Propel Newsletter Archive Page

MW EAT founder – American junk food chains are taking over Britain’s high streets: American junk food chains are taking over Britain’s high streets, the owner of the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant has said. Ranjit Mathrani, the founder of MW Eat, told The Telegraph that higher taxes and increased labour costs are playing into the hands of US fast food giants as they are better equipped to cope than smaller independent restaurants. It comes amid the fear of sweeping restaurant closures in the wake of Rachel Reeves’ Budget, which increased both employer National Insurance rates and the National Minimum Wage. Mathrani said: “The McDonald’s of the world and the KFCs of the world, with automation, will be less affected. The ones who will be most affected will be informal dining, everyday eating out for people who want table service and decent food at reasonable prices. It’s going to affect the high street materially because the smaller restaurants will not survive, and the bigger ones will be converted into the Popeyes [US fried chicken chain] of the world, the fast-food chains coming from the states.” MW Eat runs the Masala Zone chain, which has five sites across London, as well as the high-end Indian restaurants Amaya, Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy. As a result of the Budget, Mathrani said his company would be forced to cut around 5pc of its workforce – equivalent to around 25 roles. He said: “I’ve informed all my management that we will have to trim the headcount, and they’re working on it as we speak. It’ll be the restaurants which are giving customer service and providing food which is of variety and quality and made on the premises. That is what will be hollowed out for mass food service.” In particular, he is opposed to the Chancellor’s decision to lower the threshold at which NI is paid from £9,100 to £5,000, which he believes disproportionally impacts smaller restaurant chains that rely on part-time workers.

Premium Club subscribers to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club subscribers will receive two updated databases this week. The latest Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database will be sent on Wednesday (12 March), at 12pm. The database will feature ten new additions plus updates to existing entries. It now has 340 entries and more than 189,000 words of copy. Among the new entries are overseas concepts 7th Heaven and Big Chicken, as they look to break into the UK market, and sweet treat brands CA Japanese Pancakes and Dum Dum Donutterie. Premium Club subscribers will then receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (14 March), at 12pm. The database will feature 54 updated accounts and 29 new companies, taking the total to 1,092. A total of 684 companies are making a profit while 408 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 subscribers also receive access to four other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers 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 International Brands report. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers 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 subscribers 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 subscribers 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.

Deliveroo exits Hong Kong: Delivery firm Deliveroo has announced it has decided to exit its Hong Kong operations through a sale of certain assets to Foodpanda and the closure of other assets. The company said that Deliveroo Hong Kong has nominated liquidators to manage closure of the Hong Kong business and the remainder of its assets in the most efficient way possible. The company said: “There are several dynamics specific to the Hong Kong market which led the board to consider strategic options and, given the group’s commitment to disciplined capital allocation, determine that it would not serve shareholders’ best interests to continue to operate in Hong Kong. In 2024, Hong Kong represented 5% of group GTV and had a five percentage point negative impact on International GTV growth. The market remains adjusted Ebitda negative.” Deliveroo’s Hong Kong’s platform will remain live until 7 April 2025. Eric French, Deliveroo chief operating officer, said: “We want to thank all our employees, consumers, riders and restaurant and grocery partners who have been involved in our operations in Hong Kong. We have been proud to serve so many people such amazing food over the past nine years.”

The office lunch is back: A number of food-to-go operators have said that the office lunch is back, has evolved and is set to grow further. “We sell a lot more salads than we did pre-covid,” Sam Cole, co-founder of The Salad Kitchen, told the FT. It opened its first premises in 2014 and has doubled revenue – last year to £5mn – and turned a profit each year since 2021. “There’s a buzz in the office districts… People keep coming back every day because they don’t feel guilty about it.” The business aims to open a further seven stores by the end of 2026. “Ten years ago, something was defined as a healthy option if it had a bit of green in it,” says Stuart Fyfe, managing director of the Canary Wharf Group. “Now customers are much more literate about things like gut health and processed foods.” At The Salad Kitchen, a basic bowl with a protein topper costs around £7-£8. Providers say prices are a reflection of quality – and they have no shortage of demand. “People do want to take a break away from their desks,” says Eleanor Warder, co-founder of Atis, which as of this month has ten London locations. This might be an upshot of inflation. When lunch at chains such as Asian-inspired Itsu and sandwich specialist Pret A Manger creeps closer to £10, a little more for a salad that contains one third of your recommended 30 plants a week may seem less unreasonable. In 2020, the price of a hot meal at Itsu was not supposed to exceed £7; the threshold is now £10, an increase chief executive Julian Metcalfe blames on staff costs and rent rises. “Office lunches [have] probably become very expensive,” he said. The Salad Project has grown to seven branches since 2021 and hopes to nearly double its roughly £13mn 2024 revenue to £22m this year. At The Salad Project, which serves about 6,000 salads daily, co-founder James Dare says appetite for premium lunches has not been hurt by lower footfall. When workers only commute on two or three days, “a perk of going in is to get your favourite lunch”, he said. The company will double its store numbers this year, including in more residential locations. “We’re being proven that we were very right with our prediction that the quick service restaurant category in the UK is still in its infancy compared with the US.”