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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Jul- 2018 -10 July
World Cup fever sees Brits spend 33% more in pubs
During England’s first World Cup match consumers spent 33% more in pubs compared with the week before, figures from Barclaycard show. The Barclaycard Consumer Spending Index showed customer spend in pubs for the month of June increased by 9.5% year-on-year. Entertainment spend proved to be strong for the month with…
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9 July
Greene King to axe 100 jobs
Greene King has announced a proposed restructure of its office teams based in Bury St Edmunds and Burton upon Trent. It is understood in total around 100 roles are at risk across its two head office locations. However, the brewery has said that 25 new roles will be created as…
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9 July
UK Treasury rejects business rates reform calls
The UK Treasury has today rejected calls from retailers and restaurants who say business rates should be reformed to create a level playing field with online retailers. During a meeting of parliament’s Treasury Select Committee, chancellor Philip Hammond said reforming international corporation tax was a higher priority for the government,…
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9 July
New British-sourced menus launch at Market Brasserie
The Market Brasserie at IHG’s O2 hotel, led by executive chef Johan Rox, has launched a new menu celebrating the best of British produce. The restaurant, overlooking London’s River Thames and Canary Wharf district, will serve dishes created from produce sourced from across the British Isles, including salad of smoked…
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9 July
Trio of bidders including Osmond queuing up for Gaucho
Hugh Osmond’s eponymous Osmond Capital group is said to be one of three companies bidding for struggling steak chain Gaucho. Osmond is thought to have bid less than the £50m owed by Gaucho to its creditors, and according to Sky News, is competing with Core Capital and Limerston Capital for…
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9 July
200,000 companies sued over business rates
Over 200,000 businesses were taken to a Magistrates court for failing to pay for businesses rates under the first year of the new business rates revaluation, an investigation has revealed. Real estate advisor Altus Group collated information procured under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) from all councils in England.…
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6 July
Carluccio’s reports £27.7m pre-tax loss for 2017
Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s has reported a pre-tax loss of £27.7m for the year ending 24 September 2017. Describing 2017 as a “challenging trading year”, the company attributed its decline in profits to increasing competition and costs. Turnover also declined by 2% to £138.2m. The chain’s EBITDA fell to £6.5m…
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6 July
UKHospitality issues warning following European listeria outbreak
UKHospitality has issued a warning following a listeria outbreak in Europe that has seen the contamination of many frozen vegetable products. It is urging people to cook all frozen vegetables before eating, and says the products most affected are salads, smoothies and dips. Dr Lisa Ackerley, UKHospitality food safety expert,…
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6 July
Whitbread to cut 250 management jobs in restaurant business
Whitbread is set to cull 250 management roles from its restaurants business in a bid to make the company more “efficient and effective”. It is understood that the decision has not been prompted by the company’s decision to demerge from Costa, which was announced in April. The decision to make…
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6 July
New Yotam Ottolenghi restaurant forced to close for a week after new technology fails
Yotam Ottolenghi’s new Rovi restaurant has been forced to close for a week after a new eco-friendly heat recovery system failed. The restaurant, based in London’s Fitzrovia, had installed the new system to replace the current heat extraction equipment with an eco-friendly alternative. The restaurant said in a statement: “Rovi…
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