Inflation
Our coverage compiles our focused reporting on how inflation is impacting the UK foodservice and hospitality sector, from rising ingredient and energy costs to wage pressures, supplier pricing, and menu repricing strategies. We cover the knock-on effects across restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes, and catering firms, with expert commentary and operational insight to help owners, operators, and F&B executives respond effectively. Whether you’re managing margins, adjusting procurement, or making pricing decisions, this archive offers clarity on the inflationary forces reshaping the economics of hospitality.
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Mar- 2020 -11 MarchBusiness Bites
ROUNDUP: Business rates holiday announced by chancellor Sunak
In his maiden budget, the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a £30bn fiscal stimulus package to help combat the impact of coronavirus on the British economy including a one-year total suspension of business rates for small retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Headline measures include: A £12bn plan to provide…
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Feb- 2020 -28 FebruaryRestaurants
Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck profits rise to £750,000
Heston Blumethal’s Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, has seen its profits more than double, according to its latest documents filed with Companies House. For the full-year period ending 26 May 2019, the restaurant posted profits before tax of £746,741, up from £297,788 the year prior. Turnover during the period…
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19 FebruaryBusiness Bites
Inflation jumps, physical money nearing the end, immigration to prioritise skills, £150m film studio to launch
Inflation has reached its highest rate in six months, at 1.8%, after the price of fuel and energy rose over the course of the last year. The consumer prices index (CPI) which measures the rate by monitoring the price of consumer goods, was expected to come in at 1.6%, so…
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14 FebruaryPeople
Hospitality wages increase in January
The average wage in the hospitality industry rose by 2.5% in January to £8.84, according to the new statistics from global software provider Fourth. It follows the Government’s New Year announcement that the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 6.2% to £8.72 in April 2020. The figures from Fourth,…
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10 FebruaryBusiness Bites
Ocado ditches Waitrose; Bill gates orders £500m beast-yacht; Boris to lower immigration wage threshold
A busy start to the week in the business pages. As the coronavirus story unfolds I am reluctant to spend every day providing updates on it, but it is worth noting quickly that there is likely to be some worldwide economic turbulence due to the latest developments. A slew of…
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Jan- 2020 -30 JanuaryRestaurants
McDonald’s UK to open 60 restaurants in 2020
McDonald’s UK has revealed it is aiming to open a further 60 restaurants across the UK and Ireland as it prepares to invest £1bn over the next three years. The news comes as McDonald’s revealed that global sales for the year ending 31 December 2019 passed $100bn (£76.7bn), with consolidated…
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30 JanuaryPubs and Bars
Fuller’s reports strong sales growth over Christmas period
Fuller, Smith and Turner has reported a 4.3% increase in like-for-like sales of managed pubs and hotels over the Christmas trading period. The group also saw a 2.5% increase in sales during the 42 weeks ended 18 January 2020, with all areas of the business, including food, drink and accommodation,…
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21 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Global CEOs and the IMF reckon the UK is about to have a good year
It’s not often there is some incontrovertibly positive news about the economy, but today we’ve had some. Audit and business advisory firm PwC has polled 1,600 chief executives, and found that they think the UK is the fourth most important target in the world for companies looking to make investments.…
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15 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Boohoo more valuable than M&S – a sea-change encapsulated
From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto cliché to refer to Marks and Spencer as the “high street bellwether”, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of £1bn and…
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9 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Who would have thought skinny jeans could be anyone’s undoing?
It’s not often that the business pages give you a good belly laugh. But today we have the spectacle of Marks & Spencer blaming its poor Christmas trading results partly on an oversupply of skinny jeans for men. Apparently customer surveys revealed that the high street bellwether’s ranges were “too old” the…
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