Flight Club operator reports record-breaking fourth-quarter results and unveils 2025 global expansion plans: Red Engine, the Flight Club and Electric Shuffle operator, has reported fourth-quarter sales totalling £25.3m, a 24% increase compared with the same period in 2023, and said it plans eight openings this year. The company said its fourth-quarter like-for-like sales, excluding 2024 venue openings, grew 3%, while combined with its franchise partners reached £38.4m, up 23% year-on-year, with like-for-like sales increasing 4%. The business said: “The fourth quarter was a quarter of record-breaking moments for Red Engine, with every company-owned venue achieving its best-ever weekly sales performance. Electric Shuffle New York, which opened in July, generated more than £320,000 in sales in a single week. Flight Club Glasgow and Flight Club Edinburgh (venues opened in the fourth quarter of 2023) saw year-on-year sales growth of 39% and 42% respectively. Even Flight Club Shoreditch, the group's longest-running site, surpassed its previous weekly sales record.” In 2024, Red Engine opened four new sites: Flight Club Liverpool and Oxford, and Electric Shuffle Manchester and New York. The company’s Australian Flight Club franchise partner opened two more venues, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. These 2024 openings took the total global Flight Club and Electric Shuffle estate to 31 venues (24 Flight Club and seven Electric Shuffle). The company said it is targeting a portfolio of 39 venues by the end of 2025 – six new Flight Club locations and two new Electric Shuffle venues. The business said its franchise partners will continue to drive international growth for Flight Club, with further venues planned in the United States, Australia, and Ireland – a new market for the brand. Just four weeks into the year, Red Engine's franchise partners have already opened Flight Club venues in Dublin, Washington DC and St Louis. Flight Club Philadelphia and a second Sydney venue are slated to open later in the year. Red Engine will open Electric Shuffle King’s Cross in London, Electric Shuffle Chicago and Flight Club Newcastle. The 2025 opening in Chicago will mark the fourth city globally where both the Flight Club and Electric Shuffle brands have a presence. The King’s Cross opening will be Red Engine's seventh in London (three Electric Shuffle venues and four Flight Club). Ross Shepley-Smith, chief financial officer at Red Engine, said: "We are thrilled to report such strong fourth-quarter results, especially as we enter this milestone year celebrating a decade of social darts. This past year has presented significant challenges for the hospitality sector, making these results all the more rewarding and underlining the strength and resilience of our brands.”

Premium Club members to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club members will receive two updated databases this week. The latest Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisee Database will be sent on Wednesday (12 February) at 12pm. The database will feature ten new additions plus updates to existing entries. It now has 190 entries and more than 80,000 words of copy. Among the new entries are Subway franchisees A Tasty Experience and Sriram Abhi, and Dave’s Hot Chicken franchisee Azzurri Group. Premium Club members will then receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (14 February), at 12pm. The database will feature 79 updated accounts and ten new companies, taking the total to 1,066. A total of 655 companies are making a profit while 401 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 also receive access to four other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database,  the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor 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 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.

 

Beefy Boys co-founder Anthony Murphy to speak at first Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2025, open for bookings: Anthony Murphy, co-founder of Beefy Boys, will be among the speakers at the first Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2025, which is open for bookings. Murphy will talk about going from representing the UK at the World Food Championships in Las Vegas to publishing a cook book, while expanding a regional, award-winning burger business in between. The all-day conference takes place on Thursday, 20 March, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London’s Kensington. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Operators can book up to two free places per company while Premium subscribers who are operators can book up to four free places. To book, email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

 

