Business

Shares in Greggs have dropped 13% in the wake of disappointing sales figures following bad weather in March. The bakery chain had reported sales growth of 3.2% compared with year’s figures, but the company has said they are “cautious” of worse than expected profits in a statement. Greggs had expected…

Hotel chain Travelodge has partnered with high street food brand Itsu Grocery, to offer a specially selected ‘eat beautiful’ range of convenience noodles and Asian-inspired snacks in its non-bar café hotels. This new range offers Travelodge customers the option to enjoy a restaurant-inspired meal in the comfort of their room…

The UK restaurant industry is under grave threat from the growing trend of customers wanting food delivered to their door according to new research. A study by consultants Duff & Phelps found demand for food delivered to customers’ homes has grown 10 times faster than takeaway. Examples include food delivery…

Caskade Caterers has secured a £29.4m funding package from HSBC to fund plans to roll out American classic fast food chain Taco Bell across the UK. The HSBC package is made up of a £13m loan, £10m revolving credit facility, and a £6.4m commercial mortgage. The package will help with…

Cote Restaurants has seen a 15.8% rise in sales for the 52-week period to 30 July 2017. Revenue was at £140.7m, up from £121.5m the previous year, with operating profit remaining flat at £10m. Its like-for-like growth stood at 4.1% while it had EBITDA growth of 8.9% versus the 52-week…

Pizza Express has announced a turnover of £534.2m for the year, a 6.3% increase on last year’s results. Like-for-like sales for the group, which exclude new store openings and store closures, also increased, by of 1.4%. The pizza chain opened 27 new restaurants of their own overseas last year, with…

Vine Acquisitions, backed by Patron Capital and May Capital, has acquired The Laine Pub Company, in partnership with the Laine management team. The pub group began with the opening of the Mash Tun in Brighton in 1996, and has since grown to comprise 54 managed, independent pubs, with 21 in…

UKHospitality has welcomed the government’s acknowledgement of the contributions made by EU nationals to the UK’s small businesses. The group has also called on the government to provide a future immigration policy that enables hospitality businesses to continue to employ EU nationals without disruption. During oral questions yesterday, small business…

Wholesale food company Thomas Ridley Foodservice has recently added two wines from family-owned vineyard Giffords Hall to its offering. The addition of the new wines is to fall in line with English Wine Week which runs from 26 May to 3 June. The national campaign is designed to raise awareness…

Bury St Edmunds’ Bourgee restaurant is set to close down after it opened just a year ago. The Bourgee restaurant group has been placed in administration and has already shut down sites in Southend and Chelmsford. Colenzo’s, the company that has taken over Bourgee’s Chelmsford restaurant, and is set to…