Sourdough South secures first The Stable site since acquisition: Sourdough South, operator of the Three Joes concept, has secured the first site under The Stable brand since it acquired the business from Fuller’s in June 2020, Propel has learned. Sourdough South, which operates 17 sites across its brands, has secured a new lease on a site in Padstow, Cornwall, for The Stable. Sourdough South acquired the then 14-site Stable group from Fuller's for an undisclosed sum. Tim Hall, who founded Sourdough South with Peter Bruton and Emma Blackmore, told Propel: “This has been a cloak and dagger acquisition with robust competition from all the well-known incumbent restaurateurs in Padstow, Rock and Polzeath for this prime site. The Stable chain is delivering excellent results and strong growth and is now ready to expand under our ownership. Peter has developed a neat operating model to effectively manage the huge seasonal swings in coastal sites and the success of this innovation has bestowed us with sufficient confidence to tackle a site like this one. Padstow has more pubs per square foot than any other town in the UK but is surprisingly light on casual dining and this 160-cover site occupies the most prominent position on this beautiful harbour. The refurbishment will take place over the winter for a spring opening. With family from Rock, I am delighted we will soon be contributing to the thriving hospitality scene in the Camel Estuary. There is no doubt that by comparison with the glorious summer of 2022, coastal operators are going to be wincing slightly at their like-for-likes but our city centre sites are well ahead of last year with customers eating out more this summer when in 2022 they were barbecuing or taking day trips to the coast, so I expect the group to trade ahead of 2022 across the summer despite the miserable weather.” In July, Propel revealed Sourdough South had acquired the lease of the ex-Bella Italia site in Bridge Street and is fitting out for an opening later this month of what will be its sixth Three Joes site. Earlier this summer, the group, which also operates Fistral Beach Bar in Newquay, completed a funding round to support the continued expansion of its brands. 

Sponsored message – chefs Anna Haugh, Tom Shepherd and Nikita Pathakji confirmed for Commercial Kitchen show line-up: Commercial Kitchen, the highly anticipated event for chefs and decision makers for professional kitchens, has announced its initial line-up of speakers who will take to the stage at ExCeL London on 27-28 September. Some of the esteemed speakers who have been confirmed include: Anna Haugh, head chef and owner of Myrtle Restaurants and MasterChef judge, who will speak with the Burnt Chef Project in an exclusive interview with chief executive and founder, Kris Hall. Tom Shepherd, chef-patron of Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, joins Commercial Kitchen (with the Burnt Chef Project) to discuss his career so far and the challenges and opportunities for the industry. Nikita Pathakji, chef and MasterChef: The Professionals winner, is set to inspire attendees with her unique perspective on gastronomy. Commercial Kitchen together with Casual Dining and lunch! will take place on 27-28 September and will feature more than 600 exhibitors across the hospitality sector. You can access all three shows for free when you register in advance. Click here to register. If you have a sponsored message you would like to see featured in this newsletter position, email paul.charity@propelinfo.com.

The Alchemist to speak at Propel Talent & Training Conference, open for bookings: Hannah Plumb, talent and culture director at The Alchemist, will be among the speakers at the Propel Talent & Training Conference. The all-day conference takes place on Tuesday, 3 October at One Moorgate Place in London and is open for bookings. Following The Alchemist making its debut in Germany, Plumb will talk about the opportunities and challenges of building a people culture in a different country. The conference will showcase examples of outstanding people culture among companies within the sector and how the industry is attracting talent. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Tickets are £295 plus VAT for operators and £395 plus VAT for suppliers and can be booked by emailing kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

One day to go before next edition of The New Openings Database release, to show details of 108 new sites, 6,000-word report included: The next edition of The New Openings Database will show the details of 108 newly announced site openings and upcoming launches for Premium subscribers when it is published tomorrow (Friday 4 August), at midday, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis, and the next edition features growing restaurant and café brands, niche cuisine, and expanding experiential concepts. Premium subscribers will also receive a 6,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to four other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; and the Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage. This month, Propel will launch the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database – the first time that profiles of 100 of the top food and beverage franchisees have been available in one place in the UK. The go-to database, which features many of the big franchise operators running Costa Coffee, McDonald’s and Domino’s sites, brings together a wealth of information on an increasingly important part of the market, and the first edition will feature more than 32,000 words of content. The sixth major database exclusive to Premium subscribers, it will be sent out bi-monthly, including new entries and updates to existing entries. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around the company’s background, site numbers and board make-up. 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 jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers are also being given exclusive access to the recording and slides to Propel Multi-Club Conferences. They also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett. 

