Premium Club members to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club members are to receive two updated databases this week. The updated UK Food & Beverage Franchisee Database, which will be sent to Premium subscribers tomorrow (Wednesday, 8 May) at midday, will feature ten new entries. The database now has 140 entries and more than 60,000 words of content. Among the new entries are London McDonald’s franchisees Rocket Restaurants and Snak Restaurants, owned by sisters Anisha Sharma and Shafali Shown-Keen. Also featured are Kent Domino’s franchisee Zaan Group, south west Taco Bell franchisee Campana, and west Lancashire Pieminister franchisee Black 29 Holdings. Premium Club members will also receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (10 May), at midday. A further 13 companies have been added, while 40 have updated figures. The database now features 912 companies. Premium Club members also receive access to four other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, in association with Virgate; the New Openings Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. Plus, all members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to five Propel paid-for events – The Excellence in Pub Retailing Conference (14 May), Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators 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 a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

JD Wetherspoon to invest more than £5m in developing new 26-bedroom hotel and refurbishing Newcastle pub: J D Wetherspoon is to invest more than £5m developing a new 26-bedroom hotel and refurbishing The Mile Castle pub in Newcastle. In addition, it will create a new beer garden of more than 3,000 square feet on the site of a former car park to the side of the building. The development will result in 70 new full and part-time jobs, to add to the 130  people employed at the pub, located in Westgate Road and Grainger Street. The hotel is being built in an adjoining building, formerly the home of law firm Samuel Phillips. It was also the former home of Dr C J Gibb, who was immortalised in The Blaydon Races. All rooms will be en-suite, with two designed specifically for guests with disabilities. The pub, which first opened in December 2009,  will undergo a full internal refurbishment, including decoration, new carpets, upgraded lighting, extending the bar on the third floor and creating a new cellar. Work on the pub will begin on Monday, 13 May, with the pub closed from Monday, 24 June until its opening day on Tuesday, 3 September. Work on the hotel will also begin on Monday, 13 May, with the hotel set to open on Tuesday, 12 November. Wetherspoon founder and chairman Sir Tim Martin said: “ The investment highlights our commitment to the pub, its customers and staff, as well as the city of Newcastle. The Mile Castle is an extremely popular pub and we are confident that our customers will welcome the work being undertaken in the pub as well as the creation of our first hotel in the city.”

Lfl overall spend on eating and drinking up 2.6% in March but restaurant sales down 12.6%: Like-for-like overall spend on eating and drinking was up 2.6% in March but restaurant sales were down 12.6%, new data has shown. The latest Barclays consumer spend report shows that spend on overall eating and drinking grew by 2.6% in March 2024, an increase compared to the year-on-year growth in February 2024 (2.1%). This uplift was driven by a rise in spend at bars, pubs and clubs, at 3.2% in March 2024 compared to 1.1% in February 2024, as consumers gathered to watch Six Nations and FA Cup fixtures, and to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. However, spend at restaurants decreased by 12.6% in March 2024 versus this time last year, although this was a slight improvement compared to the decrease of 13.4% in February 2024. Cinemas enjoyed their busiest day of the year so far on Saturday, 2 March, right after the UK release date for ‘Dune: Part Two’, 2024’s highest grossing film, with spending 87% higher compared to the average across the month. Meanwhile, spend at hotels, resorts and accommodation increased by 1.0% in March 2024, the highest year-on-year growth since December 2023 (4.5%), likely due to consumers booking staycations for the Easter Weekend or upcoming Bank Holidays. It comes as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and advisory firm KPMG reported a dismal start to spring for retailers and restaurants. It said the latest figures show sales were virtually flat across March and April against the same period a year ago, despite prices continuing to rise with inflation, suggesting a drop in the volume of items sold in the key Easter period. In the four weeks to the end of April, sales were down 4%, but this number was partly affected by Easter falling early this year at the end of March.

Ministers facing calls to crack down on local takeaways amid Britain’s obesity crisis: Ministers are facing calls to crack down on local takeaways amid concerns that large salty portions are fuelling Britain’s obesity crisis. High street leaders are calling for the government to step up work on curbing obesity, including targeting more fast-food outlets, reports The Telegraph. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is urging policymakers to shift their attention away from supermarkets, which have so far borne the brunt of regulation relating to obesity. Most notably, grocers have been banned from putting foods high in fat, salt and sugar in prominent places in-store, while most pre-packed foods must also contain nutrition information labels. However, the industry lobby group, which represents the country’s largest stores, said swathes of businesses were flying under the radar when it comes to improving the nation’s health. This includes local takeaways, which can have dishes containing more than double a person’s maximum daily salt intake but are not required to provide calorie information. Andrew Opie, the BRC’s director of food and sustainability, said: “Many takeaway establishments are actually not part of a bigger chain. At least larger food takeaways now have to display calories. But your local chicken shop, they are not engaging in these areas.” He said providing calorie information “surely needs to be taken as seriously a public health issue as allergen information is and required for all businesses”. Opie said current legislation around tackling obesity was limited to a “very narrow part of the food industry”, which allowed for smaller cafes, smaller restaurants and cinemas to avoid scrutiny. The BRC director said: “We understand there will be more challenges for some smaller food businesses, but that in itself shouldn’t be an excuse not to be included.” He said this could mean that the Government “needs to give support to small and medium businesses to help them on their choices so around how much oils or salt are in something, or the sizes of portions”. The BRC said it would support more obesity regulation if the government believes it will help tackle the issue. Estimates suggest around two-thirds of British adults are now overweight or obese, up from half a generation ago, with a report from the Tony Blair Institute late last year finding that the issue was costing the economy almost £100bn a year. This includes a productivity hit of around £63bn from people living shorter, unhealthier lives, equivalent to about 4% of GDP. This total cost is set to grow by another £10bn over the next 15 years, amid signs that people are spending more of their money on takeaways and unhealthy options. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that people were still consuming 50% more fast food than before the pandemic. There are also concerns over how much salt people are consuming. Research has suggested that some takeaway pizzas contain more than two times the maximum daily salt intake while a cheeseburger contains more than the maximum daily fat intake.