The Light set to raise investment to support accelerated growth plan and recapitalise balance sheet: Cinema and entertainment operator The Light is set to raise investment to support its accelerated growth plan and recapitalise its balance sheet. It comes as the company, which operates 13 sites, reported turnover increased to a record £33,121,056 for the year ending 27 July 2023 compared with £32,981,408 the previous year. The company made a pre-tax loss of £2,483,403 compared with a profit of £1,088,365 the year before. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The recovery in the UK cinema market has been stymied by a lack of locally produced content, studios developing their own streaming services, the Hollywood writers’ strike and content having been delayed by covid. Overall, like-for-like box office revenue were down 18% versus 2022. Despite this, the business was actually able to increase its gross profit by £1.0m to £23.2m due to the opening of our latest site at Banbury, which helped increase market share to 1.71%. However. there were a number of factors that adversely impacted profitability in the year: the ending of government support on rates, a spike in energy prices, and the gradual phasing out of covid related rental concessions. Despite these challenges, The Light achieved Ebitda of £1.0m. The Light also had sufficient capital to continue to fund its expansion plans and opened a new entertainment site in Redhill in June 2023. This site combined with a number of other commercial opportunities that have been identified are expected to increase Ebitda to £2.3m in FY24. In addition, the business expects to complete a refinancing of its loan facilities with Santander to provide sufficient liquidity through to 2027. The Light is committed to its strategic plan to focus on a wider entertainment model. The company has demonstrated an ability to attract a strong pipeline of opportunities, which will enable it to maintain and expand its growth. It is expected that the business will seek to raise investment in the near future to support this accelerated growth plan and recapitalise the balance sheet.” The company received £728,265 in government grants (2022: £995,578). No dividend was paid (2022: nil). A new report produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector was launched on 1 August. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report is available for £595 plus VAT although Premium Club members can receive the report for £395 plus VAT. The report will be made available for free to existing Premium members on Tuesday, 10 September at 9am. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to order a copy.

Next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality to feature more than 237,000 words of content, released next week: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will feature more than 237,000 words of content when it is released to Premium Club members on Friday, 23 August, at midday. The database now features 878 companies, and this month’s edition includes seven new additions and 85 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 the Talent and Training Conference (1 October), Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 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.

UKHospitality Scotland urges Edinburgh councillors to adopt cost recovery mechanism in draft visitor levy scheme: UKHospitality Scotland has urged City of Edinburgh councillors to adopt the cost recovery mechanism recommended in the draft visitor levy scheme. The draft scheme, published ahead of a council meeting next Thursday (22 August), recommends 2.5% of proceeds collected by the levy is retained by the accommodation provider to recover its cost. This was a key ask of UKHospitality Scotland, which said this was “essential to ensure the scheme doesn’t impede the ability of accommodation providers to invest, deliver economic growth and create jobs”. The draft scheme also recommends hospitality representation on the visitor levy forum through the Edinburgh Hotels Association, a member of UKHospitality Scotland; a levy of 5%, capped at a maximum of seven consecutive nights; and half of funds raised to be spent on culture, heritage, events and destination management. Leon Thompson, executive director of UKHospitality Scotland, said: “Businesses ability to recoup 2.5% of proceeds will be an important way to deal with the additional burden this scheme will bring. Crucially, it will reduce the impact of the scheme on our sector’s ability to invest. The funds raised must be spent in a way that will boost the visitor economy, keeping the city as a leading destination. It must not be used as a way to top up day-to-day council operations. UKHospitality Scotland has been clear about the negative impact this scheme could have on hospitality and tourism, if done wrong, and the inclusion of cost recovery, ringfencing and hospitality representation on the forum is a positive start. I hope the council takes forward these recommendations.”

