Exclusive – Our Yummy Collection founder warns prime minister – a regular at one of his pubs – that his Budget will punish small businesses, with ‘far reaching impacts’: Our Yummy Collection founder Anthony Pender has warned the prime minister – a regular at one of his pubs – that his Budget will punish small businesses, with “far reaching impacts”. Pender has written an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, in whose Holborn & St Pancras constituency one of his venues, The Somers Town Coffee House, sits. Pender said before being becoming party leader and prime minister, Starmer was a “supportive constituent MP” and a regular at Somers Town – one of two pubs in the Our Yummy portfolio alongside a restaurant and cocktail bar. In the letter, Pender outlines why the Budget delivered by chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday (30 October) is putting businesses such as his at risk, and the wide-ranging consequences when pubs and other small businesses are forced to close as a result. He compares the skewed business rateable value of The Somers Town Coffee House to a nearby national brand supermarket, which pays less than half the business rates despite raking in ten times the revenue. Pender also describes national insurance contributions as the “real sting in the tail”, explaining that while pub business have created more jobs and paid more tax contributions as they grow, supermarkets increasingly turn to automation and generate “greater revenue in a far more tax efficient circumstances – a pattern that will continue as they automate warehouses and distribution”. Pender wrote: “The impact of the above is so far reaching. We use local suppliers, provide jobs and are a hub for the local community that you yourself have used frequently. These increases will close pubs and other small businesses. The intention to gain more tax revenue will have the opposite effect with £0 receipts. As a small business in your constituency, this is the true detail and impact of this year’s Budget.” Pender’s full letter to Starmer will appear in today’s Propel Friday Opinion, which will be sent out at 11am.

 

Premium Club members to receive updated segmented Multi-Site Database featuring 445 QSR operators today: Premium Club members are to receive the Multi-Site Database today (Friday, 1 November), at midday. The next Propel Multi-Site Database provides details of 3,264multi-site operators and is now searchable in seven main segments. The database features 961 (29%) operators from the casual dining sector, 784 (24%) pub and bar operators, 548 (17%) cafe bakery operators, 445 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 267 (8%) hotel operators, 204 (6%) experiential leisure operators and 54 (2%) fine dining operators. It is updated each month and this edition includes 21 new companies. New additions to the QSR sector include chicken brand Southern Fried Chicken and Dubai-headquartered fast chicken brand ChicKing. Premium Club members also receive access to five additional databases: the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including 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.

 

Entry deadline extended for Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards and Rising Stars: The deadline has been extended for entries to the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator (RMI) Awards. The awards, in their seventh year, recognise outstanding marketing and innovation in the sector. The closing date for entries is now 5pm on Tuesday, 5 November. Finalists will be honoured at a grand awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, 22 January, the finale of the three-day Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit. The awards are open to any eating or drinking-out brand across Europe, with 14 categories including best communications, best new product development, best use of technology and innovator of the year. In addition to the main awards, the Rising Stars programme is also returning, recognising talented future leaders under 30 in marketing, innovation and strategy roles. This programme is open to young professionals from anywhere in Europe, offering a platform for emerging talent in the sector. The closing date for nominations has also been extended until 5pm on Tuesday, 5 November. James Hacon, co-founder of the awards, said: “The RMI Awards celebrate the extraordinary creativity and forward-thinking that drives our sector. It’s a chance to stand out and be recognised among the industry’s best, whether you’re a start-up with bold ambitions or an established brand evolving to meet the demands of tomorrow’s market.” For more information and to enter the RMI awards, click here, and to nominate for the Rising Stars programme, click here.