Alcohol duty changes ‘a hammer blow’ to drinkers and distillers: Diageo has branded the government’s new alcohol duty regime as a stealth tax that will push up prices for consumers. The Times reported that Debra Crew, the new chief executive of Diageo, said the duty regime, introduced despite strong representations to government, was effectively a tax rise dressed up as relief. Prime minister Rishi Sunak said he was radically simplifying the taxation of alcohol to ensure the less alcohol in a drink, the lower the tax imposed. Under the changes, duty will rise overall, particularly on wine and spirits, but fall on lower-alcohol drinks and most sparkling wine. “For us, it’s certainly a headwind on spirits,” Crew said. “Spirits is where we’re seeing a duty hike. We said to the government in March that this would be a hammer blow for pubs and ultimately for consumers. As it stands today, 75% of a bottle of whisky goes to the UK government. It is a substantial hike and we were disappointed by it. We’ve been in consultation, everybody’s made representations, but it's gone ahead with it anyway.” The taxation changes mean duty has risen 44p on a bottle of wine, which when combined with VAT will mean that consumers will pay an extra 53p, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. The total tax on a bottle of gin or vodka has gone up by around 90p. Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy at the Scotch Whisky Association, said the duty increase was “a hammer blow for distillers and consumers”. Under the new regime, tax paid on pints and other drinks on tap in pubs are now up to 11p cheaper than their supermarket equivalents.

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a growing event production company that is on the hunt for a managing director to lead the business. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “You must be organised and methodical in your approach, and eager for new business development. The business is looking for someone with an event production or festival background, and who is confident in being able to drive strategic growth. Your key responsibilities will be to build and develop long lasting relationships with clients; support the head of sales in creating and implementing a proactive sales approach; planning, and overseeing new marketing initiatives; and much more.” The salary is up to £80,000 plus profit share and benefits and the position is based in Buckinghamshire. For more information, email marlene@corecruitment.com. 

KFC UK system sales up 10% in second quarter and 7% year to date: Yum! Brands has reported KFC system sales in the UK were up 10% for the second quarter, ended 30 June 2023, compared with the previous year. In the year to date, KFC UK system sales have increased 7%. The UK accounts for 7% of KFC’s system sales worldwide. Globally, KFC like-for-like sales in the quarter were up 13% with US like-for-like sales up 5% – system sales worldwide rose 14% to $8,298m. Operating margin was up 4.5%. Operating profit increased 11% to $326m. KFC opened 600 gross new restaurants in 60 countries during the period. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut system sales in Europe, including the UK, were flat – the continent accounts for 14% of Pizza Hut’s system sales globally. Year-to-date sales are up 1% in the region. Pizza Hut sales in the quarter were up 5% globally to $3,201m, with like-for-likes increasing 4%. US system sales, which account for 41% of global sales, were up 2%. Operating margin was down 1.9% while operating profit fell 2% to $91m. Pizza Hut opened 357 gross new restaurants in 42 countries during the period. Taco Bell like-for-like sales increased 4% and system sales were up 7% to $3,760m. Operating margin was up 0.1% while operating profit increased 6% to $228m. Taco Bell opened 63 gross new restaurants in nine countries during the period. Yum! Brands’ total revenue in the quarter was up 3% to $1.687bn.

