Next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality to be released on Friday featuring 876 companies: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will be released to Premium Club members on Friday (21 June), at midday. Another 11 companies have been added to the database, which now features 876 companies. This month’s edition will also include 58 updated entries. 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 Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the New Openings Database; the Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also 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 supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Pub closures up by a third in first quarter of 2024: The number of pubs disappearing from communities across England and Wales jumped a third over the first months of 2024, according to new figures. Official government statistics have revealed 239 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the three months to March 31. It means around 80 pubs shut each month, representing a 56% increase on the closure of 51 pubs a month over the first quarter of 2023, reports the Daily Mail. The data, compiled by commercial real estate business Altus Group, showed that the overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,162 at the end of March. It compared with 39,401 pubs at the end of 2023. The north west region of England lost 35 pubs, the most of any region. Over the past year, a total of 472 pubs across England and Wales left communities for good. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: “The pub closure figures for the first quarter of this year are a reflection of the continuing high costs of doing business, especially with factors like high energy costs and food and drink inflation remaining higher than the top line inflation rate. Trading conditions have also not been helped, with the varied weather than we have experienced, and in addition, with £1 out of every £3 being spent in pubs going directly to the taxman, the tax burden with which the beer and pub sector must grapple is another cost component which squeezes margin. Last week saw the publication of the various party manifestos, with the parties making different pledges to reform business rates, which combine with previous promises to recognise the importance of the sector for communities and the wider economy. It is for this reason why it will be essential that the next government puts in place a fiscal and regulatory framework that makes sure that the sector does not survive, but thrives.”

Sandwiches and pastries costing up to 48% more in airports and train stations: Shops in airports and train stations across the UK are hiking the price of snacks like sandwiches and pastries by as much as 48%. Those travelling by plane tend to pay a higher added premium for sandwiches, snacks and drinks in airports than they already do in train stations, reports The Sunday Mirror. At Heathrow airport, a Pret A Manger takeaway tuna, mayo and cucumber baguette was £5.90, up 48% from the £3.99 the chain charges customers on the high street. The same baguette is £4.50 at London’s Waterloo station. The situation is similar at Stansted airport, where a pain au chocolat at Leon is priced at £2.99 compared to £2.10 on the high street, a 42% hike. Pret’s cheddar and pickle baguette, £4.50 on the high street, was 37% more expensive at Stansted, where it goes for £6.20. A study published this week by the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) estimates that the average food retailer is charging a premium of around 10% for food and drink in stations. The watchdog used mystery shoppers to visit some of the most popular station outlets and compare them with high street prices. They found that retail prices at airports for common purchases like bottled water and cola are up to 12% higher than at rail stations. The ORR said the evidence also suggests that customers were less satisfied with station catering, with nine out of ten brands holding a lower average review at stations. Station operators told the ORR that they prefer to take a “hands-off” approach to retail prices and carry out little in the way of formal monitoring and do not try to influence prices. A Pret spokesperson said: “Like all retailers operating in transport hubs, we face a range of different cost pressures, including higher rents and labour costs. We also face additional costs to run our on-site kitchens, where our teams make Pret’s freshly made food every day. We always try to absorb these costs as much as possible, reviewing our pricing regularly to remain competitive whilst still offering good value, and never compromising on our high-quality ingredients.”

 

Summer job cuts as minimum wage bites: The rise in the minimum wage is piling pressure on employers who are cutting back on hiring this summer amid broader fears of labour shortages in key sectors of the economy, according to new figures. Data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, an industry body, shows job postings for temporary summer jobs have fallen sharply in the hotel, restaurant, tourism and construction sectors in April and May, compared with the same months last year, after a climb in the minimum wage. Lobbyist Neil Carberry said employers’ need to fill summer seasonal vacancies was being outweighed by a 9.8% jump in the minimum wage from April 1 to £11.44 per hour. “A second big increase in the national minimum wage has affected hiring levels in key sectors,” he said. “We can see some evidence of that drag in the lower summer seasonal hiring demand.” Job postings in the hotel and accommodation sector were down by 45% in April and May, compared with the same period in 2023, along with a 38% decline in restaurants and catering and a 33% decline for chefs and cooks. Roles in tourism and events had fallen in most parts of the country. The increase in the minimum wage helped overall wages growth in the economy to reach 6% in the three months to April, according to official figures released last week.

New Pixar film breaks box office records in North America: Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has broken box office records over the weekend as it brought in an estimated $295m (£232.6m) around the world, in a major boost for the cinema sector. That makes it the strongest global opening by an animated film of all time, parent company Disney said. In North America, ticket sales hit about $155m, dethroning Dune: Part Two as the holder of this year's top box office opening weekend. Inside Out 2’s first weekend was much stronger than the original movie, which brought in $90m in its opening weekend before going on to gross $858m worldwide. It was the second-best opening for the company in the North American market, just behind the 2018 release of The Incredibles 2, reports the BBC. Inside Out 2’s successful opening is a bright spot in what has so far been a slow start to summer for film companies. A large part of annual ticket sales usually take place in the period from the first weekend in May to the start of September. However, strikes by actors and screenwriters last year has meant that fewer films were ready for release this year. The number of cinema tickets sold in North America so far this year is down by almost a quarter compared to the same period in 2023, according to media market research company Comscore.