The Vurger Co to cease trading: The co-founders of vegan fast-food concept The Vurger Co have decided to close its three restaurants “for the last time”. Rachel Hugh and Neil Potts, who founded the business in 2016, operated sites in Brighton, Manchester and Shoreditch. Last year, they acquired the business via a pre-pack administration process for £80,000, which saw its Canary Wharf close. Hugh said: “Building this business for the last eight years has been a real privilege. When we began, we didn’t have a playbook, we had no competitor to copy, no other small vegan burger restaurant business to ask about crowdfunding, no one to ask about how to scale a vegan restaurant business – and everything in between. Throw a global pandemic into the mix and we’ve basically lived 50% of the eight years in total turmoil. The amount of adversity we have had to overcome year on year is unfathomable. Until March 2020, we were flying! From 2016, we were among the brands helping to generate early momentum in this space. There was a lot of attention on what we were doing, and there were a lot of very happy customers. We had opened two restaurants in less than a year, and were scheduled to open our third, in Brighton, in March 2020, but the universe had other plans in the form of a global pandemic. Like every other hospitality brand, we muddled through the pandemic as best we could. We prioritised our staff and their well-being and we battled through infuriating government policy. The last couple of years have seen seemingly endless domestic and international crises in the world, which have all created a perfect storm for hospitality and retail businesses in this country – soaring costs due to international and domestic inflationary factors, plunging sales due to customers’ spending power being dramatically reduced, and the complete absence of investor confidence in the sector all of a sudden. Restaurants operate on the finest of margins at the best of times, but the last four years have been disastrous for everybody, and so very simply, it feels like a financial impossibility for businesses of our size to survive without some level of external support right now. However, the government has shown repeatedly that it is completely incapable of understanding what the industry needs, and the ways in which all operators are suffering right now.” 

 

AlixPartners MD Graeme Smith to speak at first Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2024, open for bookings: Graeme Smith, managing director at AlixPartners, will be among the speakers at the first Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2024. More than 350 people have booked for the conference, which takes place on Thursday, 21 March, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London’s Kensington, and is open for bookings. Smith maps out the current investment landscape in the sector, the main buyers, sellers’ expectations and what the rest of the year may bring. Operators can book up to three free places per company while Premium Club members who are operators can book up to four free places. To book, email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

 

Quick service restaurants among 14 new businesses joining updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies being released tomorrow: Quick service restaurant businesses are among the 14 new multi-site companies being added to the next edition of the Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released to Premium Club members tomorrow (Friday, 23 February), at midday. The additions to the database, produced in association with Virgate, include Burger Drop, founded in 2020 by Hasan Hamid and Amer Qayyum, which is aiming to open five new sites this year, and Freshly Baked, the UK master franchisee for US pretzel brand Auntie Anne’s. Premium Club 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 Hospitality. Plus, all Premium Club members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to five 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 them 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 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.

 

Purple Story to host exclusive webinar for Propel subscribers to help them empower their teams to mitigate the national minimum wage increase in five easy steps: Entrepreneurial performance consultancy Purple Story is to host a webinar exclusively for Propel subscribers to help them empower their teams to mitigate the national minimum wage increase in five easy steps. Led by Purple Story chief executive and founder Karen Turton, the webinar will allow viewers to discover battle-tested strategies from an ex-operator and industry leader that can be actioned today, ensuring your team stays ahead of the curve. Turton will help you understand the tangible return on investment of implementing Purple Story’s “simple and smart” five-step approach to mitigate the impact of the minimum wage increase. She will reveal how to empower your team to mastermind their own action plan, and be accountable for it and show you how by challenging your team to manage the solution, your time will be free to lead and inspire. To view a preview of the webinar, click here. The webinar will be sent to subscribers at 9am on Tuesday (27 February). Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to register.

