Investment
Our coverage tracks financial activity shaping the UK foodservice and hospitality sector, from venture capital and private equity backing to corporate acquisitions, refinancing deals, and growth funding. Our reporting is focused on the operators, brands, and concepts attracting capital, and what that means for the wider industry. Whether you’re a restaurant group seeking funding, a pub chain monitoring market valuations, or a catering contractor analysing competitor growth, our investment coverage delivers intelligence that helps business leaders understand where money is flowing, and why. Expect deep dives, expert commentary, and deal-by-deal context, all tailored to the foodservice trade.
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Jan- 2020 -22 JanuaryPubs and Bars
Wetherpsoon sales jump 4.7% in Q2 results
JD Wetherspoon has reported a 4.7% increase in like-for-like sales for the first 12 week period ended 19 January. The pub giant also reported an 4.2% increase in total sales. For the 25 week period to 19 January 2020, like-for-like sales increased by 5% and total sales by 4.9%. Since…
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21 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Global CEOs and the IMF reckon the UK is about to have a good year
Itโs not often there is some incontrovertibly positive news about the economy, but today weโve 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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16 JanuaryCatering Companies
Totally Delicious wins ยฃ5m catering contract
Staffordshire-based independent contract catering company Totally Delicious has announced a new ยฃ5m contract with Tyne and Wear Archives. The seven-year contract with the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums service will see Totally Delicious operate and manage all event catering and cafes at the Discovery Museum, the Laing Art Gallery…
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15 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Boohoo more valuable than M&S โ a sea-change encapsulated
From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto clichรฉ to refer toย Marks and Spencerย as the โhigh street bellwetherโ, 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 ยฃ1bn and…
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15 JanuaryComment
The importance of industry events: a meaningful investment of time and money
Itโs a new year, we should have all made plans and goals for 2020 and perhaps some resolutions too.ย The new year to me feels like a new chapter; it gives opportunity, promise and potential. If you donโt feel the new year brings any of those things, then take stock.…
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13 JanuaryPeople
Clapperton joins Coast as head chef
Fred Clapperton has announced he will take over as head chef of seafront restaurant Coast this coming March. The Saundersfoot site is owned by The Seren Collection, which operates a series of luxury sea-front venues across south west Wales.ย Clapperton first began in hospitality as a pot washer at a…
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9 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Who would have thought skinny jeans could be anyoneโs undoing?
Itโs not often that the business pages give you a good belly laugh. But today we have the spectacle ofย Marks & Spencerย blaming its poor Christmas trading results partly on an oversupply of skinny jeans for men. Apparently customer surveys revealed that the high street bellwetherโs ranges were โtoo oldโ the…
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9 JanuaryRestaurants
Chef Aiden Byrne to close Restaurant MCR
Chef Aiden Byrne has announced the closure of Restaurant MCR in Manchester. Originally known as Manchester House, the restaurant was first closed in October 2018 when it went into administration with its sister restaurant and bar Artisan. The restaurant reopened in December 2018 after rebranding to Restaurant MCR. According to…
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8 JanuaryPubs and Bars
Wetherspoon expands plans for Wolverhampton project
JD Wetherspoon has submitted plans to expand its current ยฃ7m redevelopment scheme for its Wolverhampton pub and hotel site, The Moon Under Water. The โambitious redevelopmentโ will see the pub chain establish its national Heritage Centre at the site, as well as convert the upper floors into a hotel. The…
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6 JanuaryBusiness Bites
As long as WW3 does not kick off, 2020 looks set to be a better year
All eyes on are on the rising tensions between theย United Statesย and Iran after president Trump ordered the assassination of Iranโs most powerful general, Qassem Suleimani. The oil price has risen, stocks have fallen this morning, and the threat of war almost always depresses global trade flows. But letโs bask in…
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