Paul UK plans to upgrade third of its estate to Le Café concept: French artisan bakery and patisserie brand Paul plans to upgrade a third of its 36-strong UK estate to its Le Café concept, which has already proved successful in other countries. The company opened the first Paul Le Cafe in Europe, outside France, where it operates more than 15 sites under the concept, in April, near the Tower of London, in Lower Thames Street. The business plans to upgrade a third of its UK estate over the next 12 months. The concept has been designed to evoke a “modern coffee lounge spirit” with the business taking inspiration from the original Paul site, including “graphic tiles and rosewood-coloured details”. The company said: “The biggest development in 2022 is the development of Paul Le Cafe in the UK. On the back of this project a number of stores will be rebranded or redesigned during 2023.” Last autumn, the brand launched its first franchise site in the UK, in Oxford. It said: “With this new partner, the brand will open a second franchise store during 2023 and the company will continue to work with potential franchise partners to expand the brand throughout the UK.” It comes as the business reported revenue increased to £34,954,995 for the year ending 31 December 2022. (2021: £26,072,914). Ebitda was £0.4m (2021: £1.3m). It said: “As covid restrictions eased during quarter two, footfall in popular central London started to increase as tourists and shoppers returned to the West End and tourist attractions in the capital – this was seen in the stores such as Piccadilly and Covent Garden. However, the City of London did not see the same increase and it remains unclear whether footfall in the City of London will return to pre-covid numbers with the fashion of working from home continuing to be prevalent.” Earlier this year, Propel revealed Mark Hilton had stepped down as chief executive of Paul UK after almost four years, to return to running his boutique advisory firm Kikkirossi, which specialises in international franchise and brand development. He previously said Paul was aiming for a 100-site UK estate, with 50% of it franchised. Paul UK features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £34,954,995 is the 207th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. 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 jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Company behind London’s Hippodrome Casino reports trading ‘strong’ in 2023 as revenue hits record £111m and business returns to profit: The company behind the Hippodrome Casino in London’s Leicester Square has said trading has been “strong” so far in 2023 as it reported record revenue and a return to profit. The business opened two new restaurant offerings at the end of 2022 – Chinese restaurant Chop Chop by Four Seasons at the Hippodrome and Crepeaffaire at the Hippodrome – that are “contributing positively to profits”. A new sandwich bar opened in June 2023 while a new offer is planned in the final quarter of the year. Revenue increased to £111,332,353 for the year ending 31 December 2022 compared with £57,503,885 the previous year. In the last full year before the covid pandemic – year ending 31 December 2019 – the business turned over £92,248,635. Ebitda increased to £18.5m from £5m the previous year (2019: £6.5m). It made a pre-tax profit of £10,105,918 compared with a loss of £10,590,116 the year before (2019: profit of £8,479,496). The group paid out £43.6m in duties, social security, PAYE, VAT and licensing costs. The tax burden accounted for 39% of turnover. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The business was able to fully realise the benefits of an investment programme undertaken during lockdown. In that period two new trading floors were added, which have both traded well and together with continued strong demand for all our entertainment offers – gaming, hospitality and live entertainment – the business has recorded its best trading year since opening, enabling the full repayment of all tax deferrals permitted under the covid HM Revenue & Customs tax deferral scheme. In 2023, our gaming offers are trading well and our live Magic Mike show continues to play to full houses. with £3m of advance ticket sales. All areas remain profitable and turnover is growing as we move through the year. We also expect to open a new bar within the building before the end of the year.” No government grants were received (2021: £3,143,626 ). No dividend was paid (2021: nil).

Snowflake Gelato expands presence in the north west with new Manchester sites: London premium gelato brand Snowflake is to strengthen its presence in the north west, with two new openings in Manchester. The company, which is led by Asad Khan and was founded in 2012 and operates nine UK sites, will open two new sites in the city’s Trafford Centre, bringing its total locations at the scheme to three. The company said the new kiosks will be strategically located in prominent areas of the Trafford Centre. Along with its new sites, Snowflake Gelato is introducing a range of new flavours, from “classic favourites to innovative creations”. Khan said: “We are excited to introduce our new flavours and experiences to the north west.” In June, the business told Propel it was aiming for up to six new franchise sites in 2023 as it builds towards a UK target of 50 locations, and sees the potential for a larger overseas roll-out. The company operates franchises in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “We’ve been open at the Trafford Centre, our first UK site outside London, for six months, and sales have been unbelievable,” head of partnerships Tim Field told Propel. “They’ve overtaken our London stores, so it’s good to know we have that flexibility and it’s increased our confidence to move north. We’re looking at major cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester to expand, and there’s still areas in London we can do. We have one franchise site, at Westfield Stratford, and we aim to have five or six more in the UK by the end of the year.”

