Premium Club members to receive next Turnover & Profits Blue Book tomorrow featuring 1,039 companies: Premium Club members will receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book tomorrow (Friday, 13 December), at 12pm. The database will feature 65 updated accounts and 30 new companies, taking the total to 1,039. A total of 650 companies are making a profit while 389 are making a loss. The Blue Book is updated each month and ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors' earnings for the past five years. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, 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. 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.

Rosa’s Thai FY sales top £46m: Rosa’s Thai, the TriSpan-backed business, saw sales top £46m in the year to 31 March 2024, as despite ongoing inflationary pressures the company continued to grow organically, opening a further seven new restaurants in the period. The circa 40-strong group reported sales in the year of £46,774,935 (2023: £35,580,690), with adjusted Ebitda of £4,657,234 (2023: £3,159,192). It posted a pre-tax loss of £167,187, against a profit of £374,462 the previous year. The company said: “Our fantastic teams across the county remain very engaged as evidenced in the all-time high customer ratings consistently achieved during the year. A number of UK sites are legally committed, with Bristol opening imminently and fit out works in progress for sites in Norwich and Kingston at the time of signing these accounts, and continued openings in the coming year. At the year end the entity is in a net asset position of £4,223,408 (2023: £4,731,714). They have net current liabilities of £3,625,754 (2023: £5,466,500) which is largely driven by loans, which continue to be paid post year end. The company expects to continue growing its presence across the UK through new restaurants openings.” It has subsequently opened in Bristol and Kingston and has openings lined up for next year in the ex-TM Lewin site at 16 Promenade in Cheltenham, and at Jackson’s Corner in Reading. Last month, Propel revealed that Gavin Adair was stepping down as chief executive of Rosa’s Thai after seven and a half years in the role. Adair, who was previously commercial and strategy director at Mexican restaurant brand Wahaca and finance director at Azzurri Group-owned ASK Italian, will become a non-executive director of Rosa’s Thai, supporting the board and management team as they continue to grow the business. He will be succeeded as chief executive by Sarah Hills, who was most recently chief operating officer at Côte Brasserie, as well as previously being managing director at all-day, neighbourhood restaurant concept Megan’s, Bill’s and The Restaurant Group-owned Wagamama.

The Scotsman Group FY turnover passes £170m, finalising new £7.1m debt facility: The Scotsman Group, formerly G1 Group, has reported that turnover for the year to 31 March 2024 was £170.7m (2023: £159.7m), as it said it was close to finalising a new £7.1m debt facility. The company said Ebitda increased in the year by £1.3m to £28.4m (2023: £27.1m), while its pre-tax profit stood at £12.7m (2023: £13.4m). The company said: “Gross profit has increased by £6.8m to £93.5m (2023: £86.7m). The gross profit percentage increased to 55.3% (2023: 55.0%) of group turnover. Group net assets increased by £8.3m to £108.6m at 31 March 2024 (2024: £100.3m). The group continued its capex programme in the year, with a total of £42.1m invested in the estate and in acquiring new properties (2023: £31.6m). Group external debt at £117.5m has increased by £17.9m compared to the prior year (2023 decreased: £2.8m). The group has invested in a variety of projects in the year within the existing estate. Investments were made in group restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, cinemas and convenience stores consistent with the group’s policy of maintaining market position whilst achieving balanced growth. The group also invested in the conversion of an existing school building to purpose-built student accommodation in St Andrew. This alongside new build future phases in the same location represents a significant investment and diversification for the business. Although the economy bas followed an uncertain path in recent years, the group has continued to develop in the leisure and hospitality sector. Whilst these economic conditions look likely to continue for a number of years, the quality of the venues and commitment to service excellence give the directors confidence that the group can address the challenges successfully and continue to expand. The group has drawn down additional bank debt totalling £12.2m and has made repayments out with scheduled repayments totalling £5.1m. At the time of signing the financial statements the group was finalising a debt facility with Barclays Bank plc for £7.1m. The group intends to make acquisitions of £3.3m following the completion of this funding.” 

Bad weather raises cost of a cappuccino: The wholesale price of arabica, the most popular variety of coffee bean, reached a near 50-year high this week, having risen more than 18% this year. The Times reports that robusta beans, which have traditionally been cheaper than arabica, are also reaching record prices. Costs have surged after bad weather in the major growing countries. The key coffee-growing region in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of the robusta bean, suffered a long dry spell in the growing period but heavy downpours at the start of the harvest. This caused a reduction in the crop, driving the price of robusta close to that of arabica. Many companies as a result switched to the better quality arabica beans, driving up demand and therefore the price in that market. Brazil, a key producer of arabica beans, suffered a lengthy dry period earlier this year, which has raised concerns about its future supplies. Coffee lovers have already had to endure hefty price rises over the past five years. At the start of 2019, a cappuccino at Pret a Manger cost £2.45. Today customers without a £5 monthly subscription have to pay £4.05, a 65% increase. The cost of an americano at the retailer is £3.60, an increase of more than 50% over the past five years, although the chain recently reduced the cost of its filter coffee to 99p. Recent research by the analysts Stocklytics, which compared prices at all the major coffee chains, found the average cost of a cup had risen by 51% since 2019. A large cappuccino at Greggs is £3 and a large americano is £2.50. The prices in 2019 were £2.20 and £1.90 respectively. At present Wetherspoons is the chain with the cheapest cappuccino on the high street at £1.56. The Office for National Statistics reports that the average cost of a cup of coffee in a restaurant is £3.24, a 5% increase over the past year, more than twice the rate of inflation.