Cost pressures sees confidence fall among sector business leaders: Confidence among the leaders of Britain’s top hospitality businesses has dropped as they face severe cost pressures, the latest edition of the Business Confidence Survey reveals. The CGA by NIQ poll shows 41% feel confident about the hospitality market over the next 12 months, down eight percentage points from 49% in October. The proportion of leaders who feel optimistic about prospects for their own business in the next year has also fallen, from 62% in October to 57%. This brings to an end four successive quarters of growth in confidence. Furthermore, 9% of leaders believe their business is at risk of failure in 2024, four percentage points more than in October, while one in ten said their company currently has no cash reserves to draw on. Nearly all leaders surveyed said they are concerned by national living wage increases (99%), food and drink cost inflation (98%), business rates (95%), interest rates (84%) and VAT (84%).

  

Firms plan to push through inflation-busting price rises: Most British companies are planning to increase their prices this year by 6% or more, according to a poll of business intentions that raises questions about the Bank of England’s hopes of returning inflation lastingly to 2% any time soon. The Times reported a survey of 1,500 businesses found them increasingly optimistic about consumer spending and therefore confident of being able to lift their own prices by far more than the overall inflation target. The study by Boston Consulting Group found that 30% of businesses planned to lift their prices by 6% to 10% this year. Another 15% expected to raise them by between 11% and 25%, while 6% of firms were planning price increases of 26% to 50% in 2024. Only 15% of those polled planned to freeze prices while a mere 1% were looking to reduce prices. The Boston polling points to an acceleration of price rises: 66% of companies said that they had raised their prices last year, but 77% said they planned to do so this year in order to rebuild margins or to pass on rising labour costs. While 39% of companies pushed up prices by 6% or more last year, the proportion hoping to do so this year was 52%. Raoul Ruparel, Boston’s UK chief economist, said he was “personally surprised by the number of people planning to do big price increases”. The study also revealed that business leaders, while planning big price increases for their own companies, were more confident about inflation being tamed more generally. Ruparel said he expected many firms to engage in “price exploration”, testing how far their customers would stomach increases before cutting orders or buying elsewhere.

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a luxury hotel in Surrey that is seeking a director of rooms. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “You will have previous experience working in luxury hotels as a director of rooms. Your duties will include managing the front office team along with housekeeping and guest services, supporting the hotel manager, leading by example and delivering the best guest experience, maximising operational results, helping with the strategy of a five-star service, and more.” The salary is up to £65,000 and the position is based in Surrey. For more information, email ed@corecruitment.com.

 

Stack owner posts sales of £11.34m in year of restructure: North east operator Danieli Group, which is behind the expanding Stack leisure concept, posted sales of £11.34m in a year that saw it restructure ahead of a national roll-out for the format. Danieli Holdings toasted record revenue of £37m for its 2022 financial year, as its shipping container destination venue Stack and other leisure sites – including The Muddler restaurants, Yolo Town House Newcastle and Yolo Ponteland – enjoyed a post-pandemic bounce-back following the end of covid lockdowns. Since then, the company has undergone a number of changes, including the closure of the original Stack Newcastle to make way for the new HM Revenue & Customs office development and the sale of its door supervision business, Phoenix Security. A restructure in 2022 brought most of the businesses, which includes Home Care Plus and specialised security and facilities services, Phoenix FMS, under a new firm, Danieli Group. Stack – the fast-growing leisure hub side of the business – now comes under the umbrella of The Hold Group, led by Neill Winch, and following the year end, the business secured a significant investment package from Kings Park Capital to help ramp its plans for a national rollout. The investment will see Stack sites take shape in towns and cities across the UK including in Middlesbrough, Lincoln, Bishop Auckland, Durham, Whitley Bay, Carlisle, Manchester, Lincoln and Sheffield – and Winch told Propel last month that the UK’s “just bursting with potential for what we do” with the drinking, dining and entertainment concept. Now published accounts for the year ended 30 April 2023 for Danieli Group show turnover of £9,816,797 and a pre-tax loss of £3,019,943, but Winch said the firm’s first set of accounts don’t accurately reflect the new trading operation, having been affected by the events in the period of 2022 to 2023. Winch said: “Danieli Group was created in September 2022, which means that turnover attributable to group companies for the period 1 May 2022 to 12 September 2022 (£11,731,141) is not shown in the published financial accounts. While on the surface the accounts may show very different figures from the previous years, in fact they do not represent like-for-like trade among group companies, and in fact, our turnover remains the same, around £11.4m. The group had an Ebitda of £4.1m for the year, which the directors believe is a significant achievement for a business undergoing such major changes. The restructuring of the business is in anticipation of the exciting and ambitious plans to expand Stack.”

