Exclusive – D&D London reports record breaking festive period as transformational projects near completion, hires new FD: D&D London, the Breal Capital and Calveton-backed operator of circa 35 restaurants across the UK and internationally, has reported a record-breaking December trading period and said it is working on an “exciting new concept” for its Launceston Place site in London’s Kensington. It comes as the business has hired Connie Salmon, previously at Various Eateries, as its new finance director. Simon Wilkinson, who is overseeing Breal and Calveton’s investment in the business as board director and is “holding the fort” while a new chief executive is hired, told Propel: “There is a lot of negative news within hospitality currently, mainly due to the budget taxing jobs and employment. Even for a business the size of D&D, that will be a circa £3.5m annual impact. However, we have had a very strong festive period. The week commencing 16 December, the industry tracker reported restaurant sales were +2.1% like-for-like. We were +48% like-for-like, and 33% of our sites have had their highest ever sales weeks on record. Thursday, 12 December was the highest ever sales day for the company with the current portfolio of sites, and that same week, two sites broke the highest ever sales week on record for the company. As a caveat, it is no secret the company has had a difficult few years with both sales and Ebitda decline. However, we are now 14 months into our investment, and it is encouraging to see the transformational projects starting to drive significant sales and Ebitda improvements. Culturally, a lot of the initiatives we introduced focusing on our frontline teams are now paying dividend. We have not had a general manager or executive chef vacancy since the summer, which suggests we are potentially doing something right. We are pleased to announce that Connie Salmon joins us next month from Various Eateries as finance director, and that Jude Hughes has been promoted to culture and people director. They both join recent recruit sales director, Amanda Soton, as part of the executive management team. We hope to announce the new chief executive before the spring and will share the news of an exciting new concept for Launceston Place by the end of the month. We have refurbished the private dining rooms at the Bluebird in Chelsea, and Skylon in Festival Hall is currently closed for a major investment. The macro market is tough, but we are well positioned versus our long-term plan to grow the business.”

 

Propel’s Top 500 UK hospitality companies deliver £30bn in turnover across 51,000 sites: Propel’s Top 500 report reveals the UK hospitality sector’s top 500 companies by turnover, generating more than £30bn in turnover across more than 51,000 sites. The comprehensive report, released this Friday (10 January), provides unmatched insights into the UK’s largest hospitality operators. With more than 90,000 words of analysis, the report delves into company histories, leadership structures, site numbers and turnover figures, offering an essential resource for industry professionals. The guide will be sent out as two files – an introductory PDF featuring deep dives into the top 25 companies and including 6,500 words of insight from Propel’s writers, and a fully searchable excel sheet where all the data can be easily accessed. The analysis includes Mark Wingett examining the mergers and acquisitions shaping the future of the Top 500, while Tim Street dissects the UK’s rapidly developing franchise market. As the experiential leisure sector becomes a cornerstone of modern hospitality, Phil Pemberton assesses how innovative experiences are attracting customers, while Katherine Doggrell examines the key developments in UK hotels. Data expert Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, looks at emerging growth sectors, and Meaningful Vision founder Maria Vanifatova analyses the latest trends in the quick service restaurant market. The Propel 500 will be available from 9am, Friday 10 January 2025, priced at £595 plus VAT, or £395 plus VAT for existing Premium Club members. Premium Club subscribers can access it for free on 28 February 2025. Pre-order your copy now by emailing: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

Discover how to unlock revenue potential: Discover how to unlock revenue potential at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit. Laura Irving, chief marketing officer at JKS Restaurants, will be interviewed about effective revenue optimisation techniques and how to collaborate with founders to cultivate fresh, innovative ideas that drive business growth and navigate today’s competitive landscape. Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit is returning for its seventh edition, and tickets are now on sale. The event is a partnership between Propel and Think Hospitality, aiming to build a community, promote the sharing of ideas, recognise talent and define the future of eating out. Bookings are now open for the two-day conference as the centrepiece of the January event series, taking place on 21 and 22 January at One Moorgate Place in London. The conference will focus on technology, marcomms strategies, proposition, brand building, the latest market insights, digital developments and diversification of revenue streams. It is designed for customer-focused chief executives, marketers, technology and innovation teams, as well as investors wanting to better understand the latest marketing, innovation and development opportunities to build market share and grow. For the full speaker schedule, click here. A one-day ticket for operators is £320 plus VAT while a two-day ticket is £575 plus VAT. Supplier tickets are £420 plus VAT for one day and £725 plus VAT for two. Propel Premium Club members receive a 20% discount. To book, email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