  

UKHospitality – Budget to increase cost of full-time employment by at least £2,500 per person: UKHospitality has warned that this week’s Budget will increase the cost of full-time employment by at least £2,500 per person. New analysis by the trade body follows the employment tax measures announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves. The breakdown of costs is based on a typical staff member, aged 21 or older, earning the national living wage and working 38 hours per week. In this example, an employers’ national insurance contribution will rise 53.9% from £1,863 to £2,869. Furthermore, it said a single parent working 9am-3pm, five days a week, will generate £2,100 more in employment cost, while a student working 14 hours at the weekend will generate £1,140 more. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “The increase to employer national insurance contributions and, crucially, the lowering of the threshold left hospitality owners with a sleepless night as they came to terms with the enormous cost they will have to bear from April onwards. The new cost of employing core members of staff is eyewatering – an increase of at least £2,500 is far, far beyond what anyone’s worst case scenario was. The overwhelming feedback from the sector is that this is just not sustainable and will ultimately do real harm to our ability to support employment. Hospitality venues will now have to ditch their ambitions to employ more people and do the very opposite – cut hours, scale back recruitment, and, in extreme circumstances, let people go, because they simply can’t afford the scale of these costs. We understand the challenging state of the public finances, but balancing the books disproportionately at the expense of high street businesses will ultimately have negative consequences for growth, investment, employment and our communities.”

 

HDI – we expect additional price increase of 4.5% to 5% across hospitality in 2025 as a result of Budget: Additional price increase of 4.5% to 5% can be expected across the industry in 2025 as a result of the rise in costs from the Budget, according to Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), the provider of card spending insight and pricing data to the UK hospitality sector. Business development manager Mark Bentley said: “The past few years have brought unprecedented levels of price inflation as hospitality operators have sought to offset the slow return to pre-covid trading alongside mounting operating costs across labour, utilities, and product categories. Latest price tracking data from HDI shows that while inflation peaked around 9% in early 2024, we’re now seeing it stabilise closer to 5%. The above-expected increase in the national living wage and a rise in national insurance contributions means operators are likely to pass on some of these costs to customers. While the draught duty cut is a positive step, it only partially offsets other climbing costs, from business rates to food and utilities. As a result, HDI anticipates an additional price increase of 4.5% to 5% across the sector in 2025.” Data from HDI also showed UK hospitality sales grew 1.6% year on year over the 12 weeks ending 1 October 2024, with growth slowing to 0.4% in the latest four weeks. Independents and “smaller players” are now the best performing sector, with these operators that represent just over a fifth of the market, bucking the general trend of softening sales performance. The delivery category and coffee and sandwich operators continue to outperform the market across all time periods, while fast food and takeaway sales are now underperforming versus the market overall. Shereen Ritchie, chief executive of Buns from Home, said: “Our sector is like water; we will find a way, but it doesn't mean we are immune to drowning. If you remove hospitality, not only does this country fall down economically, but it falls down socially.”

Propel figures show McDonald’s UK’s biggest franchisees bounced back into profit in 2023: McDonald’s largest UK franchisees bounced back into profit in 2023, according to analysis by Geof Collyer, of Lavender Bank Partners. The analysis, which is based on reporting by Propel over the past two months, covers 38 of McDonald’s UK’s largest franchisees, accounting for just over 40% (489) of the company’s UK franchise sites. It compares the cohort’s performance in 2023 against that in 2022, when, Collyer said, “the franchisees got hammered”. The analysis also looks at how McDonald’s Restaurants UK fared in 2023 against 2022 and compares this performance with that of its leading franchisees. Among the franchisees in question are companies such as Capital Arches Group, AG Restaurants, PA Crocker, Wright Restaurants, McLean Restaurants and Kyra Enterprises – all of which reported sales in excess of £100m in 2023. The full in-depth analysis on the state of the McDonald’s UK franchisee landscape by Collyer will be published today (Friday, 1 November) as part of Premium Opinion, which will be sent to Premium Club members at 5pm. The 38 McDonald’s franchisee businesses feature in the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database – the next edition of which will be sent to Premium Club members on Wednesday (6 November). 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.

