Premium Club subscribers to new UK Food & Beverage Franchisee Database this week: Premium Club subscribers will receive the latest Propel Food & Beverage Franchisee Database this week. The database will be sent on Wednesday (13 August), at 12pm. The database will feature ten new entries, plus updates to existing entries, to take the total number to 260 and more than 106,000 words. The new entries include McDonald’s franchisees C&T Restaurants, which operates 18 restaurants in Greater Manchester, and JPB Restaurants, which operates seven restaurants in London. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the New Openings Database, the Multi-Site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Bookand the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events and discounts on specialist sector reports. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers 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 subscribers 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 subscribers 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.

Super 8 Restaurants set to open more restaurants, new vehicle set up to help with expansion plans: Super 8 Restaurants, the London business led by Brian Hannon and Ben Chapman, has said it is set to open more restaurants, with a new vehicle set up to help with its expansion plans. Hannon and Chapman, who are behind restaurants such as Brat, Kiln, Smoking Goat and Mountain, set up Super 10 Restaurants last year. In the company’s accounts for the year to 31 July 2024, Hannon said: “The directors remain cautiously optimistic for the future. The group intends to expand and open more restaurants under it banner. Super 10 Restaurants, which was formed in April 2024, will be fully operational and is expected to expand the group business and increase its profits.” It comes as Super 8 Restaurants reported an increase in turnover and profit for the year. The company saw its turnover rise from £12,524,508 in 2023 to £19,853,435 in the year. Of this, £13,666,725 came from food (2023: £8,602,774) and £6,186,710 from drink (2023: £3,919,624). Its pre-tax profit grew from £1,045,347 to £2,443,437. Dividends of £307,929 were paid (2023: £154,831). During the year, the company opened Mountain in London’s Soho with Michelin-starred chef Tomos Parry and appointed Gary Cowles, formerly of Antic Pubs and Paul UK, as its new operations director.

SimpsInns reports ‘strong year’, driven by its hotel and leisure offerings: Scottish hospitality group SimpsInns have reported a “strong year” driven by its hotel and leisure offerings. The company’s turnover grew from £9,548,505 in 2023 to £10,755,639 in the year to 31 July 2024. Its pre-tax profit dropped from £1,481,379 to £1,264,841 as administrative expenses rose by almost £2m. Dividends of £106,897 were paid (2023: £318,000). “The directors of SimpsInns are pleased to report on another strong year across all aspects of the business,” director Malcolm Simpson said. “The performance of our leisure offering has been exceptional, with Si! Spa at The Gailes Hotel delivering above forecasted sales. The increase in Simpsinns’ turnover and gross profit is a credit to the hard work and commitment of the Simpsinns team, delivering excellent results in an exceptionally challenging environment both economically and politically. Despite the high cost of operations, especially in the food and drink sector, our strong performance in bedroom occupancy and room rate in the hotels and the growth in our leisure related business has supported another successful and profitable year. Simpsinns’ continued commitment to reinvest in the business to maintain the high standards our guests expect is reflected in the completed project of the redesign and refurbishment of both the Potting Shed and The Terrace Restaurant at Si!, opening to great acclaim and positive reviews. In addition, the company's second Spa facility and bedroom extension at the Waterside Hotel is well underway. This £3m investment will add an exciting new leisure offering to the property and expand the hotel to a luxury 40-bedroom operation. Government increases on national minimum wage, the employers national insurance rate and the lowering of the eligibility threshold to pay N.I. will all be a significant cost to the business. As has been the case in previous years, rising energy costs continue to be one of the biggest challenges to our business. To combat this, Simpsinns is investing in solar panels and exploring additional energy-efficient technologies to help offset the operating costs, while supporting our commitment to engage in utilising a more sustainable energy source.” SimpsInns venues include The Waterside Hotel (West Kilbride), The Gailes Hotel & Spa (Gailes), Old Loans Inn (Loans, Troon), The Potting Shed and The Terrace at (Irvine), Gailes Golf Leisure (Gailes) and Si! Spa at The Gailes.