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Thu 28th Mar 2024 - Update: Esquires owner promotes Aiden Keegan to CEO |
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Esquires owner promotes Aiden Keegan to CEO, company to ‘build our UK-centric approach’ and ‘prioritise growth of franchise store network’: Cooks Coffee, the Esquires brand owner, has promoted Aiden Keegan to chief executive, effective from 1 April 2024. Keegan commenced his role as operations manager at Esquires in Ireland (ECHI) in January 2004, before which he served as an employee at Insomnia, the Irish café chain, and worked in contract catering in London. Since October 2018, Keegan has held the position of managing director of the Esquires UK business. During his leadership, the business has witnessed substantial growth, increasing from 38 to 60 stores. Store sales under his guidance have experienced an increase of 12.6% compound annual growth rate. Keegan has also successfully steered the company through the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic, “demonstrating a well-developed and profound understanding of the business and its key drivers”. Keegan, said: “I am honoured to assume the role of chief executive officer of Cooks Coffee Company. My focus remains steadfast on navigating the company through strategic shifts, particularly as we build our UK-centric approach. We will continue to prioritise growth of the franchise store network, ensuring our shareholders’ confidence in our trajectory. Together with the board, I am committed to upholding our ongoing strategy and propelling the company forward.” Keith Jackson, executive chairman of Cooks Coffee, added: “As Cooks Coffee Company strategically shifts towards a more UK-centric focus, Aiden brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of our company, particularly in the core markets of UK and Ireland, and a proven track record in driving growth and he has strong relationships with our key franchisee business partners. His appointment is of paramount importance, as we continue to expand our operations in this region and internationally.” Keegan is also currently a director of Triple Two Coffee Holdings and its subsidiaries, Triple Two Coffee Franchise, Triple Two Coffee Property and TTC Contractors, which were all placed in creditors voluntary liquidation in October 2023. The CVL process is ongoing. Esquires this week reached the 60-store landmark in the UK with an opening in Crawley Mall, in West Sussex, having last month made its Oxfordshire debut with an opening in Bicester. The company said in January that it is seeking a regional developer for Scotland, in what would be “the last opportunity to become an Esquires regional developer in the UK as England and Wales have been awarded”. That same month, parent company Cooks Coffee reported UK store sales were up 18.6% to £17.5m in 2023 (2022: £14.7m). Group store sales were up 15.8% to £26.9m (2022: £23.2m). In Ireland, store sales increased 11.0%, totalling £9.4m (2022: £8.5m). Like-for-like sales in the UK for 2023 were up 6.0%, and in Ireland up 6.8%, while the sales from the new stores opened during 2023 accounted for 12.3% of total sales in the UK and 13.4% in Ireland in 2023. Esquires achieved weekly store sales of £600,000 for the first time across the UK and Ireland in December 2023 – a record month for the group. The company previously said it is aiming to grow Esquires to 100 UK stores by 2026. Esquires 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 available exclusively to Premium subscribers. The database is updated every two months, and the latest version features 235 businesses. 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 kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.
Next Propel Multi-Site Database to be sent to Premium Club members today, grows to 3,075 businesses: The next Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate, will be sent to Premium Club members today (Thursday, 28 March), at midday. The database has now grown to include 3,075 multi-site operators, which operate 72,186 sites. An additional 16 companies, which operate 492 sites between them, have been added during March 2024. The database has been redesigned so Premium Club members are able to search the data segmented into key industry sectors. This new straightforward segmentation allows users to search quickly in key categories such as pubs and bars, cafe bakery, quick service restaurants, casual dining, fine dining, hotel and experiential leisure. Premium Club members will also receive all the videos from last week’s Propel Multi-Club Conference at 9am on Friday, 5 April. They will include Marcello Distefano, managing director of restaurant group San Carlo, speaking about the challenges of building and evolving a premium casual-dining business; and Charlie Elek, managing director of Lucky Voice, setting out how the company is taking a unique approach to evolving its offer. 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 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 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 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.