Sector lawyer David Roberts – landlord contributions for new sites will need to increase because employing new staff and funding new openings is now riskier than ever: David Roberts, head of leisure at global law firm CMS, believes that landlord contributions for new sites will need to increase because employing new staff and funding new openings is now riskier than ever, and despite rate cuts, he suspects inflation will come back as these costs are passed through to the public. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Roberts said the changes to employers’ national insurance contributions brought on via the 2024 Budget will have “profound reverberations across the sector”. He said: “A cost of employment will not only hit every business in the leisure and hospitality sector but every part of its supply chain, its service providers and so on. Most will try to pass it on. Some may be able to do so. Many will not have that luxury and this could force many businesses to right size their property estate, trim their labour force, look to artificial intelligence solutions to save costs and worst of all, shelve plans for growth. I think this may mean landlord contributions for new sites will need to increase because employing new staff and funding new openings is now riskier than ever and despite rate cuts, I suspect inflation will come back as these costs are passed through to the public. If you are going to open a new site, there may be a preference to open a larger site so that you can generate more revenue and give the site a turnover buffer because it will be easier to absorb these employment costs if you have more turnover to play with. There may not be sufficient margin in a 2,000 square-foot site anymore. Businesses will also try to squeeze more revenue via licensing and franchising their brands abroad, particularly the Middle East and Riyadh specifically, which is hungry for more western concepts to adorn their new cities. We will continue to see US franchise giants target the UK as they seek to follow the success of Wingstop and Popeyes for instance. Some of the more established US quick service restaurant brands will need to invest or risk challenges to their market share. The clearing banks will look to increase their exposure to the leisure sector in the UK and this could lead to more private equity activity as rate cuts, means lower cost of capital that will allow investment firms back into the sector. We thus should see more M&A activity allowing some founders the chance to pocket some cash and raise some spending money. We will see more and more businesses trying to adapt to and capture the new social habits of Generation Z including wellness and mental health. We may start seeing concepts relying on YouTube to fuel their growth, not new openings.”

William Sitwell – we need covid-era tax breaks if we’re going to save restaurants: The double whammy of a national insurance hike and a rise in the minimum wage has left hospitality “high and dry”, and in need of covid-era tax breaks, argues The Telegraph columnist William Sitwell. He said: “Margins are poor, costs are high and the government just makes it worse. Labour’s tax grab through raising employers’ national Insurance contributions by almost 2% and a rise in the national living wage for 18 to 20-year-olds (from £8.60 to £10 an hour) is having brutal consequences. If it hasn’t stopped bosses from employing young people, it’s making them wonder how on earth they can turn a profit. And as consumers ponder on the cost of eating out and how, if you want to get squiffy, it’s just so much cheaper to do it with supermarket alcohol at home, the option of raising prices is kamikaze. Guy [Head, a multi-site operator in Suffolk] said something about a holiday and I agreed. A nice spot of skiing wouldn’t go amiss. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I want a VAT holiday’. He then explained how this would work. For a period of two years the government reduces the rate of VAT for hospitality by 5%, from 20% to 15%. This would then grant businesses the flexibility to offer discounts, to advertise deals, to lower prices for customers. And that, of course, is what gets the punters in. It’s a covid-style policy and it’s an emergency measure because actually hospitality is in a worse state now than it was when Rishi Sunak, mid-plague, launched his Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The only degree in which hospitality is now in better fettle being that staff no longer have to approach customers wearing plastic visors. What a VAT holiday would do would be to grease the wheels of the industry, to give restaurateurs a chance to get behind their heavy rolling stock and shunt them forward. ‘We’re desperate to lower our prices, and to make prices more reasonable to go out,’ Guy told me. ‘It might not mean much to the heaving bars of Soho but it’s vital for the more remote parts of the country. The social benefit of hospitality is priceless’.”