BrewDog to expand partnership in Australia with $3m Perth site: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog and Australian Venue Co (AVC) are to expand their partnership to Western Australia, with the opening of a $3m site in Gordon Street in Perth. The site will transform Gordon Street Garage on the city fringe in West Perth into a brewpub with capacity for 600 people. It will be the fifth BrewDog in Australia and the first in Western Australia. Work will start on the new site later this month and is due for completion by the end of this year. It is the third venue under the partnership with AVC, following the opening of BrewDog Pentridge in Melbourne and BrewDog South Eveleigh in Sydney in late 2022. It is also the first of four new BrewDog venues slated to open under the partnership with AVC. The new venue will be 945 square metres, across large indoor and outdoor spaces including two bars, a beer garden and stage. BrewDog Perth will offer 40 taps of craft beer, including a line-up of Brisbane-brewed BrewDog beer alongside guest beer tap takeovers and collaborations with local breweries. Its food menu will be 50% plant-based alongside BrewDog's burgers, wings and pizza. AVC chief executive Paul Waterson said: “Perth has one of the most dynamic hospitality scenes in the country right now, so we're excited to bring our partnership with a renowned international brand like BrewDog to Western Australia for the first time.” James Watt, chief executive and co-founder of BrewDog, added: “Australia is one of the most exciting craft beer markets in the world, and so we are thrilled to be expanding our partnership with AVC to bring our bar experience to the people of Perth. With five bars across the country, Australia is an increasingly important market for us, as we continue to lead the craft beer revolution all over the globe.”

Roxy Leisure tries again for York site: Roxy Leisure, the operator of the Roxy Lanes and Roxy Ball Room concepts, has reapplied to open a site in York. The company previously submitted plans to open a Roxy Lanes venue at a vacant site in St Mary’s Square in the city’s Coppergate Centre. It has now submitted a licensing and planning application for a Roxy Ball Room in Stonebow House, in the city. It would be the 20th site for the Roxy Leisure group, further to its most recent launches in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff and Leicester, with its newest site opening in Cheltenham in September. Roxy Leisure was founded by brothers Matt and Ben Jones with the first site opening in Leeds during 2013. Last month, the company opened the first site for its King Pins family bowling concept. It opened the site in Manchester’s Trafford Palazzo, offering 15 lanes of ten pin bowling and four lanes of duck pin bowling alongside shuffleboard, ice free curling, a batting cage, karaoke and arcade games. It also offers pizza from PLY and Asian street food from Little Bao Boy alongside its own dessert kiosk, Royal Treats. In April, Matt Jones told Propel the company had another four King Pins sites in major cities and shopping centres in legals and would target six sites within the next two years.

Caledonian Heritable reports turnover exceeds pre-covid levels as revenue from hospitality operations more than doubles: Scottish pub, hotel and leisure operator Caledonian Heritable has reported turnover exceeded pre-covid levels as revenue in its hospitality operations more than doubled. The Edinburgh company, owned by leisure industry entrepreneur Kevin Doyle, operates several pubs and bars and a golf resort alongside haulage, plant hire and property interests. Group turnover increased to £55,498,833 for the year ending 31 October 2022 compared with £35,392,184 the previous year. Revenue also exceeded the £49,455,880 reported for the year ending 31 October 2019 – the last full year before the covid pandemic. Turnover for its bars, restaurants and nightclubs was £30,757,041 (2021: £14,976,429). Turnover for its golfing activities was £5,412,620 (2021: £4,807,543). Turnover for its spa and event facilities was £5,496,346 (2021: £3,382,314). Pre-tax profit was up to £16,069,098 from £10,964,382 the year before (2019: profit of £4,907,552). In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The group is well placed to take advantage of any opportunities that it identifies.” The business received government grants of £271,740 (2021: £4,549,577). No dividend was paid (2021: nil).

