Premium Club members to receive next Turnover & Profits Blue Book and videos from Propel’s Talent & Training Conference this week: Premium Club members will receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (18 October), at noon. The database will feature 60 updated accounts and 16 new companies, taking the total to 994. A total of 624 companies are making a profit while 370 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 will also receive all the videos from the Talent & Training Conference on Friday, at 9am. They include Katy Moses, managing director of sector insight consultancy KAM, talking through exclusive research on the current state of recruitment and retention across the sector, and where it could be doing better, and Kathryn York, chief people officer at KFC UK and Ireland, discussing the success of the brands “The Hatch” youth employment programme, which looks to help young people into their first job, and its “The Kentucky Club”, which hosts jobs-based pop-up events around the country for young people. 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.

 

BrewDog forced to pour away millions of pounds of ‘infected’ beer at flagship brewery: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog has been hit by a costly blunder that led to millions of pounds worth of its Punk IPA being discarded due to contamination. The company suffered a “major quality incident” at its Ellon brewery in Aberdeenshire. The extent of the issue was revealed in an email from Chris Fielden, BrewDog’s chief supply chain officer, who criticised staff for sour beer sent to customers and slammed the team for not sticking to basic hygiene standards. He detailed that the “major quality incident” caused the company to fall short of its August productivity goal by £950,000, with the total waste running into the millions, reports the Daily Record. Some of the tainted beer was disposed of, while some made it to customers, resulting in what Fielden described as the “highest rate of customer complaints” BrewDog has ever experienced. In the email to employees, Fielden said: “The reality is that it was an incredibly tough month in which we significantly missed our productivity target and have been working through a major quality incident. Throughout August and even now, we’ve had millions of pounds of beer that has been impacted by basic hygiene issues that have resulted in infected beer. Not only have we had to throw beer away, we've also shipped sour beer to customers and have Punk running at the highest rate of customer complaints it's ever seen. Through the investigation, we’ve ruled out many things and keep coming back to the same basic causes. Poor hygiene standards, particularly around the brewing operation. What’s most disappointing is that when I chat to people about this, I’ve seen very little personal accountability, with people blaming other teams or other parts of the process. As such, I wanted to be really clear that shop floor hygiene is the responsibility of every single one of us.:” A spokesperson for BrewDog said: “While most of the affected beer did not leave the brewery, a small quantity reached some of our customers. The affected beer, which represents a minuscule proportion of our annual production (approximately 0.02%), did not meet our high standards and did not taste as good as it should, but we would like to reassure customers that it did not pose a health risk.”

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a London hospitality group that is seeking maternity cover for a marketing manager for 12-14 months on a fixed term contract. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “This is a luxury, five-star brand and the company would love someone that comes from a different setting and is able to start immediately. The business is looking for applicants with experience in the gaming sector.” The salary is up to £80,000. For more information, email hayley@corecruitment.com.

 

Promoted content – introducing Maral, the visionary behind Ayal who is sharing Turkmenistan’s flavours with London’s streets: With the help of the McCain Streets Ahead programme, Maral turned her dream into a thriving business. Through Ayal, she offers Londoners a taste of Turkmen cuisine, from Manti dumplings to traditional palav, highlighting the rich heritage of her culture. To find out more, click here. 