 

Storm Éowyn impacts hospitality sales, delivery the only category to achieve growth in January: UK hospitality sales grew 1.7% year-on-year over the 12 weeks ending 28 January 2025, according to analysis from HDI, the leading provider of card spending insight and pricing data to the UK hospitality sector. Sales in the first four weeks of 2025 were down 0.3% year-on-year, with the week ending 28 January significantly impacted by Storm Éowyn on Friday, 24 January and Saturday, 25 January, leading to this week seeing the weakest sales performance across the latest 12 weeks. Delivery has now moved into the top spot in terms of year-on-year performance, and it’s the only category to achieve growth in January. Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, said: “As is typical in January, pubs and pub restaurants share of hospitality sales drops off significantly following Christmas and new year. However, this has been more pronounced this year, with the final week being heavily impacted by Storm Éowyn, which had the worst possible timing landing on a Friday and Saturday – key trading days for so much of the sector. With January now behind us, the hope will be that key events such as the Six Nations, half term, and Valentine’s Day will encourage more visits to pubs and restaurants, and that we escape further extreme weather events that lead to people wanting to stay at home.”

 

Guinness maker accused of unfair price rises as demand soars: Guinness maker Diageo has been accused of imposing unfair price rises on pubs as demand from drinkers soars. Publicans said they were struggling to make a profit from selling Britain’s best-selling beer owing to consecutive price increases. Anthony Pender, founder of pub and restaurant group Yummy Collection, said the price he was being charged for a keg of Guinness had risen by around 37% – or £81 – since the end of the pandemic. He told The Telegraph: “My keg of Guinness now is £248 for 88 pints. It’s our worst gross profit item on the bar. It’s just denting our margins when we need decent margins to pay staff.” Complaints from pub owners come amid a boom in demand for Guinness, which became the best-selling beer in Britain’s pubs in 2022, overtaking Carling. The brand now accounts for one in every ten pints sold across the UK, according to Diageo. Clive Price, managing director of Barons Pub Company, said: “Diageo has been fairly aggressive for a few years with its price rises. They’ve been nudging it up more than anyone else for the last four to five years.” Supply issues have caused some pubs to seek out alternatives to Guinness. Simon Collinson, director of family-run Oak Taverns in Oxfordshire, turned to local breweries to supply an alternative stout for his pubs after finding it nearly impossible to get hold of Guinness. He added: “We were out of stock completely in 25% of our pubs and had to ration Guinness in all 16 of them. Since covid we have sold twice as much Guinness as we used to, it used to be just another beer on the bar and now it’s all people want.” However, due to its popularity, this is often not a simple switch for pub owners who worry about damaging their footfall if they cannot provide Guinness. Pender, who recently raised the price of a pint for customers above the £7 mark, said: “You’ve got the issue now that Guinness is Guinness. People don’t understand competitor brands at the moment.” A Diageo spokesperson said it does not set the price that Guinness is sold at in the nation’s pubs, and the average price of a pint in the UK is actually 15% lower than the average for world premium lagers.

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a hospitality group that is seeking a head of marketing to help shape the future of the business. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “This role requires someone with a deep understanding of social media and CRM, a creative mindset to think outside the box, and the ability to lead a team of marketers while driving innovative, results-focused campaigns. The company is looking for someone passionate about making an impact and delivering success. This role is about delivering a message, providing strategic leadership with a commercial understanding of driving sales. The role will have full accountability over large-scale and regional campaigns, culture, future proofing the brand, perception, website, social media, and PR in a fast-paced environment.” The salary is £85,000 and the position is based in London. For more information, email stuart@corecruitment.com.

 

The Ivy braces for £6m tax hit, but sale ‘very much alive’: Richard Caring, the backer of The Ivy and its branded offshoots, is bracing for a £6m annual hit from increases in employers’ national insurance contributions, according to sources familiar with the situation. Caring put The Ivy restaurants up for sale more than a year ago. He co-owns the business with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar. Sources told The Sunday Times that the national insurance hikes would not blow the sale off course. Caring’s team had identified head office savings to compensate. Increasing prices would also help offset Labour’s raid, they said. The Ivy group is understood to have made £60m in Ebitda. The group includes the original restaurant in London’s Covent Garden, and its 50 or so Ivy Collection sites as well as Ivy Asia, Granary Square and Brasserie of Light. A £1bn price tag was hung on the business following advice from HSBC. Caring seemed to be on the brink of a sale to Si Advisers, a London-based private equity firm, last September, but the deal is thought to have been delayed by Si bringing in a co-investor. Insiders insisted the deal was “very much alive” but were tight-lipped on the identity of the other party. Representatives for The Ivy declined to comment.