Pizza Pilgrims joins Zero Carbon Forum: Pizza Pilgrims, the pizzeria brand, has joined Zero Carbon Forum to accelerate its progress to net zero, and share its sustainability insight and learnings across the sector. The company – which operates in 14 different locations across London, Oxford, Brighton, Nottingham, and Cambridge – is journeying towards B-Corp certification and net zero. Recently the company launched Plant Pilgrims, an initiative dedicated to developing new greener innovations including making its packaging as sustainable as possible. One of the biggest challenges that pizza companies face is how to address the environmental impact of dairy production, which can contribute significant greenhouse gas emissions. The forum is bringing pizza restaurants together from across the UK to tackle the issue, including Pizza Pilgrims, Pizza Hut, PizzaExpress and Azzurri Group, working with Dairy UK as part of the forum’s Dairy Action Group, to understand the UK footprint and levers to reduce it. Pizza Pilgrims co-founder Thom Elliot said: “Joining the Zero Carbon Forum will help Pizza Pilgrims unlock the knowledge and expertise that comes with collaboration, helping us and others along the way. Net zero is a not just a target for us, it helps us drive innovation and take our partners on a collective journey. We are excited to see what we can achieve, and we have already made real progress with our sustainable-driven pizzeria in Selfridges and our soon-to-launch new sustainable menu.” Mark Chapman, founder and chief executive of Zero Carbon Forum, added: “This growing collaboration of the pizza operators will accelerate the changes we need in our supply chain to both reduce emissions and build resilience as we head towards net zero, at pace.” 

Young’s extends tenure at award-winning Guinea Grill pub, acquires adjacent site: Young’s, the Simon Dodd-led business, has extended its tenure at the award-winning Guinea Grill in London’s Mayfair for another 30 years. At the same time, it is also extending the pub’s dining capacity having acquired the adjacent Sladmore Gallery in Bruton Place to give the pub around 60 additional covers and two further private dining rooms. The company said: “The Guinea has been in the Young’s estate since 1888. However there has been a pub on the site since 1423, damaged and rebuilt in 1741 and relicensed in 1754. It was established as the Guinea in 1675. Since 1952 when it started serving the finest steaks sourced from grass-fed cattle in Scotland (we pretty much use the same supply chain to this day) the Guinea has remained largely unchanged and therefore unspoilt. We do not intend to change this. The access to the additional space will be discreet and the new dining spaces will be a reflection of the existing pub, which will get a bit of love and a refresh, but nothing else, retaining the essential character and spirit that makes the Guinea one of London’s most loved pubs. Our phased scheme will be on site in late autumn and completed in spring 2024. A new chapter for this ‘gem’ of a business.”

Loungers opens third Brightside site: Cafe bar operator Loungers has opened the third site under its fledgling roadside diner concept Brightside. The new site, the concept’s second in Devon, has opened near Honiton on the A303, become Loungers’ 234th site overall. The first Brightside opened at Haldon Hill, Exeter, in February, with a second opening in Saltash, Cornwall, in June. Alex Reilley, executive chairman of Loungers, said: “The south west is now well served by Brightside, so travellers heading to Cornwall and Devon will be able to experience our reinterpretation of roadside dining.” Loungers believes there is scope to create a national brand and has ambitious plans to roll out Brightside to all corners of the UK. It plans to open further Brightside sites at the Ram Jam Services, on the northbound section of the A1(M) in Rutland, and off the A11 near Thetford. Speaking last month about the first two openings under the new concept, Loungers chief executive Nick Collins said the Brightside sites were trading well after a slow start and was excited about their prospects. He added: “We’ve learned the local community trade is just as important as the passing motorist. There has also been some legacy loyalty to the brand [Route Restaurant Group] that operated there previously, which caught us a bit by surprise, and was a bit more of a value-based proposition. Speed of service is something else we’ve had to learn to grasp, and offering pizza for the first time has been a steep learning curve.”