Jason Atherton – in downturns there are also opportunities, Row on 5 to be my last fine dining restaurant: Chef Jason Atherton has said that while hospitality is in a downturn, there are really good opportunities to “work with landlords on failed sites and to get good rents” but admitted that his upcoming Row on 5 restaurant in London’s Mayfair will be his last fine-dining restaurant. Atherton, who has recently opened Sael in London’s St James’ Market, will open Row on 5 next month. He has overseen the opening of more than 40 restaurants in the past 20 years. He told Sky News: “Hospitality is in a downturn, everyone knows it’s pretty tough out there, but in downturns there are also opportunities. If you are brave and believe in yourself, there are really good opportunities to work with landlords on failed sites, to get good rents.” To cut costs further, Atherton has taken to renegotiating prices with his suppliers every week. He said: “It’s very time-consuming but that’s what it takes. Every Monday we have deals done on our meat, our fish, our chemicals, our vegetables, pinning it all down.” Despite new visa rules that are deterring a lot of the young Europeans on whom the service industry had come to depend, Atherton said the problem isn’t finding staff. “The biggest challenge is loyalty,” he said. “Because there are a lot of opportunities out there, people know if they’re not really enjoying it, rather than sticking with it like we did in the old days, they can leave the next day and get another job the following day. I call it the social media attention span.” Asked if there is even a future for the kind of fine-dining establishments in which he made his name, he said: “The market is saturated, there’s too many. You’ve either got to be the very, very best in the world or you don’t survive. For me, it’s about whether I can operate at that level, with a team, for the last chance in my life – that’s the dream and we’re gonna give it our best shot. This is going to be my last fine dining restaurant – you heard that here first.”

Sixes confirms launch of second franchise site, group transitioning into positive cashflow position: Sixes, the cricket-based competitive socialising brand, has confirmed it will make its debut in the south west this week with an opening in Bristol. As revealed earlier this year by Propel, the company will open a site on the first floor of the Bordeaux Quay building on the city’s quayside. The venue will be operated by a new franchisee, the brand’s second, the Devine family, owners of Southwest Adventure Golf, which operates Pirates Bay Adventure Golf in Paignton, Devon. Sixes opened its first UK franchise site in Leicester’s Cultural Quarter at the end of 2022. Calum MacKinnon, co-founder of Sixes, said: “Our goal has always been to create an environment where everyone, from cricket enthusiasts to those simply seeking a good time, can come together, have fun, and compete. Bristol, with its vibrant social scene, is the perfect place for this.” It comes as the company saw its turnover increase to £7.5m in the 12 months ending 31 August, 2023, up from £4.5m in the year before. It said this had been driven in part by the launch of its new franchise arm, which saw two sites open during the period. Despite an increase in turnover, the business saw its pre-tax loss widen to just over £2m during the 12 months, from £1.5m in the year before. It said this was partly down to unforeseen capital expenditures at its most recent site opening. It added that this unexpected spend “highlighted the challenges the company faces in predicting and managing costs” but that a successful fundraising round which last year raised £2.4m had “provided a cushion to absorb these kinds of financial shocks”. It launched a further investment round in July, which it hoped would raise an additional £2.5m to fund the development of its existing sites plus future launches. The company said: “The group is transitioning into a cashflow positive position, with a projected budget of £2m for the forthcoming financial year, after accounting for head office costs. This indicates that, following the current investment round, the company will be able to pursue growth without needing additional investment. However, further investment may be necessary to maintain the rapid pace at which the company is expanding. The social entertainment space is continuing to grow as consumers increasingly shift from purchasing physical products to seeking out experiences, leading to heightened competition in the market. To remain competitive and attract more customers, the brand has been evolving from its traditional cricket roots into a more vibrant and engaging cricket experience. However, the customer booking journey has faced some initial challenges and remains an area of ongoing development to enhance the overall customer experience. This ongoing assessment helps the company maintain a strong market position while delivering value to its customers.”

 

Vita Group submits plans for Goods Station in Birmingham: Urban regeneration specialist Vita Group has announced it has submitted its Goods Station development proposals to Birmingham City Council. The masterplan will include three residential buildings comprising 990 new homes, a 221-room serviced apartment building and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) delivered under Vita Group’s House of Social brand. It also includes a 17,000 square-foot public food hall that will celebrate the city’s emerging food scene, featuring independent kitchens. If approved, Vita Group will look to break ground in the autumn of 2025. Jon Weston, development director at Vita Group said: “The Goods Station has the opportunity to be an important catalyst for change in the city, creating new homes and jobs, while adding to the city’s expanding cultural and hospitality sector creating a new vibrant neighbourhood with significant social and economic benefits.” Earlier this year, Vita Group set out plans for a second site under its House of Social concept, in Glasgow. The company plans to transform the derelict ABC building in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street into a “vibrant destination food hall concept” with more than 400 covers and a large bar. The company is already planning to open a debut House of Social site in Manchester, which will feature a 14,000 square-foot food hall on the ground floor with a central bar and five independent kitchens. Earlier this year, Vita secured £91.5m from Cain International, the backer of Prezzo, for the Manchester development. 