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a premium food and beverage business that is looking for a people and culture director. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “This role involves shaping the HR landscape for the business. The people and culture director will be responsible for leading and nurturing the HR team, offering strategic insights into talent acquisition, development, and retention to support the continued growth of the business. Reporting directly to the group managing director, they will collaborate closely with the senior management team to ensure HR policies align with regulatory requirements and contribute tangible value to the business.” The salary is up to £120,000 and the position is based in London. For more information, email gemma@corecruitment.com.

Fireaway founder launches baked ice cream concept: Mario Aleppo, the founder of fast-growing pizza brand Fireaway, has launched a dessert concept called Baked Ice Cream Co, Propel has learned. Aleppo, who founded Fireaway in 2017 and has since grown it to more than 175 sites in the UK as well as spreading overseas, has opened the first site under the new concept in Old Compton Street, in London’s Soho. It was initially developed under the name Dipd. The concept involves stuffing ice cream between brioche buns, then baking them on a toasting pan for a couple of minutes. The result is a crispy exterior, while the ice cream inside remains very cold but nice and soft. On opening further sites under the new concept, Aleppo told Propel that he was currently “seeing how it goes before deciding whether to roll it out”. Last summer, Propel revealed that Aleppo had invested in Five Askhi’s, which launched in 2020 and has two sites (one company-owned and one franchised), in Milton Keynes. Aleppo bought a 5% stake in the gourmet and smashed burger concept, with the hope that both his investment and expertise will help Five Askhi’s follow Fireaway in becoming a national and, eventually, international brand. He told Propel he remains involved in Five Askhi’s “from a consultancy point of view”. Earlier this week, Propel reported that Fireaway had increased its international presence with an opening in Turkey. The business has opened a site in the Adnan Kahveci neighbourhood of Istanbul. Earlier this year, Fireaway opened in Lisbon for its first site in Portugal. The business, which also operates sites in the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, is set to increase its international presence further with plans to launch in Dubai later this year. The brand secured investment from six new backers in October 2022 and plans to have 500 sites within the next five years.

Kricket – we want to be in a position to take advantage when things do change, continue to look at international opportunities: Rik Campbell, co-founder of Indian restaurant group Kricket, has told Propel that although there is an “element of risk and boldness” in investing in and opening two sites now, the business want to be in a position “to take advantage when things do change”. The company will open its fifth site next month in London’s Shoreditch, which will be its second new site this year after opening in Canary Wharf. Campbell said: “We are doing better than last year, but we’re not hitting our budgets. Maybe they were a bit ambitious. From what I can see going on across the industry, we’re not in a bad place. It does feel like people are tightening their belts. From our perspective, that's why it seems there is an element of risk and boldness in opening two sites and investing now, but we want to be in a position of being able to take advantage when things do change. We want to be ready with two great sites.” Campbell said the business hoped to open a further site next year and was still looking at opportunities internationally. He said: “At the start of 2022 we were actually in negotiations on a site in Amsterdam. That was literally just around the time Russia invaded Ukraine and everything went south. So, it wasn’t the right time and we had to focus on the existing business. And then what started to materialise was more obvious, white space in London and there were deals to be had in the market. So, we definitely have an ambition to go international, and I still do love Amsterdam, but it seems to be that more people, including us, are looking at the Middle East or New York. But in the meantime, yeah, I think there's still white space for us in London, and lower hanging fruit for us to grab.” As part of the Shoreditch opening, Kricket is bringing its speakeasy concept, Soma, which first launched in Soho in September 2021. Soma 2.0 will have room for up to 50 guests and a licence to open late. Campbell said that Kricket and Soma work “nicely together but they could also work separately”. He said: “We would certainly look at Soma as a stand-alone opening. It would maybe be something we would take to Manchester rather than Kricket. It is certainly easier to roll out than Kricket in terms of the operation and the capex. I also think it would work internationally.” Kricket secured new funding last year from existing backer White Rabbit Projects, alongside additional funds from the founders, to support its expansion plans.