Deliveries rise and takeaways stabilise as restaurants grow at-home sales by 6% in September: Britain’s leading restaurant groups achieved like-for-like sales growth of 6.0% in delivery and takeaway sales in September, according to CGA by NIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker. The figure represents a slight strengthening from growth of 4.6% in August. Year-on-year trading has been comfortably above the rate of inflation in every month of 2024 so far. The tracker shows restaurants’ at-home sales continue to be powered by deliveries, which finished 8.5% ahead of the levels of September 2023. They accounted for nearly 12% of restaurants’ total sales last month. Groups were also buoyed by 0.7% growth in takeaway and click-and-collect sales – a second successive month of fractional growth after a long-term decline in trading as consumers switched to the convenience of deliveries. However, deliveries now account for 57% of restaurants’ total at-home orders, with takeaways and click-and-collect sharing 43%. Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “Growth in deliveries and takeaways has outstripped in-venue sales for most of 2024, and September’s poor weather meant many consumers continued to order in their restaurant meals rather than eat out. The modest revival of pick-up orders is an encouraging sign of stability, though growth here is being achieved by price rises rather than extra volumes. With spending still tight, real-terms growth in either channel will be hard earned for some time to come.”

 

AB InBev and Carlsberg reveal drop in beer sales volumes: Brewing companies AB InBev and Carlsberg have revealed weaker volumes of beer sales in recent months as they were both impacted by activity in China. Budweiser and Stella Artois-maker AB InBev said volumes fell by 2.4% over the third quarter of 2024, compared with a year earlier. However, it added revenue was up 2.1% for the period as it was boosted by “premiumisation” and price inflation. The company said it was boosted by a strong performance from its Corona brand, which saw revenue lift by 10.2% globally, outside of Mexico. Nevertheless, the group’s core beer portfolio delivered low-single digit revenue as it was dragged by “soft” sales activity in China. In Europe, the company, which also owns Camden Town Brewery, said revenue was “flattish” – with customers buying more premium brands helping to offset lower sales volumes. Meanwhile, Carlsberg revealed that organic sales volumes dipped by 0.2% over the third quarter of 2024. The company said the “tough” quarter was largely dented by trading in Asia, where sales volumes slumped 5.2% amid the consumer downturn in China. Group revenue grew by 0.9% for the period to 20.5 billion Danish krone, as acquisitions helped to offset negative currency impacts. Carlsberg said volumes of premium beer were down 0.5% for the quarter, while sales of alcohol-free beer were up 6%. Chief executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen said: “It was a tough quarter, impacted by a challenging consumer environment and weather. Nevertheless, we delivered volume and revenue growth in the majority of our markets, although lower volumes in China, France and the UK impacted overall group performance.”

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a food tech scale-up that is revolutionising commercial kitchens and is seeking a new general manager/managing director. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “The individual should be used to a fast paced, and changeable environment, and preferably have knowledge of the food delivery space. This is a commercial role that will see the general manager/managing director managing targets, account management, customer lifecycle and relationships. They will be managing a team of about five direct reports with a wider team of 15 to 25 people.” The package is up to £120,000 and the position is based in London. For more information, email hayley@corecruitment.com.

 

Taiwanese bubble tea brand T4 to make Welsh debut: Taiwanese bubble tea brand T4 will make its Welsh debut today (Friday, 1 November). The store will open in Cardiff’s St Andrew’s Place, offering its selection of drinks, including bubble tea, smoothies, and milkshakes. The new addition joins more than 50 locations across the UK including Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and London. The Cardiff franchise is fronted by entrepreneur Sean Tao, founder of Cardiff restaurant Tuk-Tuk. He said: "We're excited to bring this new venture to Cardiff, especially as all our ingredients are sourced directly from Taiwan, ensuring that every drink we serve is made fresh in-house. We’re proud to be creating new roles in Cardiff, and giving staff from TukTuk the chance to further their careers with us. We’re confident that T4 will help diversify Cardiff’s market and bring a top-tier bubble tea experience to the city.”