 

Russian street food bar Zima to open second London site: Russian street food bar Zima is to open its second site in London, in Notting Hill, next month. Zima, which is the creation of chef, restaurateur and television presenter Alexei Zimin, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu before working in the kitchens of Michel Guérard, Raymond Blanc and Gordon Ramsay, is set to open the new site just off Portobello Road. It made its debut in London, in Soho, in March 2016, in the basement of a townhouse next to legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s. It was Zimin’s first restaurant outside of Russia. The concept opened in Frith Street, underneath French restaurant Jean Jacques, and is owned by the same Russian hospitality group, Table Talk. Taking its name from the Russian word for ‘winter’ and Zimin’s nickname, Zima serves dishes such as crab claw with bread crisps and red caviar, black caviar with traditional side dishes from Yaroslavl, and “Medovik” honey and sour cream cake. Josh Rose, of Matta.London, acted on the Notting Hill deal. 

 

North west frozen yogurt concept set to open in Sheffield, aiming to double estate size next year: North west frozen yogurt concept Frurt is set to open in Sheffield for its ninth site and is aiming to double the size of its estate next year. Frurt will later this month be bringing its frozen yoghurts, smoothies, iced drinks, Spanish lattes, ice creams and sorbets to the former Lucky Fox café site at 72 Division Street in Sheffield. The business, founded in 2010 by Shaza and Syed Hassan, currently has two service stores in Manchester and one each in Batley, Oldham and Sale, plus self-serve stores in Blackburn, Bolton and Prestwich. “Busy year for this refreshing franchise brand,” said franchise consultant Andy Hulbert. “Sheffield up next, with another ten stores planned in 2025!” Propel understands that among Frurt’s next sites will be its southern debut, in High Wycombe, as well as stores in Leeds and Bradford. Syed Hassan added: “We’re so excited to open our doors in Sheffield and can’t wait to share our frozen yogurt creations with this vibrant community.”

 

Australian doughnut brand to open first three UK locations: Australian doughnut brand Lens Lu Donuts is set to open its first three UK locations. The brand, which originates in Australia and has a single store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will open its first UK location today (Monday, 14 October) within the Primark store in Lakeside shopping centre. This will be followed on Monday, 21 October with a location within the Primark in Watford, with a further site in Primark in London’s Oxford Street to follow in November. Founded by Kym Hall, the brand offers a menu of doughnuts as well as bagels, coffees and shakes, with the option for guests to create their own donuts from a changing menu of flavours, fillings and toppings. Hall said: “From humble beginnings in Perth Australia to now partnering with Primark, it’s been an exciting road of growth and innovation. Bringing our interactive donut bar to Primark stores in the UK marks a special milestone for us.” Gamechangers Investments is overseeing the launch of Lena Lu into the UK. Drew Clover, development director at Game Changers Investments, said: “After the success of Lena Lu in the Middle East, it’s exciting to see the brand reimagined in the UK market. The concept is unique, and the partnership with Primark will accelerate the brand’s exposure in the UK.” Jeremy Bussey is Lena Lu’s franchise partner in the UK.

 

SSP to open Northern Ireland’s first BrewDog bar ‘in coming weeks’: SSP Group, the operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, will open Northern Ireland’s first BrewDog bar “in the coming weeks”. It will open in the new £340m Belfast Grand Central station, which began a phased opening last month. As well as the BrewDog bar, SSP will open two Starbucks stores – one in the main concourse and one after the rail barrier, near platform one Karl Daniels, chief executive of SSP UK & Ireland said: “These new outlets really put SSP on the map in Northern Ireland, showcasing the best that we offer alongside some of our biggest partners. We’re looking forward to bringing our award-winning brands to the new Belfast Grand Central Station and being the best part of the journey for customers living in and visiting the city.”

