News
The News section on Catering Today delivers the latest updates and developments across the UK hospitality and catering industry. Covering restaurants, pubs, quick service brands, and catering groups, it reports on company announcements, market performance, government policy, and sector-wide trends. With a focus on commercial and operational impact, Catering Today’s news coverage keeps hospitality professionals informed of the events and decisions shaping business conditions and strategic opportunities across the sector.
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Jan- 2021 -28 January
Oakman Inns confident of £4.5m funding target
Oakman Inns chief executive officer, Steven Kenee has said he is “very confident” that the pub group will reach its £4.5m funding target – after it received applications for over £3.6m of shares. Before Christmas the company launched an equity fund raiser aimed at private individuals to support its growth…
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28 January
Clare Smyth appointed global chef ambassador
The Bocuse d’Or UK Academy has appointed Clare Smyth as its global chef ambassador for the Bocuse d’Or, a biennial world chef championship. The news comes in the same week that she was awarded a third Michelin star for her Notting Hill restaurant, Core by Clare Smyth. Although Smyth had…
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28 January
Programme launched to support diverse hospitality leaders
WiHTL, the organisation dedicated to improving diversity in the hospitality sector, has launched the ‘Ethnic Minority Future Leaders (EMFL) in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (HTL) Programme’. In partnership with McDonalds, the EMFL programme is designed to support high potential ethnic minority future leaders with their progression into more senior roles…
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28 January
Pandemic cost hospitality £200m a day in 2020
The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns cost the hospitality sector nearly £200m a day or £8m per hour in lost sales last year, with turnover less than half of 2019 levels, according to new data from UKHospitality and CGA. The latest edition of their quarterly tracker reveals that sales across restaurants,…
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27 January
CAMRA: Forced hospitality closure until may will be ‘devastating’
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has responded to the comments by Sage scientists that hospitality businesses should remain closed until May by suggesting that this would be a “devastating double whammy” for pubs and breweries. The organisation said it was “absolutely critical” for the government to intervene with further support…
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27 January
Tim Martin sells £50.3m of JD Wetherspoon shares
Chairman of JD Wheterspoon Tim Martin, has sold shares worth £50.3m to capitalise on the “significant buying interest” following the company placing last week. On 26 January, Martin announced that he sold 4,370,000 of the company’s ordinary shares at a price of £11.50 per share. Taking his holding in the…
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27 January
Red Mist pubs receives investor backing
Red Lion Holdings (RLH), a joint venture comprising industry investors David Ramsey, John Mayers, and private equity firm, Revcap, has acquired a majority stake in the pub company Red Mist Leisure. Established in 2004, Red Mist now operates a portfolio of ten gastropubs and inns across Surrey and Hampshire. The…
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27 January
Finance minister: ‘no current plans’ to extend VAT cut
Jessie Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and financial secretary for the treasury, has revealed there are “no current plans” to extend the VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sectors. Following a question on the matter from Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool, Norman said: “The temporary reduced rate…
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26 January
Unemployment rises 5% to 1.7m
The UK unemployment rate rose by 5% in the three months to November with over 1.7 million people now out of work, according to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Since February 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 828,000, however, the ONS said larger falls…
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26 January
Deliveroo reveals consumers takeaway spending habits
65% of customers are spending more on takeaways as “something to look forward to” during lockdown, research by Deliveroo reveals. The figures come as part of a report the delivery app has published to help “restaurants understand how to adapt their business to meet the growing demand for food delivery”. …
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