 

Pan-Asian tapas concept Chi Asia planning to explore franchise opportunities, relocates Cambridge site: Chi Asia – the pan-Asian tapas concept – has told Propel it is planning to explore franchise opportunities and has “tentative plans for expansion”. Founded in 2019 in Cambridge as a pan-Asian street food concept by Lamen Reddy and Aidan Tjinakiet, Chi quickly grew to a full-table service restaurant offering a range of pan-Asian dishes from Japanese to Korean. Chi Asia currently operates in seven locations across its street food and restaurants including Basingstoke, Bluewater, Cambridge, Derby, Northampton, Rushden and London’s New Oxford Street. Chi Asia is set to move from its original location in the Grafton Centre, Cambridge, to a space more than double the size on the city’s Quayside. The new venue – which features a 60-cover restaurant, bar and outside terrace area – will offer a newly developed premium Asian tapas menu, including a brunch menu and the addition of an enhanced drinks menu with a range of beer on tap and Asian-inspired cocktails. Tjinakiet said: “My dad is from Hong-Kong and used to have his own restaurant in the city. From growing up and living in Cambridge, I know Quayside is such a bustling culturally rich area. We are delighted to join the food scene there and continue offering a taste of modern Asian tapas dishes to the city.”

Valiant – our plan is to get to 200-300 pubs eventually, bigger companies are wedded to 2019 pre-covid values: Gerry Carroll, co-founder and chief executive of Valiant Pub Company, the Njord Partners-backed, 80-strong business, has said the group’s plan is to get to “200-300 pubs eventually”, and has noticed a spike in opportunities to acquire sites from independent operators over the past two to three months, post the Budget. The company currently has a “fair few in legals, and some openings lined up for the back end of February”, and should reach the 100-site mark by this Easter. Carroll said: “Our plan is still to get to 200-300 pubs eventually, but it's very much about buying the right pubs for us, buying quality. We’ve seen it happen so many times in the past where people just go for the numbers, they say a number, and then aim for that number, we'd rather stick at 100 pubs if we can’t buy good pubs. We're not going to expand at all costs, we will be sensible, and we're creating value. We always think there's around 46,000-plus pubs in the UK, and around 60% of those are small companies or individual sites. So, the other 40% are run by the big boys. There are so many independently-owned pubs out there that it means we don't need to buy from the likes of Stonegate or Marston’s or Greene King. We'll always talk to them, but there’s just so much opportunity elsewhere. We set up during covid, and there's lots of guys there that managed their way through the whole of covid, then had the energy crisis, and now you've got national insurance and all of that, and it's just relentless. But it creates opportunity because some people just get tired and just kind of go, ‘I've had enough. I haven't got enough money now to reinvest into this pub’. And that’s where the opportunity comes from. We’ve noticed a spike in said opportunities over the past two to three months, post the Budget, and that’s increased in January.” Valiant has not ruled out acquiring from fellow pubcos – at the right price. Carroll said: “We talk to all the big guys, if they're selling anything. But we are finding that we can buy better quality sites, where we can create more value, on a single and small group acquisition basis. Unfortunately, a lot of the bigger guys, they're just hamstrung with their financing, they're wedded to 2019 pre-covid values. So, when we look at price expectations they have versus where the market really is, there’s no value there a lot of the time for us. After a period of time, you don't have enough capex to service the tail end of the estate, and it just gets worse and worse. Everything that we buy, we invest in. I think maybe we bought three pubs that we've tickled and the rest of them have received substantial, game changing investments.” 