UK government pausing its drive to raise the minimum wage: The UK government is pausing its drive to raise the minimum wage, offering a respite to businesses after a period of rapid increases that has given Britain one of the highest wage floors in the rich world. Next week’s annual increase in the National Living Wage (NLW) will lift the hourly rate for adults by 9.8% to £11.44, equivalent to two-thirds of median earnings. The government said the changes would benefit about 3 million workers, reports the Financial Times. On Wednesday, it published a new remit for the Low Pay Commission, which advises ministers on where to set the NLW, asking it to keep the pay floor for workers aged 21 and above at two-thirds of median earnings in 2025, while monitoring the effect of recent changes. The LPC said that, on its current central projection, this would mean raising the NLW by 3.9%, or 45p, to £11.89 in April 2025. It also asked the LPC to make recommendations on increasing rates for young workers and apprentices, aiming to set them “as high as possible without damaging the employment prospects of each group”. The decision to hold the NLW steady as a share of average earnings will come as a relief to businesses, which have voiced alarm about the pace of recent increases against a backdrop of intense cost pressures and weak consumer demand. Jonathan Haskel, a member of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee, told the Financial Times that businesses had constantly told him the latest 9.8% increase had been “uncomfortably large” and would have “big spillovers” on wages for staff higher up the pay scale. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI business lobby group, said at an event on Wednesday that companies had increasingly felt forced to pass higher wage costs on in the form of price rises, or cut back on the investments needed to drive productivity. She said: “We will have ended relative low pay but with more people feeling low-paid than ever. That’s what happens when you focus on minimum wages without driving growth.”
Northern Ireland hotel group sees losses widen to £3.5m as turnover remains below pre-covid levels: Northern Ireland hotel group Loughview Leisure has reported turnover increased to £10,038,509 for the year ending 30 June 2023 compared with £8,616,491 the previous year. However, revenue remained below the £11,644,361 reported for the year ending 30 June 2019 – the last full year before the covid pandemic. The company, a subsidiary of aparthotel developer and operator Kilmona Group, saw losses widen to £3,529,133 from £713,877 the previous year as administrative expenses rose by almost £3m. Loughview includes Ten Square in central Belfast, Chimney Corner in Newtownabbey and the Loughshore Hotel in Carrickfergus in its portfolio. At the period end, net assets had fallen to £2,407,866 from £5,936,999 the year before. No dividend was paid (2022: nil).
Former pharmacist set to open debut restaurant reflecting her love for risotto after switching careers: Former pharmacist Cordula Schulz is set to open her debut restaurant reflecting her love for risotto after switching careers. Cordula, who grew up in Germany, developed a passion for cooking while travelling and learning about different cuisines, and upon returning home to Berlin, began hosting dinner parties for friends and family – always serving a risotto course. After moving with her family to the UK, she decided to pursue her dream of opening a restaurant and will open the 42-cover all’onda in the former Navaro site at 67 Charlotte Street, in Fitzrovia, on Thursday, 2 May. “We are excited to showcase the versatility and the sophistication of this great dish by giving it centre stage on the menu – a menu that strives not only to complement the risotti, but to create memorable dishes in their own right,” said Schulz. Head chef Andrea Granzarolo, who has worked with Hélène Darroze as well as at London venues The Greenhouse and The Square, will lead the kitchen, combining his technical knowledge of the traditional risotto with a contemporary twist, showcasing seasonal ingredients from the UK. Together with Schulz, he has developed a number of variations on the classic risotto, such as spring green risotto primavera; squid ink risotto; pumpkin and shiso; seaweed, bottarga and white asparagus; and sweetbread and artichoke. There will also be starters such as red bream crudo with fennel, radish, citrus; and yuzu kosho and beef tartaccio with smoked soy, parmesan and parsley, while main courses sitting alongside the risotto will include duck with carrot, tamarind and plum; and Cornish turbot with verbena, matcha and green asparagus.
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