Rank reports ‘good trading momentum across all businesses’ as it surges back to profit: The Rank Group, which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, has said the new financial year has begun with “good momentum across all businesses” as it surged back into the black with profit outstripped expectations. The group saw its net gaming revenue grow 9% to £734.4m in the 12 months ending 30 June 2024, up from £671.4m the year before. This drove a pre-tax profit of £15.5m following a pre-tax loss of £123.3m in the previous year. In addition, Rank saw like-for-like underlying operating profit for the year reach £46.5m, slightly surpassing analysts’ expectations and more than doubling last year’s £20.1m. The board proposed a final dividend of 0.85p per share, marking the return of dividends to shareholders. Chief executive John O’Reilly said: “This has been a year of strong financial, operational and strategic progress for Rank. We are continuing to rebuild profitability following the impact of lockdowns and the material inflationary pressures experienced in recent years. Trading continues to improve due to ongoing investment in our people, our products and the facilities within our venues businesses, and the continued development of the proprietary technology that is driving the growth of our digital business. With some important developments within our proprietary technology now in place, we are increasingly delivering a seamless and tailored cross-channel experience for our customers, leveraging our key area of competitive advantage. We are well-positioned to take advantage of the much needed land-based reforms that will help to further modernise our casino and bingo propositions to better meet the expectations of today’s customers and we look forward to the government confirming the timetable for the required secondary legislation. We have started the new financial year as we finished the previous one, with good momentum across all businesses. With inflation receding, disposable incomes improving, investment continuing to be made in the customer proposition and a strong pipeline of growth initiatives underway, we are confident in the future prospects of the group.”

YO! owner Wonderfield Group hires Samantha Kemp as group marketing director: Wonderfield Group, formerly Snowfox Group, the multi-channel and international Japanese food business that owns brands including YO!, Panku, Bento and Taiko, has hired Samantha Kemp as its new group marketing director. Kemp recently spent a year as marketing director at The Restaurant Group-owned brand Wagamama as maternity cover. She previously spent five and a half years at John Lewis, including two years as head of marketing campaigns, and seven years at Sainsbury’s, including 18 months as senior marketing business partner. At Wonderfield Group, she will be group marketing director for its YO!, Taiko, Raku and Panku brands, across restaurants, retail and kiosks. Last month, Propel revealed that Snowfox Group had become the Wonderfield Group. It said that the new brand identity signified the next chapter for the business following its acquisition by Zensho, the leading Japanese food group, last summer, in a deal valued at $621m (£494.5m). The Wonderfield Group will consolidate the company’s brands under one name, reflecting the business’ expansion across geographies and brands. The company now consists of multiple market-leading brands including: YO!, Panku and Taiko in the UK; Bento in Canada; Snowfox, Snowfruit, Zenshi and AFC Franchise Corp in the US; Sushi Circle in Germany; SushiTake in Spain; and Sushi Izu in Australia. 

TPG among suitors vying to buy EasyHotel in £400m deal: Private equity firm TPG is among a pack of suitors vying to buy EasyHotel for about £400m. Sky News reported TPG has been shortlisted alongside several other bidders to buy EasyHotel, which is backed by the EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Proprium Capital Partners, a real estate fund, is also understood to have expressed an interest in EasyHotel. The company trades from 50 sites in 11 countries, including 19 in the UK. Previously a listed company, EasyHotel is 79.1%-owned by Icamap Investments and Ivanhoé Cambridge. Sir Stelios’ EasyGroup is understood to own the vast majority of the remaining shares. Founded in 2004, EasyHotel comprises more than 4,000 rooms and has plans to grow to 120 hotels in the next four years. It recently announced an expanded lending facility with Santander UK as it seeks to accelerate its pipeline of new openings. Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023 showed group revenue grew from £38.2m in 2022 to £67.4m. Revenue from owned hotels grew to £65.5m (2022: £36.8m) and franchise revenue dropped to £1.5m (2022: £2.4m). Adjusted Ebitda grew 84% from £9.3m to £22.9m. A pre-tax loss of £9.2m (2022: loss of £2.3m) “was influenced by several factors” including finance charges of £16.9m (2022: £5.7m). TPG and EasyHotel both declined to comment.