 

Public House Group appoints FD as it gears up to reopen the Hero at Maida: Public House Group, the umbrella company from the team behind The Pelican in London’s Notting Hill, has appointed Thomas McMahon, formerly of sports bar operator Rileys, as its new finance director as it gears up to reopen the Hero of Maida pub, Propel has learned. McMahon spent almost four years as finance director at Rileys. He was previously a finance manager at Weight Partners Capital. Public House Group, which is led by James Gummer and Phil Winser and counts French entrepreneur Olivier Van Themsche as a fellow director, currently operates The Pelican in Notting Hill, The Bull in the Oxfordshire village of Charlbury and The Coach in Clerkenwell. Last August, Propel revealed The Coach and the Hero of Maida, which is based in Maida Vale between Warwick Avenue and Little Venice, had been acquired by a private investor in a deal believed to be valued at circa £9m. Both were previously owned by Harcourt Inns. The Coach is currently trading and Propel understands that Public House Group is planning to reopen the Hero at Maida this spring. A number of the freeholds of the former Harcourt Inns sites were placed on the market through Savills in autumn 2022, including the Three Cranes in the City and The Crown in Chiswick.

 

Chipotle plans Kensington opening: US brand Chipotle is planning to further increase its presence in central London with an opening in Kensington. Propel understands that Chipotle is set to take on the former HSBC bank site in Gloucester Road for an opening later this year. Earlier this week, Propel revealed that the brand had lined up an opening on the former Le Pain Quotidien site in Tottenham Court Road, which closed last year. Chipotle currently operates 19 sites in the UK – 17 in London plus one each in Watford and Guildford. Speaking last month, Jacob Sumner, director of European operations at Chipotle, said: “Given the rising popularity of Chipotle across London, our expansion in the larger area remains a top priority for our international strategy.” Louie Gazdar, of DCL, and Matt Fordham, of CBRE, acted on the Gloucester Road deal. Chipotle features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which has grown to 875 companies and is available exclusively to Premium Club members. Its turnover of £17,910,338 for the year ending 31 December 2022 is the 442nd highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. 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. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

 

Immersive venue based on TV’s The Cube set to open in Canary Wharf: The Cube, the immersive live experience and competitive socialising concept based on the ITV show, is to open a site in London’s Canary Wharf later this year. It will be the second The Cube attraction in the UK following the opening of the original Manchester site in 2022, which has already hosted 150,000 players. Created by The Mellors Group in partnership with Objective Media Group, The Cube at Canary Wharf will feature 21 four-metre by four-metre glass cubes spread across four floors and 23,000 square-foot of flagship space. Based at Wood Wharf, it will neighbour Dishoom, Third Space and Mallow. Contestants will face seven single and multi-player games in the cubes “designed to test their physical and mental agility”. The Cube’s food and beverage offer will comprise The Butcher, the award-winning burger bar concept from Amsterdam; and the UK’s first Toni Loco Pizzeria, which will feature authentic 20-inch Italian American pizzas. There will also be six mixologist-led bars serving an expansive list of classic, signature and non-alcoholic cocktails, premium spirits, wine and beer. The venue will also host live DJ sessions. The Mellors Group is a fourth-generation entertainment business which has “ambitious plans for growth”. Edward Mellors, director of operations at Mellors Group, said: “We’re excited to bring our high-quality, upmarket competitive socialising concept to London. We believe competitive socialising to be much more than a trend; it’s the future of socialising full stop. That’s why we’ve been prepared to invest so significantly in creating a venue that will stand apart from competitors.” Stuart Fyfe, managing director of retail, leisure and hospitality at Canary Wharf Group, added: “This innovative competitive socialising experience will be a fantastic addition to the incredible range of dining, retail and entertainment already on offer here.”