 

Cornish Bakery boosts turnover as it closes in on 72-site estate: Fast-growing independent brand Cornish Bakery has reported turnover rose to £29,357,900 in the 52 weeks to 30 May 2024 (2023: £23,671,769) as the number of sites increased by five to 61 in the year. Profit before tax was down to £1,140,900 from £1,379,056 the year before. Six of its locations are operated under franchise with Roadchef. Ebitda rose to £3.4m from £3.2m the year before. Gross profit margin was 71.9% compared with 71.7% the year before. The company stated, under a heading of “great results”: “In the two years ended 30 May 2024, the business has posted revenue and Ebitda growth of 47% and 21% respectively and has grown its estate from 51 to 61 sites. Since the year end, six bakeries have been opened, a further five are under offer with Ebitda on course to exceed £5m.” Dividends of £476,846 (2023: £400,000) were paid in the period. Employee numbers rose to 635 from 496 the year before. 

 

US hot sandwich brand to kickstart expansion plans by opening first UK sites in six years including Welsh debut: US hot customisable sandwich brand Which Wich is preparing to kickstart its expansion plans here by opening its first UK sites in six years, including its Welsh debut. The brand, which has grown to more than 400 sites globally since being founded in Dallas in 2003, first entered the UK market in 2018 with a debut store in London’s Covent Garden. The UK master franchise is owned by Rami Awada, who at the end of 2023 launched a franchise programme to help the brand’s growth here. At the time of the programme’s launch, Awada told Propel he was targeting opening 30 UK sites over the next three years “as a conservative estimate”. Propel understands the first of these are now preparing to open – with one being in London’s Fleet Street and the other in Cardiff – “marking the start of significant UK expansion”. 

 

BVC Group plans new concept launch in London’s Belgravia: The BVC Group, the company behind London’s Mayfair restaurant North Audley Cantine (NAC), smashburger format Supernova, and dessert shop concept Crème, is planning to launch a new all-day dining venture – Le Café NAC, in London’s Belgravia. The new concept, which will open later this year, promises to be a “stylish spot” that will offer “all the charm and culinary excellence NAC is known for, with a cosy twist perfect for Motcomb Street’s vibrant dining scene.” Le Café NAC will offer “French-inspired food and drinks with global influences”. At the same time, the business that was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Coste, David Bellaiche and Gabriel Cohen-Elia, is understood to be planning to launch Le Duke on the former Spaghetti House site at 72-76 Duke Street, in Mayfair. The new French restaurant will be spread over two floors and comprise circa 150 covers. In early 2023, BVC, which sold its Ahi Poke business to Poke House in 2021, expanded NAC to the Middle East with a double opening. The business launched its first overseas NAC sites, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Doha, Qatar. This was followed in autumn 2023 by a further site in Dubai. At the same time, the business operates two Crème sites in London, three in Bahrain, three in Saudi Arabia and one in Paris.

 

Yum! Brands launches AI-powered platform to house all of its technology solutions: Yum! Brands, the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut owner, has launched a new artificial intelligence-powered platform to house all of its technology solutions. The company said the Byte by Yum collection of products is expected to enable a faster adoption of digital tools throughout its global system. Byte by Yum consolidates operations such as online and mobile app ordering, point of sale, kitchen and delivery streamlining, menu management, management of inventory and labour, and team member resources. The new platform has already been introduced in the UK. The business migrated three Pizza Hut international markets, including the UK, on to the Byte digital ordering platform in the second half of 2024. In the UK, the platform facilitated more than 50% digital transaction growth on the app channel and drove faster processing times than the previous system. Yum! chief executive David Gibbs said a single, distinct technology platform offers advantages to operators. He said: “You might have dozens of different technology vendors that you’re trying to coordinate with to get to your restaurant to work every day. By building our own technology stack and making that investment, we’re giving our franchisees a much more turnkey solution.” 