Chilean concept Mareida to host London residency ahead of permanent opening in capital: Chilean concept Mareida is to host a five-day residency in London ahead of its permanent opening in the capital next year. Mareida, which is the brainchild of Prenay Agarwal and Chilean culinary duo, chef Carolina Bazán and her sommelier partner Rosario Onetto, will run the pop-up at Carousel in Fitzrovia from Tuesday, 17 September until Sunday, 22 September. The residency will give guests a preview of the cuisine, wine, music, and culture of the Andean South ahead of Mareida’s official opening as a restaurant and wine bar in Great Portland Street in early 2025. Bazan’s menu will include dishes such as scallop parmesana; grilled sea bass with quinoa, avocado, pebre, and chili; and fish tartare with granita in an ice cream cone. A selection of wine overseen by Onetto complementing the dishes “will reflect the diverse geography of Chile”. 

Blank Street Coffee confirms plans for Birmingham opening, lines up second site in the city: US coffee brand Blank Street Coffee has confirmed it will make its debut in the Midlands, in Birmingham, next month, and has lined up a second site in the city. Blank Street, which made its UK debut in summer 2022 and currently has circa 30 stores in London, will open on the outside of the Bullring shopping scheme on Saturday, 7 September. As previously revealed by Propel, Blank Street has also submitted plans to open a site in the city’s New Street, on the former Extrawurst site. Ignacio Llado, UK managing director at Blank Street, said: “We are excited to launch in our third UK city. Blank Street has had an unbelievable number of requests from customers to launch in Birmingham, and we can finally say we’re on our way. We’ll be bringing the same delicious selection of signature coffee and matcha, along with our newly launched autumn menu, which will channel the cosiness of home as the autumn rolls in.” Last month, the brand continued its expansion in the UK with the opening of its third store in Manchester. Propel revealed in June that Blank Street, which currently operates a further 31 sites in London, had lined up its first opening in Birmingham and was understood to be searching for sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is also thought that Cardiff is on the company’s radar for future openings.

 

Tamara Griffin steps down as McDonald’s UK & Ireland people director: Tamara Griffin has stepped down as people director at McDonald’s UK & Ireland, after almost two years in the role, to joins Sainsbury’s, Propel has learned. Griffin, formerly of Burger King, Nando’s and Leon, joined McDonald’s UK as its new people director in summer 2022. She previously spent two years as people and culture director at Burger King. Previous to that, she spent short stints as interim head of people at PizzaExpress and people director at Leon. She was also head of learning and development at Nando’s for more than three years. She has joined Sainsbury’s as its new director of people development. Last month, McDonald’s reported global like-for-like sales fell 1% in its second quarter ending 30 June 2024 – the first time that sales had fallen since the last quarter of 2020. Like-for-like sales in the quarter for the “international operated” segment, which includes the UK, fell 1.1%, which McDonald’s said was impacted by negative comparable sales across a number of markets, driven by France.

Almost 60% of shareholders vote against C&C Group remuneration report: Almost 60% of shareholders at C&C Group – owner of the Tennent’s, Magners and Bulmers Ireland brands, and Matthew Clark, Bibendum Wine and Walker & Wodehouse – have voted against the company’s remuneration report. At the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday (15 August), a total of 59.50% voted against the resolution. However, as the vote was advisory, the company is not required to take action. C&C Group stated: “Over the last year, we have engaged with shareholders about executive remuneration in connection with the new directors’ remuneration policy and 2024 long-term incentive plan, which the board notes were approved by 94.20% and 98.84% of shareholders at the AGM, respectively. We will engage with those shareholders who decided to vote against this resolution during the coming months to understand their concerns. In accordance with the UK corporate governance code, we will provide a website update in due course and a final summary in the next annual report and accounts.” C&C Group had earlier reported that group earnings have been in line with expectations in the financial year-to-date.