 

Slim Chickens franchisee open brand’s first UK drive-thru: Slim Chickens franchisee KK Restaurants has opened the brand’s first UK drive-thru. Propel revealed in August that the Devon-based business, the UK franchisee in the south west for the US brand, would be opening the first Slims drive-thru outside of the States. It has now opened the site at Sprucefield Retail Park in Hillsborough Road, Lisburn. It is a third overall in Northern Ireland for Slims, which is being rolled out here by Boparan Restaurant Group. KK Restaurants was incorporated in 2020, with Noah Wright and Simon Wright its directors. Having previously operated a portfolio of Pizza Hut Delivery and Costa Coffee sites, it operates Slim Chickens locations in Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth, and last summer signed up as the south west franchisee for pan-Asian brand Chopstix.

 

Greggs launches 1,000th Breakfast Club, extending support to after-school and holiday clubs: Greggs has launched its 1,000th Breakfast Club – a programme which now provides free and nutritious breakfasts to more than 75,000 schoolchildren every day. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Breakfast Club programme, which since its launch in 1999, has donated 90 million breakfasts to UK schoolchildren. The programme has rapidly expanded in recent years, growing from 500 to 1,000 clubs in less than six years. Operated by The Greggs Foundation, the independent charity associated with the food-to-go operator, the clubs have been shown to have a positive impact on pupils’ attendance levels, punctuality and learning. Each club costs £3,500 a year to run, and the funding is provided through a mix of more than 160 external partners and the Foundation itself. The clubs are run by school staff and parent volunteers. Greggs’ chief financial officer, Richard Hutton, said: “Our research shows that parents continue to find the increase in the cost of living challenging. The government’s promise to support state-funded breakfast clubs recognises the positive impact our programme has had over the past 25 years, but there is still more to be done to support families. We will therefore be developing our support for schools across even more of the school day through after-school clubs and holiday clubs – something our network of schools have been increasingly vocal about in recent years.”

 

EL&N makes north east debut with Newcastle opening: Cafe and lifestyle brand EL&N has made its debut in the north east with an opening in Newcastle, as part of plans to open six new sites in one month. The company has opened a site at Fenwick Newcastle, located in the beauty hall on the ground floor of the retail store. It follows openings earlier this month in Riyadh airport terminals three and four, in Saudi Arabia. Propel revealed last week that the business is to further increase its international presence with an opening in Holland. The business, which currently operates circa 40 sites across 13 countries, is to open a site in the north of the country, in Amstelveen. This summer, it added to its estate in London with an opening at Westfield White City. The company, which this summer opened the first site for its new Deli & Bakery concept, in Covent Garden, opened its latest site in the ground floor atrium of the scheme. At the same time, the brand expanded further into Europe with an opening in Slovakia. New territories under consideration for the brand are thought to include the US, Japan, India and further parts of Europe, while in the past few months, it has signed to open new sites in Berlin, Lebanon, Cambodia and Malta.

 

Oxygen opens latest site in Reading: Indoor family activity brand Oxygen has opened its latest site, in Reading. The state-of-the-art activity park, the company’s ninth overall in the UK, is home to 32 trampolines, parkour-style stunt areas, a wipe-out arena and a trapeze with a mega airbag. Brand new activities include the Gauntlet Run, an obstacle course, where guests can compete in a series of challenges in a race against the clock. A new toddler zone features trampettes (mini trampolines), a mini airbag, an obstacle course and a ball pit. Guests can also try their hand at Basket Battle, Hotshot and more games based on sports such as basketball and football, on the state-of-the-art interactive sports pitch. A cafe includes a mezzanine level overlooking the park.

