Minimum alcohol pricing is attracting increasing criticism on many grounds, ranging from its legality to the research and methodology which supports it. SABMiller has now released independent research commissioned from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) which further undermines the arguments in favour: the research shows that a 45p minimum unit price for … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2012
Tilleys Bar celebrates 150 – and profits!
On 4 December, H&C News wrote about the 150 bottled beers going on sale at Tilleys Bar in Newcastle, as well as their invitation to four of the north east’s most popular breweries to each brew a one-off, unique-formula draught beer - but stipulated beer with huge hoppiness (at least 150 IBUs). See link below for the original article. The breweries to take up the … [Read more...]
Villeroy & Boch to launch an exciting, never before seen tableware series at The Hospitality Show
Visit Villeroy & Boch at stand 721 at January’s Hospitality Show to get an exclusive glimpse at their brand new tableware series, set to be one of their most exciting launches to date! The Affinity collection from Villeroy & Boch is set to be one of the most exciting tableware launches for the hospitality industry to date. With its clear and defined shapes and … [Read more...]
D&D close to new ownership
Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is reported to be leading the competition in seeking to acquire Sir Terence Conran’s 51% stake in D&D, together with the 18% held by Caird Capital. The remaining 31% was acquired by management through the MBO in 2006, and is expected to be retained under any acquisition. D&D operates famous … [Read more...]
Principal Hayley finds buyer?
It is reported that Starwood Capital, the leading American property investor, is getting close to completing a £400m deal to buy Principal Hayley, the hotel and conference centre chain. Principal Hayley, whose properties include the George Hotel in Edinburgh and Selsdon Park in Surrey, is part-owned by Lloyds Banking Group which has a 30% stake in addition to being the main … [Read more...]
Charles Wells performing as expected, investing for growth
Charles Wells Ltd - incorporating the performance of Wells & Young’s Brewing Company, Charles Wells Pub Company and John Bull Pub Company - has announced its results for the financial year to 29 September 2012. Sales income rose £1m to £189m with profit after tax of £6m - down from £6.6m the previous year. EBITDA was up 4% to £17.4m. Fall in profit mitigated by brand … [Read more...]
Perú voted the World’s Leading Culinary Destination 2012
Hailed as a “gastronomic superpower” by the Financial Times, Peruvian cuisine continues to maintain its position at the top of the culinary agenda. Now, it has won against stiff competition to be voted the Best Culinary Destination in the world at the star-studded World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Ceremony 2012, held in New Delhi, India. The South American country fought … [Read more...]
London Coffee Festival 2013 to host Barista Championships – and more
In addition to hosting the UK Barista Championships (UKBC) and Brewers Cup for the second year running The London Coffee Festival will also add the Latte Art, Coffee in Good Spirits, Ibrik and Cupping competitions to its event programme. Jeffrey Young, Managing Director, Allegra Group said: “We are thrilled that the SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe) has … [Read more...]
Camino to open up to 7 more restaurants
In another sign of the success of international cuisines in the UK, Spanish bar and restaurant group Camino, which offers the life and soul and tastes of Spain at its bars and restaurants in London, is to open up to seven more restaurants by 2015, creating up to 250 jobs. This is in addition to the three restaurants it already operates, employing around 125 people. The … [Read more...]
Las Iguanas leads in authentic Latin American dining
Las Iguanas, the fast-growing operator of 28 authentic Latin American restaurants throughout the UK, is leading the way in both developing and benefiting from the growing appeal for Latin American cuisine in the UK. It has posted strong results for the 53 week period to 31 March 2012, an encouraging pre-Christmas trading update, as well as indicating its continuing expansion … [Read more...]
Brakes Group: new CEO + £250 million investment
Brakes Group has announced that Philip Jansen, Group CEO, will become Chairman of Brakes Group on 1 April 2013 and that Ken McMeikan, currently CEO of Greggs plc, will join as the new Group CEO, at a date to be announced. Dwight Poler, currently Chairman of the Brakes Group Board, will step down as Chairman but will remain an active member of the Board of … [Read more...]
Domino’s moves into wedding catering!
Domino’s Pizza in Kempston made a special delivery on Sunday 16 December to a wedding reception taking place at the Barns Hotel in Bedford. Newlyweds Kendra and Mark Giles had decided to think outside the box - and treated their 60+ guests to a selection of hot, tasty pizzas instead of the usual wedding buffet. The bride commented: “We thought it would make a nice … [Read more...]
Fast food and retail drives Euro Garages
Growth in fast food sales and convenience retail boosted revenues at Euro Garages, one of the UK's largest independent forecourt retailers - operating predominantly BP-branded forecourts. Total sales for the Blackburn-based group rose to £314m (2011: £305m) in the 12 months to 31 July 2012. It said sales at its fast food franchises, which include Starbucks, Subway and Burger … [Read more...]
Hotels: mixed performance for November
UK hotels posted a mixed performance in November, according to preliminary hotel figures released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services. Hotels in London saw rooms yield fall by 4.6% to £112.96, compared with £118.46 in November 2011. This was the result of a 3.4% drop in room rate to £136.20 combined with a 1.3% reduction in occupancy to 82.9%. In the regions, rooms yield … [Read more...]
The public house acquisitions market in 2012: a glass half full or empty?
Savills head of leisure & trading in Southampton, Kevin Marsh, takes a closer look at the British pub property sector in 2012. First half of 2012 There were good levels of activity within the transactional market for British pubs in the first half of 2012. Whilst the large pub companies continued to dispose of non-core assets, often for alternative use, we also began … [Read more...]