 

North east McDonald’s franchisee sees profit drop due to ‘difficult economic conditions’: North east McDonald’s franchisee A Khan Restaurants said its profit dropped in the year to 31 August 2023 due to “difficult economic conditions”. The three-strong business saw its pre-tax profit fall from £1,007,199 in the 18 months to 31 August 2022 to £287,847 in 2023, while Ebitda was down from £2,556,962 to £992,505. Turnover stood at £12,983,049 versus £16,840,218 in the previous 18 months, which on a pro-rata comparison was a 16% increase. Dividends of £394,000 were paid (2022: £41,000). Government grants of £629,900 were received compared with £919,417 in 2022. “Difficult economic conditions have resulted in inflationary rises in food, packaging, energy and labour costs, all of which has led to a decrease in both gross margin and Ebitda,” director Ahmed Khan said. “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the other challenges in the hospitality sector, the company reported an increase in turnover of 16%, a profit after tax of £180,579 and has a healthy net asset position at the year-end of £752,041.” In March 2022, as previously reported, the company refinanced its loans with HSBC, which are repayable in monthly instalments until September 2024, with interest charged at 1.6% above the base rate. 

 

Daylesford Stays appoints Paul Boyce as operations director: Daylesford Stays, the pubs-with-rooms business owned by Carole Bamford, founder of lifestyle organic brand Daylesford, has appointed Paul Boyce as its new operations director. Boyce spent eight and a half years as operations director of Cirrus Inns until it was acquired by Liberation Group at the end of 2022. Prior to that, he spent two years as food and beverage director at DeVere Hotels. He also spent more than three years as commercial operations director at Searcy’s. Daylesford Stays operates The Fox in Lower Oddington, Gloucestershire; the Wild Rabbit in Kingham; The Bell in Charlbury; and the Three Horseshoes in Burford. 

 

Hollywood Bowl signs for Uxbridge site: Hollywood Bowl Group, the UK’s largest ten-pin bowling operator, has struck a deal for a new site in Uxbridge, west London. Hollywood Bowl will take the whole of the upper floor of the former Debenhams store at The Chimes shopping centre, spreading over 38,000 square feet. Dave Williams, operations director at Hollywood Bowl, said: “This is an exciting time for the team at Hollywood Bowl as we bring 22 new bowling lanes and a nine-hole mini golf course to The Chimes. Hollywood Bowl has built a strong reputation for bringing affordable family experiences to locations across the UK and we are looking forward to welcoming the first bowlers and putters to Uxbridge towards the end of this year.” In addition, Odeon is refurbishing its nine-screen cinema at The Chimes into a state-of-the-art Odeon Luxe. Nick Goodman, of BGP, acted for Hollywood Bowl while Paul Bugeja, of Colliers, acted for The Chimes’ asset manager, Abrdn.

 

Chef Shilpa Dandekar opens second London restaurant: Chef Shilpa Dandekar has opened her second London restaurant, Pravaas in South Kensington, following in the footsteps of her first bricks-and-mortar site, Pure Indian Cooking in Fulham. Located at 3 Glendower Place, the 30-cover Pravaas also features a 20-cover private dining room in the basement. Pravaas explores the culinary styles Dandekar has “acquired over the years working alongside Sriram Aylur at Michelin-starred Quilon and Raymond Blanc” while celebrating her Indian heritage. Menu highlights include wasabi chicken tikka; venison dalcha (slow-cooked ribs with pearl barley and black garlic pickle); and red snapper and palourde moilee (clams and samphire pakora served in a coconut cream infused with red chilli, garlic, ginger and tamarind pulp). It also offers a £69-per-person tasting menu and £50 wine flight.

