News
The latest industry news 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.
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Dec- 2023 -6 December
EG Group to sell 218 KFC franchise restaurants
EG Group has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all its 218 KFC franchise restaurants in the UK and Ireland to Yum! Brands’ KFC Division. The transaction agreed by EG Group – the largest KFC franchisee in the UK and Ireland – is an additional…
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6 December
SSP Group revenues hit £3bn in FY23
SSP Group revenues rose 38% to £3bn for the full year ended 30 September, as EBITDA doubled to £280m compared with last year. The group attributed its performance to strong revenue growth and profit conversion, with H2 revenues growing by 25% on a constant currency basis. While the group saw…
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5 December
Today’s news in brief – 05/12/23
Marston’s swung to a £30.7m loss despite revenues rising 9.1% to £872.3m, due to interest rate hikes and property valuations. Yet, with optimistic Christmas bookings, the pub chain noted encouraging revenue figures. Meanwhile, the group has appointed a new CEO, Justin Platt, effective 10 January. The group’s focus is on…
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5 December
Red Oak Taverns confirms debt refinancing
Red Oak Taverns, the independent pub company, has revealed it has refinanced its debt with Oaknorth Bank OakNorth previously financed the business for six years, ahead of Red Oak moving to Hayfin in March 2022. Red Oak Taverns was founded by Mark Grunnell and Aaron Brown in 2011 and has…
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5 December
Relais & Châteaux chefs pledge to stop serving eel
Relais and Châteaux’s World Culinary Council have voted to immediately remove eel from its own menus, as the fish is considered critically endangered and features on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species. The association has called on the rest of its 580 hotels…
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5 December
Labour shortages to worsen with new immigration plan, says UKH
Labour shortages in the hospitality sector are set to worsen as a result of the Government’s new immigration plans according to UKHospitality. While three quarters of the hospitality workforce are made up of UK nationals, around a quarter of the workforce is made up of overseas workers according to UKH.…
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5 December
Marston’s falls to £20.7m loss despite strong revenues
Pub chain Marston’s has fallen to a £20.7m loss despite reporting a 9.1% increase in revenues to £872.3m for the 52 weeks ending 30 September 2023. The loss comes in the face of a £163.4m profit a year earlier with the pub group attributing the performance to being hit by…
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4 December
Today’s news in brief – 04/12/23
The week ending 25 November saw a 5% decline in drinks sales year-on-year, compared to last year’s World Cup period. Monday and Friday showed stark drops due to England’s matches in the tournament. However, the other five days saw positive growth, with Saturday leading at a 13% increase. Beer and…
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4 December
Brakspear makes two senior promotions
Pub operator Brakspear has made changes to its senior management team with promotions for two of its top executives. Property manager Tony Lewis is promoted to property director and joins the Brakspear board, while chief financial officer David Nathan becomes chief operating officer. Lewis has run Brakspear’s property division for…
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4 December
Drinks sales fall 5% on tough comparatives, says CGA
Drinks sales were down by 5% year-on-year in the week ended 25 November as a result of tough comparatives with last year, according to data from CGA. Trading suffered when compared with late November 2022, which brought the start of the football World Cup. This kept sales on Monday 20…
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