 

Soho Coffee Co reports record turnover of £18.7m but losses increase: Soho Coffee Co – which has 28 managed sites and a franchised business with stores in the UK, Europe and the Middle East – has reported turnover increased to a record £18,705,444 for the year ending 28 January 2024 compared with £16,168,162 the year before. Pre-tax losses were up to £3,208,677 from £2,974,553 the previous year. Of the total loss in the most current year, £1,400,000 was attributable to net interest accrued on shareholders loans (2023: £800,000), £900,000 to depreciation (2023: £900,000) and £500,000 to the accounting impact of adopting IFRS16 (leases) in the year (2023: £500,000). In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “While trading conditions remain challenging, we view this as largely cyclical.” No dividend was paid (2023: nil). Sam Shutt took over as chief executive in February 2023 after co-owners Chris Cooper and Penny Manuel sold their last 25% stake. The company employs around 400 staff.

 

Suffolk and Norfolk McDonald’s franchisee opens 21st restaurant: Suffolk and Norfolk McDonald’s franchisee Carol Rogerson has opened her 21st restaurant with the brand. Rogerson, who began franchising with McDonald’s in 2014 after 11 years with French consulting business CCA International, has opened at Suffolk Business Park. The site, next to the A14, near Bury St Edmunds, has 100 covers and has created 120 jobs. Rogerson said: “I am delighted to open a new McDonald’s restaurant in Bury St Edmunds. People are at the heart of our business, and we look forward to welcoming new employees with the jobs our restaurant will create. We’re committed to investing in opportunities for a mix of all ages, life stages and backgrounds, promoting flexibility and equality. It’s particularly exciting to be opening this new restaurant as McDonald’s celebrates its 50th year in the UK.” Rogerson’s business, Direct Dialog Visual, saw both its turnover and profit more than double in the year to 31 December 2023 as it added ten new stores. The company’s revenue was up from £35,394,937 to £78,146,590, while its pre-tax profit was up from £335,969 to £1,836,554. Dividends of £458,551 were paid (2022: £376,978) and net assets were £4.3m (2022: £3.6m). 

Ikea launches first standalone restaurant: Ikea has launched its first standalone restaurant on the UK high street. Located on King Street in Hammersmith, the Ikea Restaurant is a dedicated dining space offering the brand’s Swedish cuisine, including its signature meatballs. Situated right next to the newly renovated Ikea Hammersmith City Store, the restaurant brings the furniture store’s menu items directly to customers on the high street, marking a first for the retailer. The new restaurant space, previously occupied by Wasabi, is designed to seat 75 diners and features a menu of classic Swedish dishes alongside kid-friendly options, reports 365 Retail. Matthew Gould, market manager at Ikea London City, said: “We know how much our customers love the Ikea restaurant and we’re excited to celebrate the opening of our very first high street restaurant. Fans of our delicious dishes can recharge during their shopping trip with our famous Swedish meatballs, pop in for a traditional Swedish ‘fika’ break for coffee and a sweet treat, or find an affordable meal for the kids right on the high street.”

 

