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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Apr- 2018 -11 April
Pub and restaurant customer spend at slowest growth in seven years
Latest figures from Barclaycard’s consumer spending insight has shown that consumer spending at pubs and restaurants was at it lowest level of growth since 2011. Despite March showing an increase of spend by 7.2% at restaurants and 7.7% at pubs, it was a dip in growth compared to February (9.7%…
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10 April
Salary pressure mounts on hospitality industry
Average pay for temporary or contract staff rose at the quickest pace since last September, according to the new IHS Markit/REC Report on Jobs. Average starting salaries also continued to increase sharply in March, despite the rate of inflation softening to a ten-month low. March data signalled a further sharp…
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10 April
Waitrose becomes first retailer to ban disposable coffee cups
Waitrose has announced plans to phase out all disposable coffee cups in its stores by autumn, in a bid to reduce packaging and plastic waste. The removal of the cups will begin on 30 April at nine stores, before being rolled out at its outlets nationwide. The retailer has said…
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10 April
Restaurant owner apologises for calling bride-to-be a ‘cow’
A restaurant owner has apologised after sending emails to a bride-to-be by accident, calling her a ‘cow’. Karen Williams, owner of the Mulberry Tree, based in Maidstone, has been left “mortified, horrified and completely embarrassed” after sending an email to a client instead of a colleague. Jade Sharp and her…
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10 April
Bidfood expands to the north with new Penrith depot
Foodservice provider Bidfood has expanded its reach in the north of England, with the opening of a new depot in Penrith, Cumbria. The depot was acquired from Blakemore Cash and Carry and its experienced local staff previously employed at the site will be transferred over to the Bidfood team. Alongside…
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9 April
Restaurant slammed for charging £13 for Asda camembert
A Bristol restaurant has been slammed by a customer for charging £13 for an Asda camembert. Emma Daniels ordered a sharing starter at Severn Shed. However after turning the packet over she discovered the dish was still in Asda supermarket packaging. Daniels took to TripAdvisor to write: “When we go…
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9 April
Small firms hit by pension auto-enrolment scheme, claims FSB
Small firms and startups will be “hit the very hardest” by the doubling of auto-enrolment employer pension contributions, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). From 6 April 2018, the minimum amount employers must by law pay into workplace pensions increased by 2% of qualifying earnings, whilst staff contribute…
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9 April
AccorHotels acquires restaurant booking platform
AccorHotels today announces that it has completed the acquisition of table reservation system, ResDiary. Established in Glasgow in 2004, the company has over 100 staff based in six countries. ResDiary is well established in the Asia Pacific region and the UK, and has a footprint in 60 countries globally, seating…
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9 April
Mum finds used needles on McDonald’s baby changing table
A mother found three used needles on a McDonald’s baby changing table at the New George Street outlet in Plymouth. Jade Krotke, 25, was about to use the table to change her eight-month-old daughter Olivia when she pulled it down and made the discovery. Krotke was with her husband at…
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9 April
Bestway acquires Conviviality retail brands
Bestway Wholesale has completed the purchase of Conviviality’s retail brands, in a deal closed at 11.56pm on Friday (6 April). In the £7m deal, the wholesaler acquired the Bargain Booze, Wine Rack, Select Convenience and WS Retail chains, saving 2,000 jobs. Matthew Callaghan, partner at PwC, said: “This deal safeguards…
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