 

The Coffee House reaches 30-site landmark: North west independent coffee shop The Coffee House has reached the 30-site landmark with an opening in Greater Manchester. The outlet has opened at Farnworth Green, off King Street, in Farnworth – the company’s second opening of 2025 following a launch at the Port Arcades shopping centre in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. “Reaching 30 stores is a huge milestone for us, and what better way to celebrate than with a new location inside the stunning Farnworth Green development by Capital&Centric?” a company spokesman said. “We’re happy to be one of the first to open in this new community hub.” At the end of last year, the business opened its furthest north site yet, in Burnley, and its first city centre location, in Liverpool. Founded in 2011 by brothers Chris and Stephen Shelmerdine, the business told Propel last May that it is eyeing an estate of more than 80 sites after securing a £4m cash injection from the founder of investment platform AJ Bell, Andy Bell.

 

Wingers sees record-breaking sales at new Northamptonshire store: Buttermilk fried chicken restaurant concept Wingers has opened a site in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire – and posted record sales. The Wellingborough launch – its 15th – follows openings in Congleton in Cheshire and Stafford at the end of last year. The Wellingborough store is run by new franchisees Trupesh Gajjar and his brother Vikash, who also run two independent petrol stations, one with an in-house kitchen, plus a Subway franchise. Trupesh Gajjar said: “Our first week of trading was incredible. I know the Wingers’ store openings at the end of last year smashed records but we’ve exceeded those sales figures in our first week!” Amran Sunner, co-founder and operations director of Wingers, added: “Wellingborough is a great example of the immediate popularity of our delicious, fresh buttermilk fried chicken when introduced to a new location. Our proven franchise model now means there is a real opportunity for business minded individuals looking for a thriving franchise where only the sky is the limit. As a management team we are committed to growth and supporting experienced quick service restaurant professionals to open new sites in all parts of the UK including Northern Ireland. Last year was very busy with store openings but Wingers is really set to take off in 2025.” Sunner set up Wingers during the covid pandemic with brother Dylan and their dad Bill out of a kitchen in Birmingham. Wingers previously said it was looking to double its estate in 2025.

 

Plan Burrito set to return to London for first launch of 2025: Burrito franchise Plan Burrito is set to return to London for its first launch of 2025. Founded by Stephen Hopper in 2015, Plan Burrito made its debut in Loughborough before opening its second site in London’s Southampton Row. Plan Burrito then expanded to Whitburn in Scotland before accelerating its growth in 2023 and 2024 with launches in Hitchin, Guildford, Leamington Spa, Ramsgate, Shrewsbury, Norwich, Canterbury, Southend and Gillingham. Plan Burrito is now set to return to the capital for an opening at 18 Camberwell Road, in Camberwell. The company also previously said it is lining up openings in Swansea and Ponytpridd, in Wales. 

 

Manchester dessert concept continues expansion outside the region: Manchester dessert concept Cheat Daze is set to continue its expansion outside of the region. Cheat Daze was co-founded in 2022 by Muhammed Abdullah and launched at 197 Mauldeth Road in Burnage. A second site followed at 42 Woodford Road in Bramhall, Stockport, and then a third at 255 Bolton Road in Salford. Cheat Daze ventured outside of Greater Manchester for the first time in December when it launched at 174 Westgate in Bradford. The concept is now preparing to open a second site outside of the city, and fifth overall – at 67 Victoria Street in Blackburn.

 

Hooters lines up Newcastle opening this month: Hooters is launching in the city centre of Newcastle. “For more than 40 years, Hooters has built a reputation across the globe for making people happy, and we are excited to bring our one-of-a-kind guest experience to Newcastle in the iconic Bigg Market within the city centre, with an official opening expected this month,” the company said in a statement to The Guardian. The Newcastle franchise will be the third in the UK, after Nottingham and Liverpool. Liverpool’s Hooters opened in 2022 despite the protestations of the then mayor of Liverpool, Jo Anne Anderson. Hooters’ Liverpool owners found themselves bogged down in legal disputes over the restaurant’s signage and the company behind it went into liquidation in December. A new franchisee has taken over. The only proven success in the UK has been the Nottingham franchise, run since 1998 by Julian Mills and his Canadian business partner, Johnny Goard, who owns five Hooters in his home country. They are behind the launch in Newcastle.