Starbucks’ cup is half-empty in China: Sales at Starbucks missed Wall Street’s expectations in the last quarter as booming demand in China was offset by muted growth in the United States. The Times reported that Starbucks saw a 46% jump in like-for-like sales in China, with the world’s second largest economy in recovery mode after years of stringent covid-19 restrictions. With growth of 7% in America, however, Starbucks reported like-for-like sales had risen 10% worldwide. Analysts had expected overall growth of about 11.8%. Revenue at Starbucks rose by 12.5% to $9.17bn in the three months to 2 July, short of analysts’ expectations of $9.29bn. Net earnings increased 25% to $1.14bn, slightly ahead of forecasts. Laxman Narasimhan, Starbucks’ chief executive, said: “Our strong third-quarter results point to all-around momentum in the business and reflect the significant progress we are making against our Reinvention Plan. Our results were also amplified by the distinctive competitive advantages that set us apart in the market.” Starbucks has 37,222 cafés in more than 80 markets, with 61% of them scattered across the US and China. In March, Starbucks said it would open 100 new stores in Britain this year and would refurbish 30 more as it sought to extinguish reports that it could sell its UK operations.

Uber delivers operating profit for first time in 14 years: Uber Technologies has announced its first quarterly operating profit, a breakthrough for the ride-hailing company after losses of tens of billions of dollars over the past decade. The Times reported the group reported a record number of trips and active customers as it drew a line under the impact of the pandemic. Outside London, it said sales throughout the UK had climbed by about 45%. Its operations generated income of $326m in the three months to 30 June, after a cost-cutting drive that included layoffs and budget cuts. A year ago, it suffered an operating loss of $713m. Total revenue rose 14% to $9.23bn. The company is best known for its ride-hailing app, but its food delivery and freight divisions generate almost half its business. It rapidly built its food delivery unit in the pandemic, which triggered a steep fall in demand for its ride-hailing service. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, described a “strong demand environment” for ride-hailing as leisure travel picks up and as office workers return to their desks. The total number of trips rose 22% to 2.28 billion in the quarter, or an average of about 25 million per day, and the number of customers who rode with or ordered food from Uber at least once a month rose by 12% to 137 million.

Taca Tacos secures second site: Taca Tacos is double its presence in London, with an opening in Peckham. The business, which was founded in 2018 by Thorne Addyman following a research trip to the US West Coast and Mexico, has secured the former Two Hundred site in Rye Lane, for an opening later this month. The company said: “We have a super cosy inside space for more than 30 people and a super snazzy beer and margarita garden out the back.” Taca Tacos opened its first site in Deptford Market Yard last summer. It had also until the end of last month held a residency at Brick Brewery Taproom in Deptford. 

Liverpool operator BoBo Group to open West Kirby restaurant: Liverpool operator BoBo Group is to open a new restaurant in the Wirral. Founders Steven Burgess and Josh Moore, who own and run the award-winning wine bar, tasca and charcuteria, BoBo, in Castle Street will open the new restaurant in West Kirby on Thursday, 17 August. Like its big city sister that opened three years ago, the restaurant on the corner of Banks Road and Salisbury Avenue will concentrate on the flavours of Portugal and Spain. Burgess and Moore, former AA rosette chefs, have extensive experience in hospitality. Together they set up and operated hospitality consultancy Lucky Penny Group. They have also opened venues across the region such as Camp & Furnace and Love Lane Brewery and most recently Leveltap in Liverpool ONE. Burgess said: “With BoBo in Liverpool, we wanted to stand out from the crowd and be different and that’s what we are aiming for in West Kirby. BoBo in Liverpool has won a reputation for being fun and laid back but with a premium on the experience of everyone who walks through the door and delivering great service for our guests. BoBo West Kirby will also have those elements as well as a menu that reflects our passion for Iberian cuisine, where food is akin to religion.”

Flight Club confirms details of debut Scottish site: Flight Club, the darts concept owned by Red Engine, will open its latest site, and first in Scotland, in Glasgow, this October. The brand’s 11th site overall will open in a grade-II listed building in the city’s George Street. It will feature 15 playing areas and a bar area, with the site catering for up to 325 guests. Steve Moore, chief executive of Red Engine, said: “We are delighted to reveal we are opening the doors to Flight Club Glasgow in October. It is our first venue in Scotland, and Glasgow is a city we've had our eye on for a long-time and a site that's been years in the making, so this one feels like an extra-special opening. Glasgow has already got an incredible hospitality scene that we're thrilled to be joining, bringing something new to the neighbourhood and contributing to a thriving nightlife scene.” Flight Club is set to follow its debut site in Scotland with an opening in the St James Quarter scheme in Edinburgh. It has also been linked to an opening at the Westgate scheme in Oxford.