Coco di Mama to launch first retail range today: Coco di Mama, owned by Ask Italian, Zizzi and Boojum operator Azzuri Group, will launch its first retail range today, with Sainsbury’s. Propel revealed in September that the Italian food-to-go brand was set to introduce its premium Italian baguettes in into Sainsbury’s grab-and-go range. Six Italian-inspired sourdough baguettes will now be available as part of the supermarket chain’s meal deal offer, available in more than 650 Sainsbury’s supermarkets and convenience stores around the UK. The new sourdough baguette lineup includes spicy chicken Milanese and mozzarella, prosciutto and mozzarella, chicken Caesar and bacon, salami Milano and cheese, pesto Caprese and Mediterranean tuna. They are priced at £4.75 individually or as part of a £5 meal deal. It comes as the brand prepares to launch a new autumn menu tomorrow (Tuesday, October 15), with 36 new and improved menu items across its pasta, coffee, soups, sides, sandwiches and snacks – as well as a brand-new loyalty app. Coco di Mama managing director Jim Attwood said: “We’re excited to partner with Sainsbury’s for our first nationwide retail launch. With quality ingredients at an affordable price, we’re confident these baguettes will elevate the supermarket meal deal.” Azzuri Group chief executive Steve Holmes added: “Coco di Mama is experiencing remarkable growth. After a successful store opening in a mainline rail station in partnership with Network Rail, and our launch in motorway services, this new retail partnership is the next step in expanding our omnichannel approach.”

 

Chicken Cottage launches two new restaurants in a day: Halal fast food company Chicken Cottage has launched two new restaurants in a day – both in London. It has opened at 12 Chiswick High Road in Chiswick, west London, and 169 Holloway Road in north London. The brand, which is owned by TGI Global Holdings, is building towards a target of 100 stores globally by 2027. It also has a handful of stores in Africa and south Asia.

 

Treetop Golf set to open Bristol site in December, parent company reports drop in footfall as losses widen: Discovery Adventure Golf, a partnership between former Goldman Sachs entrepreneur Elizabeth Stanway and experienced leisure operator Chris Richards, will open its new Treetop Golf site in Bristol before Christmas. In its accounts for the year to 31 December 2023, the business said the 17,000 square-foot space at the city’s Cabot Circus scheme, which will be its sixth site, is due to start trading in December. It comes as Discovery Adventure Golf reported a drop in footfall for the year – from 854,969 rounds of mini golf played in 2022 to 848,622 in 2023. The company traded from four sites in 2022 and five in 2023, although the fifth, in Gateshead’s Metrocentre, only opened in the October of last year. The company’s pre-tax loss widened from £27,216 in 2022 to £1,222,673. Its turnover was up from £6,723,969 in 2022 to £7,006,210. Of this, £6,026,494 came from mini golf (2022: £5,901,198) and £929,014 from food and beverage (2022: £816,801). “Revenue increase owes to the opening of Metrocentre, with revenue in the four existing sites the same as in 2022,” Stanway said. “Gross profit decreased to £2.1m (2022: £2.7m) at 30.06% of revenue (2022: 40.43%). Pre-opening costs incurred at Metrocentre prior to trading commencing totalled £0.5m, adjusting for these costs gross profit would have been £2.6m, 37.03% of revenue. Increases in property and utility costs in the remaining four sites totalled £0.3m, without these uncontrollable costs, gross margin would have improved year on year. The company continues to focus its attention on planning for expansion by building a strong pipeline of new sites and strengthening our central support team as an engine for growth. The directors recognise the challenges facing consumer spending in the current economic environment and the impact this has on revenue across the experiential hospitality industry. Therefore, a transformational cost control exercise has been completed during 2024. This will protect operating margins at site level by mitigating pressure on our cost base. The opening of a new site in Cabot Circus Bristol during in late 2024 will further increase total company guests and revenue in future years.”

 

GSG Hospitality to open its first pub this month: North west operator GSG Hospitality will open its first pub this month. The Liverpool-based group entered the pub sector in June when it acquired The Hightown in Lower Alt Road, Hightown. It will now open the pub on Monday, 28 October, offering “a warm and welcoming atmosphere” and “the best of British seasonal cooking”. The company is also behind four Bold Street Coffee locations – two each in Liverpool and Manchester – and is set to open a fifth, at 2 Hardman Street in Manchester’s Spinningfields. GSG also operates two salt Dog Slims bars – one each in Liverpool and Manchester – plus speakeasy cocktail bar 81, tequila bar El Bandito, all-day restaurant Nord, Caribbean cocktail bar Manolo and the Duke Street Food & Drink Market – all in Liverpool.