Sir Tim Martin – pubs will always have a role, difficult conditions create opportunities for companies like Wetherspoon: Sir Tim Martin, founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon, shared his hopes and fears for 2025 with The Times and said that pubs will always have a role in society, while difficult conditions create opportunities for companies like his own. He said: “Andy Grove, a founder of the mighty Intel, wrote a book called Only the Paranoid Survive. Anyone running a company needs a dose of optimism, tempered by the Grove mantra. Following the pandemic and the recent Budget, most publicans are probably edging towards the paranoid end of the spectrum. However, as always, difficult conditions create opportunities for companies like Wetherspoon. The main challenge for the hospitality industry is an imbalance in the tax system whereby pubs and restaurants pay 20% VAT on food sales, whereas supermarkets pay nothing. This enables supermarkets to subsidise the selling price of beer, wine and spirits. Pubs, for example, have lost over half their beer sales to supermarkets in the last 40 years. If the country wants a thriving hospitality sector, tax equality is a prerequisite. The desire to have a sherbet elsewhere than in your front room is deep in the psyche. You can only stare at those four walls for a limited time. Pubs will always have a role. My hopes for next year are for tax equality with supermarkets, balmy weather and world peace.”

 

Small businesses plan lay-offs over employment rights bill: Nearly every small business in Britain is worried about government plans to expand workers’ rights and intend to curb recruitment and lay off workers in the coming year. Many singled out protection from unfair dismissal from the first day of employment as a possible detriment to the labour market. The Times reports that 92% of the 1,270 small employers surveyed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) raised concerns about the bill. The researchers said that 67% planned to take on fewer staff and nearly a third would cut their workforce, while 56% said that the bill would prompt them to ditch investment plans and efforts to grow their businesses. Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the FSB, said: “Small firms have made it crystal clear that the bill will not motivate them to hire more whatsoever. Their feedback is emphatic, resounding and overwhelming.” She added that the bill has expanded the grounds for workers to take their employers to court, which could result in bosses scaling back hiring to avoid potential legal costs.

Job of the Day: COREcruitment is working with a dynamic high street brand known for its fresh and flavourful food and warm and energetic service, which is seeking a general manager to take charge of a site offering informal yet personable and exceptional fresh food. This is a leadership role for someone who can inspire, motivate and organically develop their team. A customer-focused approach is essential, as is a desire to make the restaurant stand out as one of the best in the area. Based in London, this role offers a salary up to £60,000. For more information, please contact Kate@corecruitment.com.  

 

State of Play Hospitality CEO – consolidation will take place in experiential sector, looking to bring Hijingo to the US: Toby Harris, chief executive of State of Play Hospitality, the international experiential leisure operator, has told Propel he believes it is logical that consolidation will take place “in our sub sector of the industry”, and that the business is “actively engaged on an opportunity” to bring its bingo concept, Hijingo, to the US. The business currently operates six Flight Clubs under licence in the US, three Bounce sites in London and a Hijingo site in Shoreditch. On consolidation in the UK, Harris told Propel: “I do believe that it is logical that consolidation will take place in our sub sector of the industry. That thesis has only strengthened with the background of additional costs that have been imposed on the sector, with the new government and the Budget. Also, there are a lot of sub-scale businesses in our sector in the UK, which lend themselves to consolidation. It is harder for them to raise capital for a capital-intensive business model. I’m a strong proponent of consolidation happening over the next couple of years.” Propel revealed earlier this week that the company had secured a new £15m debt facility to aid its further expansion, as it told Propel that it was “increasingly confident” that a 50-plus site opportunity exists in the US for darts concept Flight Club. Harris added: “We are also actively engaged on an opportunity to bring Hijingo to the US. We are advanced with a landlord partner, with a site, and there is great level of mutual interest. However, being a gaming license concept, you can appreciate the complexity is greater than it is for a Flight Club.” In terms of further expansion in the UK, Harris said that it has always been challenging to find the right sites regionally for both Hijingo and Bounce. He said: “It is a very different market in the provinces versus London. The ratio of site level profits to construction costs is always going to be more difficult. We are actively engaged with brokers and landlords in a couple of the major UK cities, but we haven't signed anything yet. It’s not a slam dunk that over the next 12 months, you’re going to see any announcements of new leases for our UK business outside London. We do believe that there is an opportunity within London, certainly for a second Hijingo, and potentially even a third.”

