Premium Club members to receive next Who's Who of UK Hospitality on Friday: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will be released to Premium Club members on Friday (21 February), at midday. Another 16 companies have been added to the database, which now features 891 companies. This month’s edition will also include 85 updated entries. 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 and International Brands report. 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.
One in three employers to stop hiring or start firing: Rachel Reeves’s £25bn tax rise on employment has led businesses to retreat from hiring and step up redundancy plans, according to research published today. A survey of more than 2,000 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that a third plan to shed workers or recruit fewer new staff. 42% of respondents said that they would put up prices in response to the looming increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, while a quarter said that they had scaled back investment plans. Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, the industry association for human resources professionals, told The Times: “These are the most significant downward changes in employer sentiment we’ve seen in the last ten years, outside of the pandemic. Employer confidence has been impacted by planned changes to employment costs, and employment indicators are heading in the wrong direction. Businesses have had time to digest these impending changes, with many now planning to reduce headcount, raise prices and cut investment in workforce training.” Labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics tomorrow are expected to show that unemployment remained low at about 4.4%. In December the number of employees fell by 47,000, the largest monthly drop since November 2020. Cheese said: “The introduction of additional employment costs is ... focusing some employers to look at introducing automation or raising productivity in other ways; activity the government should look to support.”
Nine out of ten workers ordered back to the office: Almost 90% of workers in the UK are subject to compulsory office attendance policies as employers demand they come back to their desks more days each week, new figures show. The findings from the latest Virgin Media O2 business movers index show that the proportion of companies requiring staff to be in the office for three days a week rose from 67% in the final quarter of 2023 to 75% in the same period last year. Mandates for attendance four times a week rose from 46% to 50%. Companies calling staff back to the office include the banks JP Morgan Chase and Barclays, the advertising group WPP and the tech group Amazon. The most commonly mandated office days were Mondays at 65% and Wednesdays at 67%. 48% were required to attend on Fridays. Remote working became commonplace during the pandemic. Respondents who preferred working in the office cited being more productive (36%), clearer work-life boundaries (32%) and a structured routine (31%). A fifth pointed to the free heating and 5% said they were taking free showers at work, rising to 13% for 18-to-24-year-olds. Those who preferred working at home cited flexibility (55%), saving money (55%) and the ability to focus away from colleagues (35%). Mónica Mercado Páez, head of AI and data at Virgin Media O2 Business, told The Times: “Despite implementing these measures, the number of Brits commuting to major towns decreased by 7% in 2024 compared to 2023, indicating companies are still embracing hybrid working options.”
Sales of Murphy’s leap: While the rediscovery of stout has been a blessing for Guinness, which is owned by the FTSE 100 drinks company Diageo, it has also turned the spotlight on to its smaller rivals. The Times reports a surge in demand to have Murphy’s on tap meant that by the end of last year the stout, originally from Cork but also brewed in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, was sold in 500 British pubs and bars, having risen from 200 a year earlier. One hundred pubs started pouring Murphy’s in December alone. That was helped by a public relations campaign launched by Heineken, its owner, in response to reports that pubs could run out of Guinness, involving delivering kegs to London pubs in time for Christmas Eve with the slogan: “Good things come to those who are waiting”. Will Rice, on-trade sales director at Heineken UK, said: “Obviously at a time when people are struggling people are going to ask if we can help and obviously we are more than happy to oblige.” He said it was important to realise that this renewed popularity for stout had generated not just “fun” for beer but “excitement in the pub industry, which has enough of its own challenges”. Heineken, the world’s second largest brewer, said “overwhelming” demand for Murphy’s had resulted in a 632% jump in on-trade sales in December, lifting sales 176% last year. Historically Heineken has not performed strongly in the stout category in the UK, notably because of Guinness’s widespread popularity. However, Rice was excited about Murphy’s becoming a challenger in the stout category and saw a lot more potential for growth. Rice said: “We’re at a point now where customers who don’t necessarily trade with us for beer and cider are saying that they want Murphy’s.” He argued that biggest advantage of Murphy’s over Guinness was being comparatively small, and so “we have got everything to play for and not a lot to lose”.
Chiltern Firehouse blaze ‘started in pizza oven’ before raging through London hotel: The fire at the Chiltern Firehouse is believed to have started in a pizza oven before spreading through the rest of the hotel and restaurant. More than 100 people were evacuated from the Marylebone venue on Friday night. Netflix had also reportedly planned to host a Baftas after-party at the Firehouse on Sunday. According to the Mail on Sunday, the venue may have been completely gutted, leaving American hotel tycoon Andre Balazs “teary eyed” as he surveyed the damage. Around 140 firefighters responded to the call-out on Friday night as the blaze spread from the pizza oven, travelling through internal vents and up to the roof. Balazs, who also owns Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont in his portfolio, said the cause is under investigation and the venue would be closed until further notice. He said in a statement: “It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 140 firefighters from over 20 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them. We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago. I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine’s Day evening they had in mind.”