London neighbourhood private members’ club launches £1m fundraise to kickstart expansion: The Dally, the neighbourhood private members’ club located in the heart of London’s Islington, is launching a £1m equity fundraise to open its second site and kick off its UK expansion strategy. Founded in 2023, The Dally aims to create “welcoming and entertaining spaces where residents and businesses can feel part of a community of like-minded people within their local neighbourhood”. It is on a mission to revolutionise the legacy private members clubs’ model by launching sites in largely residential areas rather than central locations and “offer memberships at an accessible price”. Earlier this year, the group opened its first location – a 4,000 square-foot, three-storey venue in Upper Street in Islington. The club has a lounge and bar on the ground floor, 32-cover seasonal Mediterranean restaurant Margo’s on the first floor, and its loft space that plays host to member events and private dining. Since opening, The Dally said the site has traded ahead of expectations, with membership levels up 55% on initial projections. A third of all visits to The Dally are made up of guests, which it said creates opportunities to introduce the club to prospective members and build a pipeline of membership enquiries. The Dally is already backed by a series of private high-net-worth, and hospitality-focused investors, and proceeds from the £1m equity fundraising will, in part, be used to explore The Dally’s second club. This is likely to be located in one of London’s “villages”, where The Dally sees an opportunity to replicate its events-focused, member-led model. Over the next five years, the management team believes it has potential to scale to five sites. They are likely to be in London “villages” as well as affluent UK holiday destinations such as north Norfolk and Cornwall. Caroline Baldwin, co-founder and chief executive of The Dally, said: “Our performance reflects our belief that there is a gap in the market for member-led, events-focused private members clubs located in the neighbourhoods in which their members live. Now, we’re ready to bring in more investors who want to join us on this journey to revolutionise the private members club sector and start scaling The Dally’s differentiated concept.”

PureGym wins auction for US operator Blink Fitness with $121m bid: PureGym, Britain’s biggest health and fitness club operator, has won the auction for the portfolio of US operator Blink Fitness with a $121m bid. In September, Propel reported that PureGym was looking to expand in the US  – where it currently has three gyms – after its subsidiary, Pinnacle Holdings US, entered into an asset purchase agreement (APA) with Blink Fitness, which filed for bankruptcy in August. Pure Gym’s winning bid includes up to 67 sites from the Blink Fitness portfolio in New York and New Jersey – subject to the APA being approved – with the right to reject a number of those if suitable rent reductions from landlords are not forthcoming. The deal will complete if the APA is approved at a hearing on Wednesday, 6 November. PureGym chief executive Humphrey Cobbold said: “The acquisition of Blink Fitness is transformational for PureGym in the US, a market we have been operating in since 2021. It gives our group a meaningful presence in the country and a strong foothold in the attractive New York and New Jersey area. US expansion has been an important part of our growth plan. The American fitness market is the largest and most dynamic in the world. We are excited by the scale of opportunity and the chance to tailor and apply our proven model there.” PureGym currently has around two million members across more than 600 gyms in six countries. The group was launched in the UK in 2009, where it has 387 gyms. PureGym is jointly owned by Leonard Green & Partners, KKR and more than 100 members of the group’s management team. 

 

Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney acquire Wrexham Lager: Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have added to their Wrexham empire by taking over the self-proclaimed oldest lager brewery in Britain. The actors, who already own League One Wrexham AFC, announced that they have acquired a majority stake in Wrexham Lager. The brewery, founded in 1881, sponsors a stand at the club’s ground, reports the BBC. “As co-chairmen of Wrexham AFC, we have learned a lot,” Reynolds and McElhenney said in a statement. “The connection between club and community, the intricacies of the offsides rule and the occasional need for beer – especially after finance meetings. Wrexham Lager has a 140-year-old recipe and a storied history, and we’re excited to help write its next chapter.” Reynolds and McElhenney became majority owners of Wrexham AFC in February 2021. Since then, the club has been promoted twice and is third in the third tier of English football. They are also behind the Emmy award-winning television series Welcome to Wrexham, which chronicles the pair’s stewardship of the club.

 

Kent burger restaurant concept opens in Maidenhead for seventh site: Kent burger restaurant concept Chuck & Blade has opened in Maidenhead for its seventh site. The company, founded by Alex Hatzidakis and David Luck as a pop-up in 2020, initially opened across Kent and Medway – in Rochester, Ramsgate, Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells – before expanding out to Poole (Dorset) and Eastbourne (East Sussex). It has now expanded further afield with an opening in King Street in Maidenhead, Berkshire. It is located in a former Pizza Hut site which has undergone a £250,000 transformation and is their biggest branch yet. Luck told the Maidenhead Advertiser: “We’ve been able to almost design it as we want from the start – ripping out all the old Pizza Hut kitchen from upstairs and building our own new kitchen downstairs. It means we can have an open kitchen where all the customers are sitting. You get a bit of theatre while you’re dining – seeing the chefs at work. This puts together nearly four years of practice now with other sites. This is our first location that’s not in a tourist town, so we’re really looking forward to being involved in the community and actually being a go-to restaurant in a town that actually revolves around locals – people that live and work in the community.”

