Rail strikes ‘will tip more hospitality businesses over the edge’: The hospitality industry has warned of an estimated £350m hit from the latest train strikes, lifting the cost to businesses to more than £4bn since the action began. The Times reports The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said it was “deeply concerned” about the “significant repercussions” that industrial action organised this week by Aslef, the train drivers’ union, would have on the night-time business economy. It said that the industrial action would “exacerbate the challenges already faced due to the current economic situation”, tipping even more hospitality businesses over the edge and into administration. According to NTIA figures, there was a 22% in hospitality businesses filing for administration last year compared with 2022, and a 91% increase on 2021. An analysis conducted by Shakespeare Martineau, the law firm, suggests that the hospitality industry accounted for 12% of last year’s administrations. Last year a total of 1,641 businesses filed for administration, with 190 of those coming from the hospitality industry. The NTIA said: “These figures highlight the true extent of the impact caused by cost inflation and industrial action on businesses within the hospitality sector.” Michael Kill, its chief executive, said: “Our industry is on the brink of collapse, with billions of lost revenue, increased taxes and the devastating closure of numerous businesses. This has not only impacted livelihoods but has also led to a decline in the vibrancy of cities and towns nationwide.” Sarah Willingham, chief executive of Nightcap, the operator of bars including Dirty Martini and The Cocktail Club, said: “I genuinely can’t believe that these train strikes have been going on this long, not just impacting the hospitality sector but good, hard-working businesses, small businesses and the high street. The government must intervene. It is time.”
Premium Club members to receive next New Openings Database today: Premium Club members will receive the next The New Openings Database today (Friday, 2 February), at midday. The database features a number of launches by quick service restaurant operators including
Burger Boi, which has new sites in Birmingham, Dudley and Shoreditch, while Lemon Pepper Holdings, which is rolling out the
Wingstop brand in the UK, will open its largest site yet, at Westfield Stratford City in London. Meanwhile,
Chipotle has opened further outlets in the capital, in Putney and East Dulwich. The database will show the details of 95 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club members will also receive a 4,800-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium members also receive access to five other databases: 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
Who’s Who of UK Food & Beverage. Propel has evolved its Premium subscription offer by launching Premium Club. All circa 4,000 existing subscribers automatically became members. 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 Club 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 Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier.
Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.
Everyman Media investor raises bid speculation: Everyman Media, the cinema chain, was at the centre of bid speculation after the owners of the River Island fashion business lifted their stake to 28.3%, not far short of the 30% level at which an automatic bid would be triggered. The Times reports that the Lewis family’s Blue Coast Capital vehicle bought 250,000 shares at 60p a share earlier this week, then yesterday it bought a further 3.75 million shares at 56p, bringing the total outlay over the two days to £2.25m. Michael Rosehill, a non-executive director of Everyman, is an adviser to the Lewis family. A chartered accountant, he is also a director of Blue Coast and as such has an indirect interest in its Everyman holding. The cinema chain’s website says that owing to his Blue Coast links he is not considered an independent director. The Everyman board includes Adam Kaye, who co-founded restaurant brands including ASK and Zizzi, as well as Charles Dorfman, who runs his own television and film production company, Buckland Productions. Dorfman’s father Lloyd, the founder of the Travelex foreign exchange, is a former director of Everyman. A source familiar with the situation played down the possibility of a bid, but said the shares – down more than a quarter over the past 12 months – were “simply the wrong price” and that as a result board members were buying them in the market. The shares added 5p, or 8.2%, to close at 66p.