Former JD Wetherspoon site in New Brighton on the market for £3m: A former New Brighton JD Wetherspoon pub building that was bought for £662,400 could be sold for up to £3m after being put on the market again. The Master Mariner in New Brighton had been the subject of a planned £3m revamp in 2022, which included expanding into the adjoining empty Lacy’s Bar. The pub originally opened in 2013 on the site of the former RJs and the Playas Lounge nightclubs. The site was formerly owned by Wetherspoon and closed for the redevelopment and expansion in 2022 before the plug was pulled on the project in 2023. The building has remained half demolished and been described as an eyesore since. Land Registry documents show the site was bought by LSF Estates Developments in July 2023 for £662,400. Now it is looking to sell it on through chartered surveyors Hitchcock Wright and Partners. Another option could be a 200-bedroom hotel with 59 apartments and three townhouses with Place North West reporting Hitchcock Wright and Partners was asking for offers in the region of £3m. 

London pub operator Wellman Taverns adds fourth site to portfolio: London pub operator Wellman Taverns has added a fourth site to its portfolio. The company, owned by Darren and Janet Wellman has acquired the lease of The Cheshire Cheese in Little Essex Street, which is owned by brewer and retailer Shepherd Neame. The grade II-listed, three-storey, pub has been refurbished offering two bars and a top floor dedicated to dining. Darren Wellman said: “It’s a prime London site; the opportunity arose and It was too good to pass. It’s a more central location than our other pubs and has so much potential – we have been able to open up the top floor as a restaurant, when it wasn’t used before.” The couple first began working with Shepherd Neame when they took on the Princess of Prussia in Prescot Street, close to Tower Bridge, in 2011. They then added The White Swan in Aldgate followed by The Spanish Galleon near the Cutty Sark in 2022. Food at The Cheshire Cheese is being served by the team at Bang Bang Kitchen, which the Wellmans have also used at The Spanish Galleon. The menu ranges from macaroni cheese bites with chipotle mayonnaise to double smash burgers, steaks and fish and chips.

 

Bubala – we remain really positive in a difficult climate and want to continue to seek opportunities and grow: Marc Summers, founder of Middle Eastern vegetarian concept Bubala, has told Propel that the remains “really positive in a difficult climate” and wants to “continue to seek opportunities and grow”, after trading “excellently” over the Christmas period. Bubala, which opened its debut site in London’s Spitalfields in 2019 following a string of pop-ups and supper clubs, is set to open its third site, in April. The business, which added a second Bubala site in 2022, in Soho, will next take the concept to King’s Cross, where it will launch at Unit 1 in Cadence Court, at 4 Tapper Walk. The restaurant will feature a 65-cover ground floor dining room, an additional 25 covers upstairs and 30 alfresco seats on the terrace. Summers told Propel that in terms of recent trading “January picked up nicely as we went through the month”. Looking ahead to the next 18-24 months, he said the plan was “carefully selecting locations and going for it when the right sites come along”. He said: “Ideally, we would add a site or two in London in that period. We remain really positive in a difficult climate and want to continue to seek opportunities and grow!”

  

Immersive CBeebies experience to make return: An Immersive theatrical experience based on children’s television channel CBeebies is making its return to Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush. CBeebies Rainbow Adventure has been created and produced by Rainbow Experience, a company formed by EBP and Fiery Entertainment to present the experience under licence from BBC Studios. Founded by Emma Brünjes in 2013, entertainment company EBP is behind the Olivier award-nominated Alice’s Adventures Underground, which ran in London for two sell-out seasons before transferring to Shanghai. EBP’s other notable immersive productions include Dinner at The Twits, Adventures in Wonderland, Secret Cinema 21: Millers Crossing, The El Train and The Game’s Afoot. CBeebies Rainbow Adventure, which returns next month, will feature roleplay, live storytelling, music and immersive rooms with characters from Hey Duggee, Bluey, JoJo & Gran Gran and Mr Tumble.