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- 2021 -8 January
Oakman CEO to return £250k grant if venues used for vaccinations
The chief executive of pub and restaurant group, Oakman Inns, Dermot King, is offering to forego the chancellor’s latest lockdown grant of up to £250,000 if he allows National Health Trusts to use Oakman Inns’ venues as vaccination centres. King who was appointed CEO of the company last August said…
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8 January
CAMRA calls on government to reconsider alcohol takeaways
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has called on the government to give struggling pubs financial support by allowing them to be able to sell alcohol for people to take away. The current lockdown rules have prohibited the use of takeaway alcohol from venues which has meant that whilst shops can…
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8 January
Marston’s Q1 trading ‘materially disrupted’ amid festive sales slump
Marston’s has announced that its trading in the first quarter of this year was “materially disrupted” due to continuous Covid-19 restrictions. In its latest update, the pub chain revealed total revenues came in at £54m over the three-month period, compared with sales in 2019 of £1.17bn. With pubs remaining closed…
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8 January
Star Pubs & Bars invests £4m in lockdown rent concessions
Star Pubs and Bars will continue to offer all its leased and tenanted pubs a 90% rent reduction during the weeks in which hospitality businesses are required to close in England, Scotland and Wales. Its pubs will receive the concession regardless of whether or not they choose to operate a…
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7 January
The Pony and Trap owners to open new Bristol restaurant
Josh Eggleton, owner of The Pony and Trap gastropub has announced the opening of a second restaurant in South Bristol. According to ITV News, the new venue entitled The Pony North Street will open in Bedminster, with an official date for its launch unconfirmed. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, The…
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7 January
Northern Ireland’s wet pubs receive £10m support package
Northern Ireland’s economy minister, Diane Dodds has announced a £10.6m relief fund for ‘wet bars’ that lost out due to Covid-19 restrictions in the summer months. The support is aimed at the “hardest hit” traditional pubs which do not serve food and were therefore forced to close between 4 July…
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7 January
Mitchells and Butlers succumbs to 67% Q1 sales drop
Mitchells and Butlers has announced a 67% decrease in first quarter sales for the 14 weeks ending 2 January 2021 which was attributed to the continuous impact of Covid-19 and the forced closures of all sites. The pub group has seen a steep reduction in sales and was heavily impacted…
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7 January
Wales’ best known brewery to move to England
Brains, Wales’ most famous brewery, is expected to move to England amid redundancies, according to ITV News. In December 2020, Brains announced that their 156-strong pub chain would be taken over by Marston’s. The pub group will run the Brains pubs on a combination of leased and management contract arrangements,…
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6 January
French Chef Albert Roux dies aged 85
French restaurateur and chef Albert Roux has died at the age of 85. Roux who owned Le Gavroche, a two Michelin-star restaurant in London with his late brother Michel was said to be “unwell for some time”, before his passing on 4 January 2021. The venue which opened in 1967…
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6 January
Greggs predicts first annual loss in 37 years
Greggs has forecast a £15m full-year financial loss due to Covid-19 restrictions closing its stores and reducing revenues. The bakery chain’s annual sales dropped by more than £300m year-on-year in 2020, resulting in the company’s first annual loss since it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984. The company’s…
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