 

Scottish restaurant group Scoop confirms November opening for fifth site: Scottish restaurant group Scoop has confirmed its new underground bar and restaurant will open next month. The company will launch Sebb’s on Monday, 25 November at 68 Miller Street in Glasgow for its fifth site. The venue, which will pair a dedicated cocktail kitchen with a menu focused on food cooked over fire, will be based underneath the group’s forthcoming restaurant, Margo, which will open on Tuesday, 22 October. Sebb’s will seat 68, with a further 12 covers in the private dining room, and will take inspiration from the vinyl bars of Europe, hosting DJs from the city. Head chef Danny Carruthers said: “The food at Sebb’s will be very bold and packed full of flavour. Our main hobby outside of the kitchen is to eat good food made locally, and a lot of the dishes are just things we all really enjoy eating, but with a bit of our own identity. I’m very excited for Sebb’s to open and represent what food in Glasgow is all about.” The group launched with the Ox and Finch restaurant in Glasgow’s Sauciehall Street a decade ago before opening south east Asian concept Ka Pao in Vincombe Street in 2020 and branching out to Edinburgh in 2022 with a second Ka Pao site, in St James Quarter.

 

Goodman Restaurants – trading has returned to pre-covid levels: Goodman Restaurants has reported trading has returned to pre-covid levels. It comes as the group, which operates three eponymous restaurants in London and Zelman Meats within the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge, reported turnover increased to £13,975,483 for the year ending 31 December 2023 compared with £12,081,507 the previous year. Pre-tax profit was up to £537,972 from £465,576 the year before. Gross profit margin of 53% “remained in line with expectations” and the prior year, which “was a good performance given increasing salary costs”. The number of diners increased 5.6% while average customer spend was up 8.5%. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “Trading has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, which allowed the business to continue profitable trading. The group is managing to hold on to market share in an intensely competitive trading environment with key concerns being cost pressures on staff. The group has available cash of £4,719,390 (2022: £3,820,212) with the increase driven by the period performance.” No dividend was paid (2022: nil). The company employs around 170 staff.

 

Manchester dessert concept set to open first site outside of the city: Manchester dessert concept Cheat Daze is set to open its first site outside of the city and fourth altogether. Cheat Daze was co-founded in 2022 by Muhammed Abdullah and launched at 197 Mauldeth Road in Burnage. A second site followed at 42Woodford Road in Bramhall, Stockport, and then a third at 255 Bolton Road in Salford. It is now preparing to move out of Manchester for the first time with a launch at 174 Westgate on Bradford. “With three sites already open and a fourth site to open over the next week in Bradford, Cheat Daze is a serious player in the dessert sector,” said franchise consultant Paul Tough. “Headed by the delightful Mo and his wife, Manchester has been sampling the unique delights of waffle balls, San Sebastián cheesecake and brownies, all presented with great sauces and dips and the best soft serve ice cream. Cheat Daze is on a mission to grow and we are seeking franchisees across the UK.”

 

Former KFC franchisee opens third Amorino store: Former KFC franchisee Khawar Hussain has opened his third store with Italian gelato brand Amorino. Hussain spent the best part of two decades as a director at Barack Holdings before the eight-strong business was acquired by Tahir Group in 2023 – in a move which made Tahir Group the largest KFC franchisee in London. Hussain’s new vehicle is 4orty, which has been franchising with Amorino for the past year and has just opened at 1 Parade in Canterbury. His other stores are in London – in Greenwich and Camden – and he has plans for further locations in Lakeside and Tunbridge Wells. It is Amorino’s 31st store in the UK, as it builds towards a stated aim of 50 by the end of 2025. Hussain previously said his journey with the brand was sparked by a visit to an Amorino store in Paris. “I come from a second generation 40-year-old QSR franchise business – we exited in December 2022, at which point the business was turning over £15m and had over 300 people working,” he said. “Amorino stood out to me due to its central supply chain, the brand’s organic and sustainable growth, and the absolute importance of retaining product quality and consistency.”