription offer by launching Premium Club on Thursday, 1 February. All circa 4,000 existing subscribers automatically become members. The launch of Premium Club comes with even more benefits. All subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to four Propel paid-for events – The Excellence in Pub Retailing Conference (14 May), Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators will also be able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Propel Premium subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. 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. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

XP Factory doubles revenue for second year in row as it experiences ‘strong’ Christmas period: XP Factory, which operates the Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands, has reported it has doubled its revenue for a second year in a row. Group turnover of circa £44.5m for the year ending 31 December 2023 was 95% ahead of last year (2022: £22.8m). Like-for-like sales at Boom were up 29% and 17% at Escape Hunt. The company said record corporate sales at Christmas drove strong like-for-like sales in December 2023 with Boom Battle Bar up 50% and Escape Hunt up 20%. The group said Boom’s “continuing maturity profile”, combined with strong operating leverage in the second half of 2023, delivered site level Ebitda margins in line with management’s expectations (mature target of 20%-25%). Meanwhile, Escape Hunt site level Ebitda margins continue to exceed 40%. Former Boom franchise sites in Liverpool, Glasgow and Watford were all acquired in the fourth quarter of 2023 while owner-operated sites opened in Dubai, Canterbury and Southend in the second half of 2023, taking the owner operated estate to 19 sites. A new Escape Hunt owner-operated site opened in Woking in the second half of 2023, bringing the owner operated estate to 24 sites. The company stated: “The performance is a culmination of the significant operational and strategic progress made throughout the year, which has focused on implementing learnings from the rapid roll-out of sites in 2022 in Boom, and further optimisation of performance in Escape Hunt. Total sales within the owner operated estate in Escape Hunt are expected to exceed £13m, an increase of well over 30% on 2022. With the benefits of operating leverage, site level Ebitda margins are once again expected to exceed 40%, well above the internal benchmarks set for the business. The Escape Hunt international franchise business is expected to show a modest decline in revenue given the estate has reduced in size. Sales from the Boom owner-operated estate exceeded £27.5m, a near three-fold increase on 2022 (2022: £9.5m). The maturing nature of the young sites, combined with significant operational focus, saw performance improve month on month, culminating in an extraordinary Christmas period. Franchise revenue for the 12-month period is expected to be broadly flat year on year (2022: £2.8m), reflecting underlying growth offset by the smaller estate as sites have been bought back. Overall performance is expected to be in line with market expectations for the 12 months to 31 December 2023, and provides confidence of achieving market expectations for the 15 month financial year to 31 March 2024.” Richard Harpham, chief executive of XP Factory, said: “Group turnover in the second half of the year surpassed that of the entirety of 2022, showcasing the substantial growth and transformative step change in scale achieved. Our offerings continue to resonate well with a broad spectrum of customers, whose support and loyalty, combined with the trading momentum we are carrying, positions the business favourably and underpins our confidence in meeting market expectations for our 15 month financial period to 31 March 2024.”

Brits double spending on bowling during festive season: Brits doubled their spending on bowling in December compared with the same month a year ago, according to Lloyds Bank. “Bowling had something of a resurgence last year, with our data showing a massive increase in spending at alleys compared to December 2022, as family get-togethers and Christmas parties got under way,” Gabby Collins, payments director at Lloyds, told The Times. Bars and pubs attracted 14% more spending than the year before, while the rise in spending in restaurants was 7%. Outlay on gyms and fitness classes rose by 12% in December. In terms of essential spending, filling up on petrol slowed while charging electric vehicles was up by 47% year-on-year. Commuting attracted 15% more spending than the previous year, but energy only 4% more. “Despite essential costs remaining higher overall, it’s encouraging to see people spending money on activities that can be enjoyed with family and friends,” Collins said.

C&C Group reports ‘resilient’ trading over Christmas: C&C Group, owners of the Tennent’s, Magners and Bulmers Ireland brands, and Matthew Clark and Bibendum Wine, has said trading over the key Christmas period was “resilient” despite some adverse weather in Britain. The company stated: “In the ten-month period to December 2023 the group’s branded net revenue is up 6% with distribution net revenue down 3%. Full year underlying operating profit for FY2024 is expected to be in line with current market expectations. Service levels were industry leading in the GB distribution business over the Christmas trading period reflecting the group’s commitment to deliver market leading customer service through Britain’s preeminent distribution platform. While current market conditions remain challenging, mitigating inflationary impacts, improved operating efficiency, business simplification, and gaining customers continue to be the group’s operating priorities in the medium term. An update will be provided as part of our full-year results announcement later this year. With increasing confidence in the medium-term outlook for the business and its strong cash generation capabilities, the board reaffirms its intention to distribute up to €150m to shareholders over the next three fiscal years while maintaining the group’s leverage target of 1.5 times to 2.0 times.”