Five Points Brewing Company co-founder to open food and drink hall in Leeds next week: The team behind Whitelock’s Ale House, the oldest pub in Leeds, will open its new food and drink hall in the city next week. Ed Mason, who is also a co-founder of The Five Points Brewing Company in London, has transformed White Cloth Hall in Crown Street. Opening on Friday, 23 August, the venue will feature four kitchens that bring together Yorkshire operators such as Pizza Loco and Kuala Lumpur Cafe, alongside grill and oyster bar Lupton’s Chop House, a new venture from the kitchen team at Whitelock’s Ale House, which is inspired by traditional Victorian chop houses and has a menu that “celebrates the diversity and quality of Yorkshire produce”. White Cloth Hall will also host an all-day coffee shop and a main bar offering beer, wine and cocktails. Mason said “We are excited to finally be launching this latest addition to the Leeds food and drink scene – it’s been a long time in the planning, and we hope we’ve done justice to this beautiful building. We are committed to working with interesting, innovative and independent suppliers and food partners. We have a brilliant line-up of kitchens – and we hope that people love what we are doing with the different areas of the venue.” Mason and his Whitelock’s Ale House team took over and relaunched the pub in 2012 and opened The Meanwood Tavern in 2022.

London restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas launches crowdfund to open second Home site: South west London restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas is crowdfunding towards the launch of a second branch of her Putney restaurant Home SW15 in her home village of Barnes. Supporters are being asked to “buy a brick” for £100 to be displayed at Home SW13, in return for an invitation to the soft launch in early September, reports Harden’s. A £500 investment buys a standard yellow brick and a voucher of the same value to spend in the restaurant, while £1,000 buys a ruby red brick and a voucher to spend in either branch. So far, almost £40,000 had been raised towards the target of £50,000. No details have yet been announced on the location of the new restaurant. Mascarenhas made her name with Sonny’s Kitchen in Barnes, which she opened in 1986, living in the flat above. After more than 30 years, she relaunched Sonny’s as Church Road in 2019 with her business partner, chef Phil Howard. The pair began their association with the opening of Kitchen W8 in Kensington 15 years ago, and also own Elystan Street in Chelsea together. Home SW15, an all-day modern European restaurant, is a solo project, and Mascarenhas also owns the Flour + Water pizzeria in Putney, which started out as a delivery service during lockdown.

José Pizarro opens sixth London restaurant and offers breakfast for first time: Spanish chef José Pizarro has opened his sixth London restaurant. Lolo has launched at 102 Bermondsey Street, with the all-day affair seeing Pizarro serve up a Spanish breakfast for the first time. Dishes on the lunch and dinner menu include roasted red peppers with confit Gadira tuna belly and a Rubia Gallega sirloin. The drinks list features a selection of wine and cocktails. Pizarro said: “I am thrilled to bring Lolo to Bermondsey Street as I have felt that an all-day dining spot is what is missing for locals. The menu features dishes straight from my home kitchen and I am incredibly passionate about bringing these recipes to life within Lolo.” He also operates neighbouring José Tapas Bar Bermondsey along with Pizarro Restaurant in Bermondsey and José Pizarro Broadgate Circle in Liverpool Street, plus José Pizarro at RA and Poster Bar by José at the Royal Academy in Mayfair. Outside of the capital, he is behind gastropub with boutique rooms The Swan Inn in Esher, Surrey, as well as José by Pizarro at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers in the Middle East.

Public House Group hires Odette Schwartz as people and culture director: Public House Group, the umbrella company from the team behind The Pelican in London’s Notting Hill and the Hero in Maida Vale, has hired Odette Schwartz as its new people and culture director. Schwartz joins the five-strong business after two and half years as people director at skinny chops concept Blacklock. Previous to that she spent 14 months as people director at Bill’s, and more than two years as people director at Mexican restaurant brand Wahaca. She also spent 20 years at Nando’s, including four years as its head of people. Earlier this year, Public House Group reopened The Hero of Maida as The Hero. The duo behind Notting Hill's The Pelican and The Bull Charlbury, Phil Winser and James Gummer, were joined by Olivier van Themsche, who leads business and acquisitions for Public House Group, in reopening the four-storey space, which comprises a pub, a grill room, a cocktail bar and a top-floor events area. Propel understands that the Public House Group is backed, in part, by investment management firm BNP Capital, and is in talks on a further site in the capital. 

