Business

Struggling restaurant and nightclub operator Hakkasan gave former boss Neil Moffitt a $50m (£39m) payout last year, despite deepening financial woes. The payout came following a difficult year for the company which saw losses of $145m in the 12 months to June 2017, the equivalent of half its annual turnover.…

Yo Sushi has announced it has seen a 4% rise in like-for-like sales for the year ending 27 November 2017. The group’s EBITDA also saw a 21% rise, while overall sales increased marginally from £88.4m to £89.9m. Yo Sushi Holdings was dissolved in 2017 leading to intercompany debt owed to…

In the first year after the new business rates revaluation came into effect, councils sent bailiffs to more than 200 commercial properties everyday for unpaid rates. An investigation by real estate advisor Altus Group revealed that during 2017/18, over 81,000 business premises liable for rates were referred to bailiffs to…

A London restaurant has began to offer a ‘Quarter Hounder’ burger to dogs alongside its human menu, with the burger available free of charge to customers’ dogs between 23 August and 29 August. The ‘Quarter Hounder’ was formulated as part of a collaboration between canine nutrition specialist David Jackson and…

New research has found that a third of European farmed fruit and veg is wasted before it reaches shops and restaurants for being too “ugly”. The research by the University of Edinburgh found that over 50 million tonnes of fresh produce is discarded every year because its appearance doesn’t meet…

St John founded by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver is to open its first permanent bakery at Neal’s Yard in London’s Covent Garden. The new bakery follows two successful pop-up bakeries on Old Street and Bermondsey Street. St John has applied for a licence to serve wine off-sales alongside a…

Britain’s pubs fared well during July’s heatwave as managed pubs collectively saw like-for-like sales up 2.7% against last July. The latest figures from CGA’s Coffer Peach Business Tracker also showed that sales across restaurant groups were down by 4.8% compared with the same month last year. Altogether, the differing figures…

Salt Yard Group has announced it has sold the Opera Tavern Spanish tapas restaurant in Covent Garden to Urban Pubs and Bars. The Covent Garden restaurant opened in 2011 and was one of four owned by Salt Yard. The group said it will now be “focusing fully” on its Soho…

Wine bar business Vagabond has secured a £3.5m funding from leisure and hospitality investment company, Imbiba. Vagabond was founded in 2010 by Stephen Finch as a relaxed bar with informal wine tasting, and fives sites across London with a sixth site to open in October 2018. The investment from Imbiba…

Business rates for English hospitality companies could increase to £51.26m next April if inflation remains unchanged at 2.5%, according to real estate advisor Altus Group. Altus Group said next month could be “pivotal for the hospitality sector” as the upcoming Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation determines how business…