 

Manchester operators preparing to open new pub and grill concept: Manchester operators Nick and Hayley Muir, who are also behind the Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats, are preparing to open their new pub and grill concept in the city next week. The husband-and-wife duo last month closed Cottonopolis, their Asian-inspired restaurant in the city’s Northern Quarter, to make way for the Lamb of Tartary in the same building, at 16 Newton Street. Opening on Friday, 1 March, it will offer a new all-day dining menu from award-winning executive chef, Shaun Moffat. Small plates will include Atlantic prawn cocktail and melba toast; and burrata, crown prince pumpkin with green sauce, while the brunch menu will feature bacon chop, fried egg and chips; and English muffin with potato rosti, fried egg, cheese and tomato jam. Among the drinks on offer will be classic cocktails with a twist and 24 different beers on tap, alongside a range of hot, soft and lower-alcohol options. Nick Muir said: “We’re excited to finally be able to welcome the public into The Lamb of Tartary next week. After seeing such success at Edinburgh Castle, we are looking forward to creating something more accessible and casual to those who visit while still championing local produce and suppliers we’ve spent the last year or so building up.” The Muirs also previously operated The Libertine pub in Withington, which closed at the end of 2022 and has since been replaced by an Almost Famous burger restaurant.

 

C&C Group launches €15m share buyback programme: C&C Group – owner of the Tennent's, Magners and Bulmers Ireland brands, and Matthew Clark and Bibendum Wine – will commence a share buyback programme on Friday, 1 March to repurchase ordinary shares of the business up to a maximum aggregate consideration of €15m (£12.85m). The programme forms part of the group’s plan to return up to €150m to shareholders over the next three fiscal years, as announced in October 2023, through a combination of dividends and share buybacks, and follows the reinstatement of dividend payments last year. C&C Group said the programme is underpinned by the board’s confidence in the medium-term outlook for the business and its strong cash generation capabilities. The company’s board also believes that the programme represents the most effective use of capital in the current environment. The buyback will end no later than 30 June 2024, subject to market conditions.

 

Carousel and Home set to open in Leeds next month in £2.25m investment: John O’Donohuge, owner of the award-winning Home nightclub and Carousel bar that combines cocktails, street food and arcade games, is set to open a site for both concepts in Leeds next month. He will open a Carousel on the ground floor in the venue once occupied by Tiger Tiger on Friday, 29 March, with a Home nightclub downstairs, in a £2.25m investment. Both venues are firmly established in Lincoln, with Home first opening in 2011 and Carousel in 2021, and the opening of the new sites in Leeds are part of the group’s expansion plans across the UK. Carousel will feature private karaoke rooms, shuffleboard tables, interactive darts lanes, beer pong and a range of arcade games, while Carousel will serve up a range of street food and drinks. Highlights will include Asian-inspired bao buns, burgers, loaded fries and a Sunday roast served in a giant Yorkshire pudding. There will also be funfair-themed cocktails, with bottomless and two-for-one offers. O’Donoghue said: “We’re thrilled to be opening our newest ventures in Leeds, it’s a great city and was my home for many years. The Light is such an iconic building and the perfect location for the combination of offers we are creating there.” O’Donoghue told Propel in December that 2024 would be a transformative year for the business, with further openings planned for Bristol and Worcester.

