Sunny weather in September again proved good news for Britain’s managed pubs, with collective like-for-like sales up 1.9% on the same month last year, according to latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. However, restaurant chains had another tough month with like-for-like trading down 0.2% compared with the same…
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The latest news and updates on the business of foodservice, from the business journalists at Catering Today. We bring you the latest on what’s happening in the restaurants, bars and catering industry, with exclusive stories, analysis, best practice and industry comment.
Crisis-hit cafe chain Patisserie Valerie has been saved from collapse after entrepreneur Luke Johnson offered the company a rescue plan with two loans of up to £20m. Johnson, who owns a 37% stake in the company, has committed to a bridging loan of up to £10m to help the company…
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High street bakery Patisserie Valerie has warned that it could be forced to close unless it receives an “immediate injection of capital”. This news comes just a day after it temporarily suspended trading and suspended its CFO Chris Marsh from his role while it investigated “potentially fraudulent” accounts. The company…
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Bar and nightclub operator Deltic Group has expressed its “surprise” at the announcement that Revolution Bars Group would be terminating discussions to acquire the company. On 7 September 2018, it was confirmed that Revolution Bars Group was in the “preliminary stages” of considering an acquisition of the rival nightclub operator…
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Consumer spending in the entertainment sector saw its “strongest growth” since June 2017 due to an increase in expenditure at pubs and restaurants. Spending at pubs increased by 11.5% in September while restaurants enjoyed an increased spend of 9.5%. Entertainment spend – including ticket sales – was recorded as 11.6%…
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Pub chain, Marston’s has announced the acquisition of 15 new former Mitchells & Butlers pubs from Aprirose, a property investment company, along with an annual pre-tax profit of £104m, slightly ahead of last year’s figure of £100.1m. Despite the slight increase on last year, the figure fell below analysts Liberium’s…
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Some 91% councils in England believe the night time economy will play an important role in “preventing the decline of high street retail”, a survey by Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) and the Portman Group has found. The survey ran for a month between 17 July and 15 August 2018 and…
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Brewdog is to offer shareholders the opportunity to open craft bars under the Brewdog name with a new franchise agreement. Announced by the pub chain in an update today laying out the “blueprint” for the future of the company. Brewdog is to trial the franchise agreement with 10 UK trial…
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Independent drinks company Global Brands said it was “bucking industry trends” as it reported a second consecutive year of on-trade growth for its flagship ready to drink (RTD) brand VK. According to CGA data, on-trade value sales of VK have increased by 16% since 2016, while volumes have grown 12%…
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Karaoke has a “significant positive influence” in attracting people to restaurants and bars, encouraging them to stay longer and resulting in increased sales, a study by Aalto University has revealed. Singa, Helsinki-based entertainment software specialists, collaborated with the university to conduct the research into the power of karaoke which has…
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