World’s biggest McDonald’s franchisee renews its master franchise agreement: The world’s biggest McDonald’s franchisee has renewed its master franchise agreement with the company. Arcos Dorados Holdings, which is also Latin America’s largest restaurant chain, has finalised a new, 20-year agreement which also includes a renewal option, for an additional 20 years, in 2045. The deal includes a royalty fee of gross sales of 6% for the first ten years, 6.25% for the next five and 6.5% for the final five years, reports NRN. McDonald’s also expects the agreement to support additional growth in the franchisee’s 20 existing countries and territories, with approximately 90 to 100 new units expected to open in 2025. Arcos Dorados operates almost 2,400 restaurants throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Arcos Dorados, which is Spanish for “golden arches”, was formed in 2007 when Woods Staton, who had previously opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in Argentina, put together a consortium of investors to acquire the company’s Latin American operations. The Uruguay-headquartered franchisee became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2011 and its current market capitalisation is $1.8bn. Its share price has grown by about 60% in the past ten years and was up more than 3% following the renewal. In November, the company reported third quarter revenue of $1.133bn and exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $120.807m.

Camino paid £710,000 to acquire Iberica sites out of administration: Spanish restaurant and bar group Camino paid a total consideration to acquire two Iberica sites – in London’s Farringdon and Victoria – out of administration last month, Propel has learned. Propel revealed in November that Iberica had appointed RSM UK to assist in the disposal of the business that operated sites in Leeds and London’s Farringdon, Victoria, Canary Wharf and Great Portland Street. It understands that expressions of interest were received from 22 parties for the business, of which 14 non-disclosure agreements were put in place. Four offers were subsequently received, and discussions entered into with these parties by the joint administrators. Offer one was made by the company’s secured lender, Brydg Capital, which consisted of a debt rollover of the circa £600,000 owed and a cash consideration amount of £30,000 for the company’s restaurants in Farringdon and Victoria only. Following discussions regarding the additional cash requirements required to fulfil its offer, Brydg did not wish to pursue this route. Offer two comprised of consideration of £350,000 and an additional £20,000 per lease assignment for the Farringdon, Canary Wharf and Leeds restaurants. This offer was materially lower than the other offers received, and therefore it was not pursued. Offer three totalled £700,000 and included the Victoria, Farringdon and Marylebone restaurants (albeit the latter was based on occupying only to Christmas). In order to achieve this deal, a sale would needed to have completed by 11 December 2024. Offer four was from Camino Farringdon and totalled £710,000. It included an assignment of the Farringdon lease and a licence to occupy for Victoria. This offer provided the best return to the secured creditor and was the only offer which Brydg supported. The remaining sites, in Leeds, Canary Wharf and Marylebone, have been closed. Iberica reported net losses of £305,000 and £827,000 in FY22 and FY23 respectively, while its pre-exceptional loss for FY24 was £918,000. The company’s forecasts showed that the business was likely to run out of cash in early 2025 without further significant investment, which was not forthcoming. Last month, Nigel Foster and Richard Bigg, who founded Camino in 2007, told Propel they were “thrilled” to add the two sites to their three existing Camino sites and their speciality wine bar, Bar Rioja. Iberica Farringdon closed before Christmas, “to be spruced up” before opening later in January, once converted to a Camino. The Victoria site had closed already and will be reopening later this year. 

