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Thu 23rd Jan 2025 - Update: JD Wetherspoon, Drake & Morgan, Whitbread and SSP |
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JD Wetherspoon planning overseas expansion, with decision on first international site expected within six months: JD Wetherspoon is planning overseas expansion, with a decision on a first international site expected within six months. Founder and chairman Sir Tim Martin told The Sun that he is considering franchising overseas following a string of successful partnerships in the UK. The company said earlier this month that it is planning four more pubs on Haven holiday parks after a successful franchise at the Primrose Valley site in Yorkshire, and it also has franchises with Hull and Newcastle Universities for student union bars. “We are looking at it,” Sir Tim said. “There are probably 100 to 200 franchise partnerships in the UK. Now it’s a question of going abroad, and it’s a possibility.” Sir Tim said holiday spots popular with Brits such as Alicante, Benidorm and Majorca would make sense, but it could target “winter sun” destinations too. He said a decision on the first location was probably six months away. The company has 796 pubs across the UK and Ireland. Although this would be its first foreign foray, a replica pub called Witherspoons had opened in Pattaya, Thailand, serving English breakfasts and cheap pints. Sir Tim also said Wetherspoon could consider snapping up the 115 Crown Post Office branches that have been put at risk of closure in bid to overhaul the postal service. “I reckon Wetherspoons would get the stamp of approval for that – we could definitely deliver good beer,” he said. He added that post offices were often large buildings with good architectural features “that make great pubs”. It comes after Wetherspoon yesterday (Wednesday, 22 January), said like-for-like sales for the main Christmas period, the three weeks from 16 December 2024 to 5 January 2025, were up 6.1%. In a trading update for the six months to 26 January 2025, it also said like-for-like sales were 5.1% higher than the same period a year ago, with bar sales up 4.5%, food by 5.6% and slot/fruit machines by 11.7%, while hotel room sales decreased by 6.5%. Like-for-like sales for the last 12 weeks, or the second quarter of its financial year, were 4.6% higher than the same period a year ago. The company said total sales have grown by 4.0% in the year to date – slightly less than like-for-like sales due to a small number of disposals.
Next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality to be released tomorrow featuring 876 companies: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will be released to Premium Club members tomorrow (Friday, 24 January), at midday. Another 18 companies have been added to the database, which now features 876 companies. This month’s edition will also include 129 updated entries and more than 237,000 words of content. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025) and discounts on specialist sector reports such as the Propel 500. 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.
Drake & Morgan reports record Christmas trading: Drake & Morgan, the London bar and restaurant group backed by Bowmark Capital, has reported record Christmas trading. It is the second consecutive year that the business, which operates 17 premium bars and restaurants in London and Manchester, has broken its Christmas trading record. It achieved 14.7% like-for-like sales growth for the five-week festive period, significantly outperforming the market. Chief executive Jillian MacLean said: “This double-digit growth for a consecutive year is a testament to the team, their commitment and hard work. We’re proud to have outperformed the market and these results, alongside our determination to continue to deliver exceptional experiences driven by event marketing, finds me positive for the year ahead, despite the widely reported economic challenges.” In December, Drake & Morgan said weekend trade across the group had jumped by more than 30% since pre-covid. MacLean, who founded Drake & Morgan in 2008, was last year awarded the Freedom of the City of London, celebrating her contribution to the hospitality industry. Drake & Morgan features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is available exclusively to Premium Club members and features 978 companies. Its turnover of £43,298,459 for the year ending 26 March 2023 is the 249th highest in the database. 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 kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Whitbread opens 1,000 new Premier Inn rooms since March 2024: Whitbread has said it has added more than 1,000 new Premier Inn bedrooms to its growing UK network since March 2024. The new 137-bedroom Premier Inn at London Waterloo (North Lambeth), which opened this month, took the business over the 1,000 new room milestone, marking the third new Premier Inn to open in the capital since spring last year. In total, Whitbread has opened seven new Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels in the past 11 months. Other new locations include Torquay Harbour, York (Layerthorpe), Bristol Parkway (M32), Paddington Station and Cambridge City Centre (Lion Yard). Whitbread currently offers more than 85,500 hotel rooms and believes there is the potential for 125,000 in the UK and Ireland. Alex Flach, the company’s UK & Ireland development director, said: “All of these new openings, completed since March 2024, are leasehold developments – a testament to the strength and appeal of the Whitbread covenant among our development partners. Growing our estate across the UK and Ireland remains a top priority for the business, and my team and I are eager to connect with potential partners to secure and deliver the next generation of Premier Inn hotels.” Whitbread’s future plans for Premier Inn include 40 target locations within the M25 – which it said is a strategically important growth market for the brand – as well as 13 target locations in Ireland.
SSP CFO and deputy CEO to step down: SSP Group, the UK operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, has said its chief financial officer and deputy chief executive is to step down from both roles. Jonathan Davies has given the board notice of his intention to retire after more than 20 years with the business. Geert Verellen will now join the company in April 2025 as chief financial officer designate. Davies has been the group chief financial officer of SSP since its original formation within Compass Group in 2004 – through its period of private ownership by EQT, its IPO on the London stock market in 2014, and its subsequent transformation into the global food travel business it is today. He was appointed deputy chief executive in 2021 and played a key role in successfully navigating the business through covid. During his tenure, SSP has expanded its footprint into many new regions, including North America, India, Australia, the Middle East and a number of South-East Asian markets. Verellen, meanwhile, has extensive financial and operational experience in international consumer, food and retailing companies, most recently as chief financial officer, from 2020 to 2024, at Maple Leaf Foods, a listed multi-national food manufacturing company in Canada. Prior to this, he served as regional chief financial officer at Walmart, overseeing finance operations in Canada, Japan and India. To ensure continuity and a smooth transition, Davies has agreed to remain on the board until 30 September 2025 and will continue in his role as deputy chief executive until the end of December 2025. Group chief executive Patrick Coveney said: “Jonathan is a legend at SSP, and as a leader and a personality, he has been integral to the success of SSP since its formation more than 20 years ago. He will leave an enduring legacy: a well-earned reputation for thought leadership across the food travel industry, a strong finance team, and a deeply embedded culture and set of processes to drive performance and capital returns. Geert is a highly experienced financial leader with significant and relevant industry, functional and international expertise, and a management style that will enhance and complement our board and executive committee.”
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