Business

Beverage company Diageo has reported a 5.8% increase in net sales, amounting to £6.9bn, in its half-year results ending 31 December 2018. The company said all the regions it operates in contributed to broad based organic net sales growth, up 7.5%, with organic volume up 3.5%. It closed the period…

The Caffè Nero Group has announced it has become the majority owner of Coffee#1, after acquiring shares from its owner SA Brain for an undisclosed sum. SA Brain has owner the Wales, Midlands and south England based Coffee chain since 2011 and the first Coffee#1 site opened in 2001. The…

Retail tycoon Mike Ashley is reportedly considering buying collapsed cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, just a week after the company fell into administration. The chain confirmed some 71 businesses would close immediately while its remaining 122 stores would continue trading as normal as administrators KPMG looked for a buyer. According to…

Fuller’s has sold its brewery business to the European arm of Japanese brewer Asahi as it shifts its focus to its upmarket pub and hotel businesses. It was sold for £250m on a debt-free, cash-free basis and comprises the entirety of Fuller’s beer, cider and soft drinks brewing and production,…

International spirits company, Quintessential Brands, has appointed James Lousada as managing director of its international commercial products arm, Quintessential Brands Spirit Solutions. The firm said the appointment of Lousada, who has over 20 years’ experience in the industry running UK and European drinks companies, is indicative of the its ambitions…

Research firm The NPD Group has predicted visits in the British out-of-home (OOH) market will slide in the next two years while digital orders will exceed one billion per year for the first time by end of 2020. The use of apps in particular is expected to continue to see…

The Restaurant Group (TRG) saw a 2% drop in its like-for-like sales for the 52 weeks ending 30 December 2018 compared with the same period last year. This is excluding the recently acquired Asian restaurant chain Wagamama. Including one week of trading from Wagamama, the group’s total sales increased by…

Embattled cafe chain Patisserie Valerie has fallen into administration, four months after “fraudulent” activities were discovered in its accounts. The company was in talks to extend the standstill of its bank facilities beyond 18 January, but discussions failed and it was unable to renew its bank facilities. The company said…

Britain’s managed pub and restaurant companies escaped recent high street woes over the six-week festive period with collective like-for-like sales up 4.1% on 2017, according to latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Both pub and restaurant operators saw positive sales growth over the Christmas and new year period,…

The 14-strong bar and restaurant group, ETM, has reported its “best ever Christmas” with overall revenue up 16% and like-for-like sales rising to 13.1% for the five weeks up to 31 December. One of the biggest growth areas for the company was in pre-booked event sales which saw an uplift…