Nando’s UK&I CEO – refreshed vision is centred around social and economic inclusion: Mark Standish, chief executive of Nando’s UK & Ireland, has said the business is set to unveil a refreshed vision and plan this year, which is centred around social and economic inclusion. Standish, who was previously chief executive of MotoNovo Finance, one of the UK’s fastest growing independent finance companies, joined the circa 480-strong business last spring. He said: “My first year with Nando’s has coincided with records being broken in terms of our people story, which in turn has translated into outstanding commercial performance and ever-increasing social impact. We have spent much of the year preparing a refreshed vision and plan for Nando’s UK&I, which is centred around becoming even more considered and deliberate in the areas of social and economic inclusion, community, planet and partnering with purpose, which we believe will all come together to significantly amplify our try commercial performance over the next decade, and in turn, our changing lives impact. We are looking forward to launching our refreshed vision and plan early in 2025, engaging over 19,000 Nandoca’s, over 500 local communities and our millions of loyal customers, in the writing of our next chapter. A chapter where we will increasingly use our unique position within the UK and Ireland worlds of business, our local communities and the hearts of our consumers to shape, facilitate and drive positive change and impact.”

Wendy’s hires Adie Twining as new director of UK and EU operations: Wendy’s, the second-largest quick service restaurant brand in the US, has hired Adie Twining, formerly of Ben’s Cookies and McDonald’s, as its new director of UK and EU operations, Propel has learned. Twining joins Wendy’s after 17 months as country manager for Ben’s Cookies, where he led the turnaround of the brand’s UK business. Previously he spent more than nine years at McDonald’s UK, including three years as its director of franchising. Since relaunching here three years ago, Wendy’s has grown to circa 40 locations. The majority of these are split between five franchisees, with a company footprint of 13 locations. In November, the brand signed a new development agreement with franchisee Khidmat that will see six restaurants opened across the south west.

Lina Stores set to open in Canary Wharf as The Breakfast Club exits after ‘doing too much’: Lina Stores, the deli and restaurant brand backed by White Rabbit Projects, will further increase its presence in London with an opening in Canary Wharf this spring. Propel understands that the business, which opened its ninth UK site at the end of last year, has secured the former The Breakfast Club site at 1 Crossrail Place. Lina Stores Canary Wharf will occupy a two-storey building, featuring an all-day offering of restaurant, delicatessen and Bar Lina, its Italian aperitivo bar concept. The ground-floor will feature a delicatessen, while the 98-cover, first floor restaurant with open theatre-kitchen will offer fresh pasta, antipasti, secondi, dolci and wines. Bar Lina will feature 75 covers across a main space with a central bar and an adjacent mezzanine space. Meanwhile, the disposal of the Canary Wharf site leaves all-day dining concept The Breakfast Club with 15 sites. Co-founder Jonathan Arana-Morton said: “That’s it, done. Canary Wharf, ten years, lease ends. Moving out. We built a stage. Some of the greatest acts in pop history played it (5ive and The Venga Boys). We did darts Ally Pally style. We built a bar, Dr Kluger’s Olde Town Tavern. We opened the world’s first Breakfast Pub, and we had our own Diner called The Duchess up front for take away coffees and sandwiches. We did everything. I think we can all agree, we did too much. Canary Wharf is a phenomenal location to have a restaurant. Thank you for having us, we’d move back in a heartbeat.”

Former Pret CFO joins Itsu’s board: Adam Jones, formerly chief financial officer at Pret A Manger, has joined the board of Itsu, the circa 85-strong, healthy Asian food brand, as a non-executive director, Propel has learned. Jones was chief financial officer at Pret from 2014 to 2018. He was most recently group chief financial officer at Bridgepoint for three years. Prior to joining Pret, he was at the UK’s largest independent TV production company, ALL3 Media, where he led its finance teams in the UK, US, Europe and Asia. Last November, Clive Schlee, the former chief executive of Pret, became the new chief executive of Itsu. Schlee, who stepped down as chief executive of Pret in September 2019 after 16 years in the role, has been involved with Itsu since its early days and has chaired the company since 2017. Last year, Itsu reiterated its ambition to double its existing 80-strong UK estate and further build its international presence, with a launch in The Netherlands believed to be imminent.

