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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Sep- 2020 -16 September
‘Rule of six’ knocks consumer confidence to eat out, study reveals
The British public is now 31% less confident about visiting restaurants and pubs, following new legislation announced on 14 September that social gatherings of more than six people will be banned. The ‘rule of six’ has been imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19. CGA’s consumer pulse survey found that…
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16 September
Loungers restarts roll-out after post-lockdown bounce
Loungers has announced it plans to restart its roll-out plans after a successful post-lockdown reopening of its sites, citing the results have ‘‘strengthened” its belief in the scalability. The hospitality operator revealed like-by-like sales increased by 30% over the past 10 weeks across both its Lounges and Cosy Club brands.…
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16 September
UK inflation slumps to five-year low
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate fell to 0.2% in August 2020, down from 1.0% in July, according to new data from the ONS. The ONS said falling prices in restaurants and cafes, arising from the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, resulted in the largest downward contribution (0.44…
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15 September
JD Wetherspoon confirms 66 staff Covid cases but insists pubs are ‘low risk’
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has confirmed 66 of its 41,000 members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19, but insists its pubs remain safe for customers. In a statement published on Monday (14 September), Wetherspoon reported an estimated 32 million visitors to its 861 establishments in the 10 weeks beginning…
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15 September
D&D London’s Klosterhaus restaurant to open in October
D&D London announced that its new restaurant at Cabot Circus, Klosterhaus, will open on Friday 2 October. The restaurant has been developed within the landmark 18th Century grade 1 listed Quakers Friars building, a short walk from Cabot Circus. The restaurant, bar and outdoor terraces will be open all day…
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15 September
Government must act to stop landlord bloodbath, says UKHospitality
UKHospitality (UKH) has written to the government warning that failure to immediately act to solve the rent crisis will result in a ‘‘bloodbath’’ of job losses and business failures. Hospitality businesses have been shielded from eviction over the last six months through the lease forfeiture and debt enforcement moratoria, which…
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15 September
Domino’s Pizza to make 5,000 new hires
Domino’s Pizza has announced that it will make 5,000 new hires after the takeaway chain saw sales increase 5.5% during the first quarter of 2020. Up to 1,000 of these new jobs will be apprenticeship positions under the Government’s new Kickstart scheme. The scheme allows for employers to create new…
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14 September
Nando’s joins Deliveroo for nationwide delivery rollout
Nando’s has begun an “exclusive new partnership” with Deliveroo which makes 360 of the chain’s restaurants across the UK and Ireland available for online delivery orders. Previously, only 180 of the chain’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland had been available for delivery. As part of the new ‘brought to…
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14 September
The Big Table appoints Mike Tye as chairman of The Big Table
The Big Table, which was recently formed to acquire and operate the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant brands, has appointed Mike Tye as its non-executive chairman. With “extensive” board-level experience across the out-of-home food and drink market, the company said Tye will work closely with Epiris, the…
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14 September
700,000 jobs at risk as end of furlough scheme draws near
Over 700,000 employees are at risk of being made redundant in the second half of 2020, research from Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has revealed. IES estimates that some 650 thousand redundancies are expected in the second half of 2020, with 445 thousand redundancies in the three months between July…
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