Padel operator Social Sports Society plans Stockport opening as part of UK roll out: Social Sports Society, the padel court operator founded by Jesper Konstantinov, a London-based entrepreneur with a history of connecting urban communities through innovate social spaces, is planning to open a site in Stockport as part of its UK roll out plans. The company opened its first community padel – a three-court venue – earlier this summer underneath the arch of Wembley Stadium. The company is looking to open two further venues by the end of 2024, including a multi-sports venue in Brent Cross, London. The Business Desk reported developer Muse is working with Social Sports Society and has submitted a planning application to open a three court, 1,500 square-metre padel venue at the Exchange office development in Stockport. The three-court venue is part of the wider £1bn regeneration programme in the town. Rachel Tan, Social Sport Society director of growth and development, said: “We are thrilled to be launching our first community partnership initiative with Stockport Council and Muse. Our mission is to work closely with local communities to empower individuals from all backgrounds to improve their health and well-being through the power of social sports. We’re so pleased that Stockport and Muse share this vision.”

 

Michelin-starred Somerset restaurant Osip to open in new permanent home next week: Michelin-starred Somerset restaurant Osip will open in a new, larger space next Tuesday (20 August). The French-inspired restaurant, launched by chef Merlin Labron-Johnson in 2019, was previously located at 1 High Street in Bruton. Osip is now moving to 25 Kingsettle Hill, just outside the village, where the team has renovated a 16th-century inn. The new venue is a larger, freehold site, with 38 covers and four rooms. Labron-Johnson’s new vision attracted backing from investors Johnny Smith and Daniel Willis, who are established London restaurateurs. The new Osip will also have a bigger wine cellar and more extensive wine list, curated with a focus on organic wine from small scale producers. Labron-Johnson said: “Each visit to the new Osip will change – the light, the season, the time of day. We are very proud of what we built at Number One Bruton, and I am excited to expand on our relationships and knowledge to offer our guests the warmest hospitality and dining experience I can.”

Nottinghamshire operators open third site: Nottinghamshire operators Alex Fuge and Kalpesh Pate have opened their third site, and a second for their café bar concept Cured. The duo has brought the concept to the nearby town on Bingham offering its selection of coffee, craft beer, cocktails and charcuterie. Cured has opened in the former Card Zone premises in Market Street and has 40 seats, with room for up to another 30 people standing. Fuge, who lives in Bingham, and Pate launched Cured in Carrington Street in Nottingham and also operate the Parlour in West Bridgford. Fuge told Nottinghamshire Live: “We were in two minds of what concept to put in here. The reason we went with Cured is because of the food element. It just gave a different direction – the charcuterie, we think, fits into the Bingham scene.” The duo also revealed they are already planning their next project, which will be revealed soon. 

Two new street food kitchens join line-up at Peppermint’s east London dining and events space: Two new street food kitchens are joining the line-up at bars and event solutions business Peppermint’s dining and events space at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. Winging It and East Side Pizza are bringing their menus to the venue’s outdoor courtyard, The Yard. East Side Pizza offers classic flavours such as margherita and pepperoni alongside specials such as Cacio e Pepe (creme fraiche, parmesan, black pepper) and The Vegan Nduja (tomato sauce, plant-based nduja, plant-based stracciatella, pickled red onions). Meanwhile, Winging will serve crispy jumbo wings with a choice of homemade sauces. Riverside East opened in May and features four dining spaces including a 300-cover café; The Yard; and The Terrace, which offers a roof garden with panoramic views across east London.