 

Team behind Bar Swift and Nightjar to host three-month Oriole pop-up in Covent Garden ahead of permanent reopening: Speakeasy Entertainment, which is also behind cocktail bars Bar Swift and Nightjar, is to open a three-month pop-up in Covent Garden for its Oriole concept. Prelude by Oriole will launch on Wednesday, 13 March in The Yards, paving the way for the second iteration of Oriole, which will reopen in a permanent location in the scheme this summer. The pop-up will give guests the opportunity to try a new list of cocktails accompanied by an à la carte food offering. Argentine head chef Gustavo Giallionardo will prepare dishes such as raw scallop, edamame agua Chile, kiwi and seaweed; and beef tartare sando with koji emulsion. The drinks menu will draw inspiration from around the world, with each cocktail paying homage to the ingredients and heritage of its region. Many of the drinks and dishes served will appear on the menu at Oriole’s new permanent home in Covent Garden later this year, with the pop-up serving as a research and development space. As with the original Oriole, the 34-cover restaurant and bar located in Slingsby Place within The Yards will have live jazz music. Co-founder Edmund Weil said: “After leaving Smithfield in 2023 [due to redevelopment], we always planned to revive Oriole with our top employees as operating partners. Finding a new home has proved a long journey, but we are delighted to have settled in The Yards at the heart of Covent Garden and one of the most happening locations in London.”

 

Birmingham-based Indian Brewery to open new brewery and taproom: Birmingham-based Indian Brewery is to open a second site in the city’s Jewellery Quarter. The business, which already operates a venue serving its beer alongside Indian food at Snow Hill, will open at the site of the old Brook Welding warehouse. The new brewery and taproom are set to open in time for the football European Championships this summer. The venue will feature a circa 220-cover beer hall, 25 beer taps, theatre kitchen live sports, brewery tours and events and community workspace. Phase one of the development will focus on making the brewery operational, “ensuring the continual production of a diverse range of beer”. In phase two, the brewery will introduce a taproom experience featuring an extensive number of beer taps, games area and theatre kitchen with live sports on the big screen. Jaspal Purewal, chief executive of The Indian Brewery, said: “Our expansion into the Jewellery Quarter marks a significant milestone for The Indian Brewery. We are excited to be part of such a historic and vibrant community, and we look forward to contributing to the city centre’s cultural and culinary tapestry for many years to come.”

 

Former Bocca di Lupo duo team up for British-Italian restaurant: Two former team members at Bocca di Lupo, the Italian restaurant in Soho founded by Jacob Kenedy and Victor Hugo, have teamed up for a new British-Italian concept in London’s Peckham. Alex Purdie, who worked as a sous chef at Bocca di Lupo, and Richard Crampton-Platt, who was its operations director, have partnered for “Britalian” café, Café Britaly, which will offer Italian dishes made with British produce. Café Britaly will open this spring in the former Supa Ya Ramen site at 191 Rye Lane, reports Hot Dinners.

Newcastle operators set to open Latin-inspired leisure venue in former nightclub: Newcastle operators Nigel Holliday and Matt Smyth are set to open a new Latin-inspired leisure venue in former nightclub in the city. Motel Mexicana is on course to launch in the former Bijoux nightclub this Easter, with the Mosley Street site currently undergoing a major transformation. The £500,000 project will see Motel Mexicana offer four floors of entertainment, food and drink as well as somewhere to stay. The initial stages will see the ground and first floors become a Latin influenced restaurant and bar before becoming a nightspot until late. The second phase will see the third floor turned into a motel, with one large, multiple occupancy bedroom that can be booked for large groups. The fourth floor will become a roof terrace, with plans to install a retractable glass roof. Holliday and Smyth are also behind Newcastle’s Tup Tup Palace nightclub and “fearground” Psycho Path and have partnered with Andrew McGuigan for the venture. Holliday said that the aim was “to create a venue that would be exciting and fun with lots of live music, great food and drinks”, reports Insider Media.

US golf-focused hotel business set to open second UK site: US golf-focused hotel business Links Collection is set to open a second UK site, in Northern Ireland. The five-star Dunluce Lodge will open this autumn ahead of the Open Championship returning to Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2025. The £16.5m venue will sit on the edge of Royal Portrush’s fourth fairway, offering 35 luxury suites, a private lodge, eight private suites, private dining and a fireside lounge space. A restaurant and bar will also overlook the golf course and ocean, offering à la carte dining and tasting menus. There will also be spa and fitness facilities, an on-site putting green and complimentary private transfers to the nearby helipad and to the clubhouses at Royal Portrush and other nearby courses. Dunluce Lodge will be operated by Valor Hospitality Partners. The same partnership is also responsible for the five-star boutique hotel, Seaton House, in St Andrews, Scotland, which is also set to open later this year. Jonathan Harper and Robert Convington Jr are managing partners at Links Collection, which was founded in 2020.