 

Oxfordshire coffee shop business set to open sixth site: Oxfordshire coffee shop business Missing Bean is set to open its sixth site. Owner Ori Halup opened the original Missing Bean in 2009, in Oxford’s Turl Street. It has since expanded to a roastery and bakery in Magdalen Road, east Oxford, plus Missing Bean cafes in Botley, Abingdon and Banbury. The company is now launching a new venue in Woodstock, opening in Oxford Street on Friday, 22 November, reports the Oxford Mail. “We're thrilled to announce our grand opening in Woodstock, and we can't wait to meet our wonderful new community,” a company spokesman said.

 

Riva Restaurants owner acquires another Glasgow pub: Peter Di Ciacca, owner of Riva Restaurants in Glasgow – which comprises Riva, Camphill Vaults and Love Rosso – has acquired another pub in the city. He has bought The Arlington in Woodlands Road from David Low for an undisclosed sum. Low is also chairman of the Three Thistles group of pubs, which also sold the nearby The Dram to Di Ciacca this summer. “I’ve always had an interest in Glasgow’s iconic bars, of which The Arlington is a fine example, but the time was right to move on, and I’m delighted to pass on ownership to a seasoned operator who I’m sure will retain its distinctive character over the years ahead,” Low said. The bar, which has been operated continuously on the same site since 1860, is one of the city’s oldest surviving pubs. Famous customers over the years have included Billy Connolly, Frankie Miller and The Clash, and it also claims to be home to the Stone of Destiny, the seat upon which ancient kings of Scotland were crowned.

 

Cotswolds hotel operator expects volatility in trading levels to continue into 2025 as it reports record turnover of £22.9m: Farncombe Estate – which operates three award-winning hotels on one Cotswolds estate – has said it expects the volatility in trading levels to continue into 2025. It comes as the company reported turnover increased to a record £22,889,000 for the year ending 31 December 2023 compared with £20,807,000 the previous year. Pre-tax losses narrowed to £3,148,000 from £3,728,000 the year before. Occupancy was down to 68.4% from 75.6% the year before. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “Hotel trading was satisfactory given the difficult trading circumstances caused by the inflationary environment, war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. This has added to the economic uncertainly, such that volatility in trading levels are expected for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025. There had been a resurgence in foreign holidays and the hotel business has seen bookings being made much closer to the time of stay than has previously been the case. Despite these pressures, good cost control and close demand management has meant that hotel margins have improved in 2023. Profitability has increased significantly over recent years, but large-scale capital projects and high running costs continue to require shareholder funding.” A dividend of £1.47m was paid (2022: £1.4m). The company employs around 300 staff.

 

Bristol operators open third pub: Bristol operators Chris McGuire, Al Roach and Tarik Graba have opened their third pub together. The trio, who are also behind the Vittoria in Whiteladies Road and the Barrelhouse in Gordon Road, have acquired the lease of the Ship Inn in Lower Park Road. The pub has been closed since March 2023, when previous owners Tony Zaremba-Wyczlinski and Ola Oyrzanowska – who had previously owned the award-winning George Inn in Lacock village – said covid debts had built up and that the building was in major need of a refurbishment. The new owners hope to offer a “similar style of pub and American dive bar” as their other pubs. Both do cocktails, with the Barrelhouse also specialising in Detroit pizza. “We have had an extensive refurbishment to give the Bristol institution some much-needed TLC,” the new owners told Bristol24/7. The pub, which dates to the 1700s, will also have dart boards and a shuffleboard table, as well as hosting live music.

