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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Jan- 2022 -14 January
Caffè Nero secures growth opportunities amid £85m loan
Caffe Nero has announced new growth opportunities after a six-year loan of approximately £85m was agreed with Carlyle, HSBC and Santander. The firm also revealed a loan of £330m was agreed by the banks in order to refinance the brands debt with majority ownership of the group remaining with Gerry…
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14 January
First minister to reveal plans to ease level 2 restrictions in Wales
A plan to return Wales to alert level 0 measures will today (14 January) be set out by first minister Mark Drakeford. The move comes as the latest public health data suggests cases of coronavirus have started to fall back from high levels. More than two-thirds of people aged 12…
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14 January
Flipdish secures $100m investment to fuel growth
Flipdish has announced it has received a $100m (£73m) investment from global technology company, Tencent, and Tiger Global, in order to fuel further growth for the food ordering platform. It said the investment will be used to fuel further growth and innovation in its product and services, and “drive continued…
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14 January
UK economy surpassed pre-Covid levels in November
Gross domestic product (GDP) has surpassed its pre-pandemic level for the first time as it grew by 0.9% in November 2021, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. In the latest release, output in consumer-facing services grew by 0.8%, mainly because of a 1.4% increase in retail…
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13 January
Fifth of businesses report cancellations amid Omicron
Just over one-fifth (21%) of businesses that are still trading experienced an increase in cancellations from customers in the last month, as Omicron continued to impact businesses across the UK. The latest figures come from the Office for National Statistics, who asked businesses that had not permanently stopped trading if…
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13 January
Hospitality recovery dampened by Omicron as December takes £3bn hit
The hospitality sector has suffered “devastating” sales falls in the last week of the year, according to the latest pub, bar and restaurant market figures from UKH and CGA. The wider hospitality sector witnessed a 40% drop in sales for the month versus the same period in 2019, as depleted…
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13 January
Star to offer rent concessions to Welsh and Scottish tenants
Star Pubs and Bars has announced that it is offering all its pubs on core leased and tenanted agreements in Scotland and Wales 30% rent reductions to support them while they are subject to additional Government restrictions. The move follows its £62m rent support since March 2020, The rent concessions…
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13 January
Pret A Manger to increase staff pay with £9.2m investment
Pret A Manger has announced plans to invest over £9.2m in staff pay, its “biggest” pay and benefits increase in its 36-year history. From 1 April 2022, 8,000 UK team members will see their pay increase from a baseline of £9.40-9.56, to up to £10.15 per hour, with more than…
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13 January
Mitchells and Butlers Q1 sales hit by Omicron impact
Mitchells and Butlers saw like-for-like sales decline by 6% during the 15-week period ending 8 January 2022 as the impact of the Omicron variant hit. The group said that the impact was particularly felt in the most recent four weeks, over the festive season, during which like-for-like sales have been…
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12 January
Fridays opens 86th UK site
Fridays has announced it is set to open its latest and 86th UK restaurant in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The flagship site will be located at The Glass Works, a destination food and shopping centre that is situated near Superbowl UK and Cineworld. Spanning 5,300 square feet, the site will feature…
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