Bleecker lines up sixth London restaurant site: Bleecker, the burger concept founded by Zan Kaufman in 2012, is to open its sixth restaurant site in London, in Baker Street, Propel has learned. The company, which also operates three delivery-only sites in the capital, has secured the former Pelican State site at 195 Baker Street for an opening this spring. The business has also lined up an opening at Kerb’s Seven Dials Market. Last summer, Propel revealed that Bleecker was to open its first outlet since the covid pandemic, and first in five years – a 1,130 square-foot site at 104 Tooley Street, London Bridge. Bleecker, which also operates sites in Spitalfields, Victoria and Bloomberg Arcade, is named after the street in New York that connects the East Village to West Village. Nick Garston, of the Found Agency, acted on the Baker Street deal.

Parogon hires Kat Schofield to head up marketing and sales, lfl sales up 6.7% over festive season: Parogon Group, the award-winning premium gastropub operator led by Richard Colclough, has hired Kat Schofield, formerly of Marston’s, Revolution Bars Group and Gusto Italian, to head up its sales and marketing team, Propel has learned. Parogon managing director Richard Colclough told Propel: “Kat’s fresh perspective and dynamic approach are set to invigorate the team and drive Parogon’s reputation for excellence, and she is poised to lead our brands into an exciting new chapter of development.” Schofield added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Parogon at such a pivotal time for the business and I look forward to building on the teams’ success with a disruptive marketing strategy, designed to engage with loyal guests and attract new audiences as we grow.” The company said Schofield’s appointment reflects its commitment to expansion and innovation as the group continues to build its portfolio, with a 12th site currently undergoing refurbishment. Its third site for Willow, Parogon’s all-day, Mediterranean-inspired concept, is due to open next month in the former Prezzo unit in Mere Green. The business said sales at the original Willow Trentham site showed a 7.6% increase over the four key Christmas trading weeks, with the second Willow Telford unit also exceeding budgeted figures. The group also is in legals on a fourth Willow site. Sales across the rest of the company’s established estate showed a 6.7% like for like increase over the same four-week period. Colclough added: “Achieving good growth is very encouraging over Christmas, especially when coupled with 18.2% growth in site Ebitda for the year to date. It gives a good base to drive forward with the new site openings we have planned.” 

Laine Pub Company reports profit boost: Laine Pub Company, the Brighton-based 48-strong pub operator which saw founder Gavin George step down as chief executive after 27 years last September, has reported turnover rose slightly to £49,004,000 in the year to 11 August 2024, up from £48,363,000 the year before. Profit before tax rose to £4,190,000 compared to £3,673,000 the year before. The company, part of Punch Pubs & Co, has pubs in Brighton, London and Birmingham. Russell Danks took over from Gavin George as managing director during the year. The company was operating 53 sites in 2023. The ultimate parent company is CF Cooper Acquisitions following the sale of Punch Pubs & Co by Patron in December 2021.

Big Table Group relaunches Bella Italia £5 pasta deal, extended to London locations: Big Table Group – the Las Iguanas and Banana Tree operator – has relaunched its Bella Italia £5 pasta deal. Starting today (Tuesday, 7 January) and running through to Thursday, 30 January, guests can enjoy savings of up to £11 on freshly prepared dishes such as carbonara, spaghetti and meatballs and pollo cacciatore. This year, the campaign has expanded to include the brand’s London locations, and the deal is available all day, every day for dine-in at participating Bella Italia restaurants. Guests simply need to say “£5 Pasta” to a server to take advantage of the deal, while a small supplement of £2 applies to some premium options. A Bella Italia spokeswoman said: “With the inclusion of our London restaurants, we’re excited to welcome even more people through our doors.”