 

Welsh craft brewery acquired by private equity firm: Welsh craft brewery Anglesey Ales has been acquired by private investment firm Cadman Capital Group. The deal follows the retirement of Anglesey Ales’ founders Phil and Karen Chadwick, who launched the business in 2017. Cadman Capital Group will leverage partner company Conwy Brewery’s resources going forward. Cadman Capital Group chief executive James Dinsdale said: “We’re excited to welcome Anglesey Ales to the group, as we believe it will bring fresh perspectives to our already diverse beverage portfolio. The combination of Anglesey’s distinctive craft style and Conwy’s traditional brewing heritage allows us to serve a wider range of customers across Wales.” Kane Upton, general manager at Conwy Brewery, added: “Anglesey Ales will remain true to its roots as a vibrant, local brewery, with the added support of Cadman Capital Group’s resources to help it grow.”

 

Former Berkshire pub landlady opens second site for her new crepe concept: Former Berkshire pub landlady Liya Efremova has opened a second site for her new crepe concept, Crepe Doux Sourire. Efremova, who previously managed The Jolly Farmer in Cookham Dean, has just opened her second Crepe Doux Sourire, next to Vue Cinema in central Reading. It comes five months after she opened her first site for the concept, at Windsor & Eton Central train station. Business partner Paul Nicklinson said that when Efromova sold the lease for the pub last year, they decided a creperie would be their next move “as we both like crepes”. He added: “We want to be more than just a creperie. If you look at our menu, it is quite extensive, with a lot of different options. For example, we have lots of savoury options, like spinach and jamon, which we slice by hand with sourdough bread and we also have a selection of English cheeses for a cheese board. People have been really positive about us and we’ve been told the coffee is excellent – we used a speciality maker and beans.”

 

American whiskey destination ‘home to largest collection outside US’ opens in London: American whiskey destination Odyssey Bar Lounge & Kitchen has launched in London. Propel revealed last month that the concept, founded by Michele Reina and Tony Vega, would be opening at 1 Hoxton Square. Featuring more than 600 varieties of American whiskey, constituting what it said is the largest collection outside the US, it has now opened. Occupying a 3,000 square-foot unit over two floors, the main bar area is situated downstairs and casual hosting upstairs, with 190 covers. Alongside the bourbons, the venue offers a selection of small sharing plates such as yuca balls, braised beef quesabirra and Kentucky Derby pie. It also offers a vegan version of whiskey sour on draft and plans to eventually sell its own branded whiskey, aged on-site. Vega said: “This has been a concept that we’ve talked about for many years now, and it’s great to finally see it come to fruition at 1 Hoxton Square.” Nick Weir, joint managing partner at agent Shelley Sandzer, added: “Shoreditch’s standout night-time economy and its reputation as one of the trendiest parts of London make it the perfect place for Odyssey to kickstart its presence in the capital.”

 

Plans submitted to preserve historic Tolkien pub: Plans have been submitted to preserve the historic The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, which was frequented by authors CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. The Eagle and Child in Oxford, which shut in 2020, is owned by US tech billionaire Larry Ellison's firm, the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT). Dating back to 1650, the pub in St Giles’ has a plaque inside commemorating the writers’ get-togethers. The EIT said it was “committed to reopening” the pub but that there was a “pressing need” to protect it and surrounding buildings, which were in an “extremely poor” state. EIT acquired the grade II-listed pub, which was previously owned by St John's College, last year. Work that EIT wants permission for includes repairing and restoring existing windows and cleaning original stonework to prevent it from deteriorating. “EIT is committed to carrying out sensitive repairs that allows the heritage values of these important Oxford buildings to be celebrated, and once again reopened for residents, tourists and the wider community to enjoy,” it said in a document filed with Oxford City Council. A deal for Young’s to acquire the pub in 2021 fell through.