Sir Tim Martin – plan to increase employers’ NICs will cost JD Wetherspoon £1.2m a week: JD Wetherspoon chairman Sir Tim Martin has said the plan to increase employers’ national insurance contributions would cost his business £1.2m a week. Sir Tim warned that prices are “certain to rise” across the industry when the national insurance hike comes into force in April. In the autumn Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed national insurance for companies would rise from 13.8% to 15%, alongside a reduction in the threshold for employee wage eligibility for the tax from £9,500 to £5,000 a year. “There will definitely be an increase [in prices], and an increase in inflation as a result of the tax increase,” Sir Tim told Sky News. He also slammed the “level of taxes” the hospitality industry is facing. He said: “It’s more for pubs and hospitality than for supermarkets because we’ve got more labour costs per pint.” Sir Tim also criticised “modern politicians”, saying “they don’t understand and have a natural feel for the importance of free enterprise”. Meanwhile, the government’s plans to overhaul workers’ rights will “wreak havoc on our already fragile economy” and result in companies cutting jobs, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The FSB said its members were “dreading” the Employment Rights Bill, which includes proposals to expand the grounds for unfair dismissal and for expanded access to sick pay. Two thirds of small companies said the plans would make them curb hiring and one third said they planned to reduce the number of staff they had before the measures were introduced, a survey of 1,270 companies found.
Next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality to be released tomorrow featuring 891 companies: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will be released to Premium Club members tomorrow (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 and more than 238,000 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 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.
KFC to move its offices from namesake Kentucky to Texas: Kentucky Fried Chicken is breaking ties with the state that inspired its name after owner Yum! Brands decided to move its corporate office to Texas. The brand, now known as KFC, will relocate employees from its US corporate office in Louisville, Kentucky, to Plano, Texas, the site of KFC and Pizza Hut’s global headquarters. Local politicians have called on Yum! Brands, to rethink the decision, reports The Times. The mayor of Louisville, Craig Greenberg, said the brand “was born here and is synonymous with Kentucky”. Several prominent businesses, including Tesla, headed by Elon Musk, have relocated their headquarters to Texas, attracted by the state’s perceived favourable legal and regulatory environment. KFC was founded in 1930 by Colonel Harland Sanders when he opened his first restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. There are now more than 24,000 KFC outlets in more than 145 countries and territories around the world. Yum! Brands said the move was part of broader plans to designate two brand headquarters in the US: in Plano, Texas, and Irvine, California. KFC and Pizza Hut will be headquartered in Plano, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill will remain based in Irvine, the company said. About 100 KFC corporate employees will be relocated in the next six months, Yum! Brands said. The company added that 90 US-based employees who have worked remotely will be asked to eventually relocate to the campus where their teams are based and will receive relocation support. Yum! Brands said the reorganisation will foster greater collaboration among its brands and employees. Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation will maintain corporate offices in Louisville.
Scottish family-owned holiday park operator reports increase in turnover but drop in profit, co-owner passes away: Scottish family-owned holiday park operator Pettycur, which operates three sites in Fife, has reported an increase in turnover but drop in profit for the year to 29 February 2024. The company saw its turnover rise from £9,838,533 in 2023 to £10,328,975. Pre-tax profit fell from £1,818,604 to £1,332,497. Dividends of £474,000 were paid (2023: £560,000). Director Alan Wallace said: “The hospitality and leisure sectors are in high demand, but pressures now exist with regards to the cost-of-living crisis, which will undoubtedly impact demand for holidays due to the squeeze on household income.” It comes two weeks after co-owner Thomas Wallace passed away at the age of 84. He and wife Magdalene, together with sons Alan and Tommy, each bought an equal share of the 47-acre Pettycur Bay site in 1984. Last summer, the family celebrated 40 years since acquiring the site. At the time, Tommy said: “It’s been a great deal of hard work. My parents, along with my brother and I, have put a lot into the park to create the business you see today. Clearly, a lot has changed in 40 years – customers are far more sophisticated, they take far more holidays abroad, their spending power and expectations have all increased. We still have a core of people who like to holiday in the UK, and we have seen that even those going abroad regularly want to have top up UK short breaks, so owning a holiday home in a beautiful setting like this really appeals. I would be very privileged indeed to oversee Pettycur Bay for another 40 years, so watch this space.” The company also operates the Leven Beach and Kinghorn Harbour holiday parks.