Cambscuisine reports “record-breaking” FY results, lfls up 11%: Pub and restaurant operator Cambscuisine, led by founder Oliver Thain, has announced record-breaking results for 2024, including its busiest Christmas trading period ever. The eight-strong business, which is chaired by James Spragg, the former chief executive of the Casual Dining Group (CDG), told Propel it is forecasting £12.3m in net sales for its fiscal year ending February 2025, reflecting an 11% like-for-like growth compared to 2023. It said it anticipates £2.5m in site Ebitda and £1.35m in Group Ebitda for 2024/25, a 35% increase from the prior year. For the six weeks of Christmas to 5 January, the group said it achieved a 12% increase in like-for-like sales compared to the previous year, with five of its venues setting new weekly sales records during the period. Looking ahead to this year, the group plans to add 12 new guest rooms at The Three Horseshoes in Madingley, near Cambridge, with work due to commence this autumn. Thain told Propel: “2024 has been a phenomenal year for Cambscuisine, marked by exceptional performance across all eight venues and a record-breaking Christmas season. These results reflect the hard work and dedication of our teams and the loyalty of our customers. As we look ahead to 2025, we are excited to continue growing and enhancing our offerings, including the addition of guest rooms at The Three Horseshoes.”

Mak Halal targets ten new store openings in 2025: Mak Halal, the burger concept, has targeted ten new store openings in 2025. The brand, founded in 2016 by Abdulwahab Omar, last month opened its 13th location, in Sheffield, as it ramped up its franchise offer after signing with experienced consultant, Anthony Round. It will also be exhibiting at the International Franchise Show at the London Excel on 11-12 April. “For the past few months, we have put the building blocks are in place to support the franchise’s ambitious growth plan,” Round said. “We have revised and improved the franchise agreement, examined the finance and commercials, and for franchise partners who sign up in 2025, we are introducing a fixed royalty payment scheme, which on average turnover, will result in franchisees paying half the royalty compared to the percentage model. This will be for the length of the ten-year agreement, offering substantial savings to the franchisee and giving investors more freedom to drive profitability within their own outlets. There has been great interest from franchise investors so far, with well over 100 enquiries since October. Our goal is to open ten new stores by the end of 2025, with four already in the pipeline, and are inviting applications from new franchisees to support the company’s expansion plans.”

Village Hotel Club acquires former Crown Plaza site in Reading site: Village Hotel Club, the 33-strong hotel and leisure club operator owned by Blackstone, has acquired a former Crown Plaza site in Reading, Berkshire. It now plans to convert the site, at Caversham Bridge, into a “full Village experience” featuring a pub and grill, meetings and events space, a Starbucks coffee shop and state-of-the-art health and wellness facilities. The plans are part of a wider investment programme, launched in September, which will see the business upgrading more than 50% of its portfolio, alongside acquiring new hotels. Village Hotel Club chief executive Gary Davis said: “We are delighted to take ownership of our new site in Reading. Building on our successful conversion in Bracknell, the acquisition is another example of significant investment in the area and creates an opportunity to bring our unique and differentiated proposition to guests and local audiences alike.” CBRE advised on the sale on behalf of Brightbay Real Estate Partners, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group.

Urban Baristas to kick off 2025 with central London and Croydon openings: Aussie-inspired coffee concept Urban Baristas is set to kick off 2025 with openings in central London and Croydon. The Huw Wardrope-led business will first open within Mosaic East at Knollys & Stephenson House in 17 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, for its furthest south site yet. It will then open its most centrally located site yet, in London’s St James, through an existing franchisee. “Pleased to be finishing off the year with another lease signed for one of our franchisees,” Wardrope said. “Shortly, we will be banging out epic flat whites just a few steps from the greenery of St James Park, with our neighbours being Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and The Houses of Parliament. Not a bad location, I must say!” Urban Baristas, which also has sites in Chelsea and Wimbledon lined up, currently has 15 sites across the capital. The business has a long-term target of more than 40 stores by the end of 2026.

Domino's franchisee AKM Group reports profit almost doubled on static sales: Domino's franchisee AKM Group, led by Arshad Yasin, has reported its pre-tax profit nearly doubled in the year to 31 March 2022, to £3,371,070 from £1,800,000 the year before. Turnover rose slightly to £28,396,324 from £28,062,018 in the year prior. Net profit percentage rose to 11.87% from 6.41% the year before. Average number of employees dropped to 714 from 768 the year before.