 

Team behind Birmingham bar to open site at park and gardens on outskirts of city with former MasterChef champion leading kitchen: The team behind Birmingham bar 1000 Trades is to open a site at Lightwoods House park and gardens on the outskirts of the city. 1000 Trades, based in the Jewellery Quarter, is launching 1000 Trades on the Park and has signed up MasterChef 2021 winner Dan Lee as executive head chef of the new location. While Lee has become known for his pan-Asian food, 1000 Trades said he's “hard at work developing a seasonal menu to showcase the best aspects of proper pub food with a touch of class”, reports Birmingham Live. In a message to customers, 1000 Trades wrote: “We're taking over part of the jewel-like Lightwoods House, perched in its splendour overlooking the eponymous park in Bearwood – just over three miles from our existing site near the centre of Birmingham. The building has a varied and sometimes chequered history, but is obviously an important local landmark, being listed in 1949. Today it's very much part of the locale, owned and run by Sandwell Council for the benefit of the community, and we will be very much part of all this.”

Nottingham independent live music venue reveals closing date: Nottingham independent live music venue, The Chameleon, has revealed its closing date. In November, it was revealed the landlord had placed The Chameleon on the market. Now, the team that runs the venue has said the building has been sold and The Chameleon will close for the last time at the end of March. In a statement, The Chameleon said: “There has been talk of sticking around, but, quite honestly, the businesses isn’t viable in its current location and with costs of literally everything rising constantly, we can’t justify carrying on and just amassing more debt. We’ve got some pretty mega debts to cover over the coming weeks, so will need all the help we can get.” The Chameleon has announced an “epic rager” on Saturday, 30 March as its goodbye party. The venue, just off Nottingham’s Old Market Square, has lived a precarious existence over the years, often under constant threat of closure.

 

Birmingham operators open Malaysian restaurant for second site: Birmingham operators Jeremy Mun and Zi Wen Boo have opened a Malaysian restaurant in the city for their second site. The duo, who are behind The Thai Classic, in Bromsgrove Street in Chinatown, have launched The Malaya Classic in the nearby The Arcadian Centre. The new restaurant serves authentic Malaysian cuisine in the upper part of the Arcadian in the premises previously occupied by Ten Ichi. The Malaya Classic restaurant is set across two floors, with 44 seats downstairs and a further 20 on the mezzanine above. The halal restaurant also has two private dining rooms that can serve up to 25 people. Among the dishes on offer include Malaysia's national dish Nasi Lemak and sambal as well as bao buns, soup and noodle dishes like Char Kway Teow wok-fried flat rice noodles with prawns, fish cakes and beansprouts. Mun told Birmingham Live: “Malaysian cuisine has seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years so we are thrilled bring the first ‘halal’ Malaysian restaurant to Birmingham.”

Plans for south Lancaster eco holiday village set for rejection: Plans for a new eco holiday village in south Lancaster are set to be turned down. Ellel Holiday Village, a sister business of Lancaster-based M Capital Investment Partners, is seeking permission to develop the scheme near the village of Galgate, which is currently a collection of farm buildings set over approximately 175 acres. The proposal is for 450 holiday lodges alongside a retail unit and hotel, a virtual reality wildlife experience and artisan workers pods. The proposal would deliver socio-economic benefits and create about 600 jobs but a report ahead of a meeting of Lancaster City Council recommends the plans are refused permission. Grounds cited include the safe and continued operation of the Northwest Ethylene Pipeline that crosses the site, the impact of the scheme on the rural setting and the potential flood risk.