JMK Group set to acquire site for new City of London hotel after securing £16.6m loan: Family-owned JMK Group is set to acquire the site for new City of London hotel after securing £16.6m loan. The cash injection, from OakNorth and REL Finance, will be used to acquire a five-storey, grade II-listed office block on St Clements Lane and convert it into a new 185-key hotel, subject to planning permission. It will be a fourth UK hotel for JMK – joining its Hampton by Hilton in Ealing and Seraphines in Hammersmith and Kensington – and eighth overall, with four hotels in Ireland spread across Cork, Dublin and Waterford. The company also operates two Guud Day coffee houses in Dublin, one of which is temporarily closed, and last year received the green light to develop an aparthotel in Belfast’s Victoria Street for its first venture into Northern Ireland. JMK Group director Zain Kajani said: “We’ve experienced rapid business growth since our establishment in 2009 and now have an extensive portfolio which is constantly evolving. We are constantly looking towards the future, with this acquisition of the St Clement Lane site a prime example of this, so we’re grateful to the OakNorth and REL Finance teams for their support in this transaction. Following the success of our initial transaction with OakNorth in August 2022, we knew they would once again be the right funding partner for us.” JMK was founded by John Kajani in 2009 when he made the move to hospitality from the textiles industry with the opening of a small boutique hotel in Kensington.

KFC set to launch at The O2, Chopstix and Slim Chickens openings helped venue’s grab and go sales rise 14% in 2024: KFC is set to be added to the roster of food and beverage offerings at London’s The O2 in the coming months. It comes as the venue reports its new Chopstix and Slim Chickens openings helped its grab and go sales rise 14% in 2024. Its leisure operators enjoyed 8% growth during the year, driven in part by new additions like Activate, which launched its first UK site there, and previously unused spaces being leased to Padel Social Club and Clip ‘n Climb. Overall, the venue’s Entertainment District experienced a sales uplift of 3% compared to 2023, as The O2 welcomed more than 10 million visitors – an uplift of 12% on 2023.

Whitbread plans 2026 opening for Snow Hill Premier Inn: Whitbread is planning a 2026 opening for its new 212-bedroom Premier Hill Inn at Snow Hill in the City of London. The company first submitted plans to convert the grade II-listed Snow Hill Police Station in Farringdon into a 220-bedroom hotel in 2020, and last month held a topping out ceremony. Heritage assets within the historic building have been retained, and in a first for Whitbread, the hotel will feature a permanent, free exhibition space on the history of the location. The hotel is expected to trade under the name of hub by Premier Inn Old Bailey, given its proximity to the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales. Whitbread, which operates six Premier Inns and hub by Premier Inns in the Square Mile, said it sees significant growth opportunities for its brands in the capital, with the Snow Hill site one of three central London sites it is currently developing. Mark Anderson, Whitbread’s managing director for property and international, added: “This scheme shows our capability to take on complex development projects in the heart of the Square Mile, and I can’t wait to stay in what will be our flagship hotel there in a years’ time.”

Friska founders win catering contract for Bristol immersive arts and event space: The founders of former Bristol healthy fast food cafe business Friska have won the catering contract for the city’s immersive arts and event space via their new venture. Griff Holland and Ed Brown, who grew Friska to 12 sites pre-pandemic before closing the last of its sites in 2022, now operate Double Puc, which operates a café on the ground floor of The Eye in Bristol’s Glass Wharf. It also last year won the catering contract for the city’s science and arts centre, We The Curious. As part of the new partnership, Double Puc Cafe will bring fresh, sustainable food options to both the cafe and the exclusive event catering services to Wake The Tiger. “Wake The Tiger is the world’s first Amazement Park and we are delighted to be partnering with what is a truly inspiring venue,” Holland said. “We look forward to contributing our expertise in sustainable hospitality and quality food to this incredible space.” A certified B-Corp business, Wake The Tiger attracts more than 150,000 visitors per year.