Kate Nicholls
This archive features our reporting on Kate Nicholls OBE — a key voice in the UK’s hospitality and foodservice policy landscape. As Chair of UKHospitality, Nicholls plays a central role in lobbying government, shaping regulation, and influencing the commercial environment in which restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, and catering firms operate. Catering Today covers Nicholls’ statements, policy positions, and leadership activity because her work directly affects the trading conditions, labour challenges, and long-term resilience of foodservice businesses. For operators navigating rising costs, staffing pressures, or post-pandemic recovery, her advocacy and insights are both timely and consequential.
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Jul- 2024 -17 JulyFood and Drink
UK pubs and bars see ‘massive boost’ during Euro 2024 final
Pub transaction volumes nearly tripled on the day of the Euro 2024 final, increasing 195.6% year-on-year, and up 107.3% week-on-week, according to a new data by Barclays Across England’s seven Euro 2024 matches, UK pub and bar transactions were up 86.4% year-on-year on average, with growth peaking during the final.…
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12 JulyPubs and Bars
Euros final to result in £120m boost for UK pubs
British pubs and bars are expected to benefit from a 50% rise in sales on Sunday (14 July) as England will be playing in the Euros final, according to UKHospitality. The boost in sales will be part of an almost billion-pound windfall from the tournament. Reaching the final also means…
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5 JulyGovernment
UKH: ‘Labour needs to deliver on its commitments, and quick’
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has said that “we need to see Labour deliver on its commitments, and quick,” after the party secured a landslide victory at the general election. The UKH boss said within the first 100 weeks, the sector needs to see reduced employer National Insurance Contributions to…
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Jun- 2024 -13 JuneTrade Associations
‘Back hospitality to serve Britain’, UKH urges
UKHospitality plans to call on all political parties to give their backing to the sector at its annual summer conference, as it maintains that hospitality can grow at a “significantly” faster rate than the wider economy. According to economic analysis from UKH and Ignite Economics, the sector can grow by…
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6 JuneTrade Associations
UKH launches election toolkit for businesses
UKH has announced the launch of its election toolkit for hospitality, which will offer the opportunity for businesses to invite parliamentary candidates in their constituency to their venue to “impress upon them the importance of the sector”. This launch is part of the trade body’s pre-election campaigning, which started at…
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5 JuneTrade Associations
UKH calls for pragmatic migration plans that reflect sector needs
UKH has stressed the need for an employment plan that meets the needs of the economy and the hospitality sector. This comes as Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, said on Sunday (2 June) that “a future Labour government will bring down net migration”. To achieve this, Starmer said the Labour…
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May- 2024 -16 MayCatering Companies
Contract caterers’ Q1 sales rise 7% despite drop in units served
Top contract caterers across the country experienced strong like-for-like sales growth of 7% for the first quarter of 2024 despite seeing a drop in the number of outlets they serve, CGA’s Contract Catering Tracker has revealed. While this shows the sector’s continued recovery from the pandemic, with this being the…
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15 MayNews
Hospitality vacancies remain above pre-pandemic levels
Hospitality vacancies remain “stubbornly” above pre-pandemic levels with little positive movement in five months, the ONS has revealed. According to the latest statistics published yesterday (14 May), there were 107,000 vacancies in hospitality in the quarter to April 2024. This is 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels of 93,000. UKhospitality argues…
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8 MayRestaurants
Hospitality closures slow in Q1
Closures in Britain’s hospitality sector slowed from eight sites a day in 2023 to four a day in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from CGA. The sector saw a 0.4% decline in total numbers between the start of January and the end of March, the third smallest…
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Mar- 2024 -19 MarchEducation
Government to fully fund small business apprenticeships
The Government has announced that it is set to fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1 April by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21. Furthermore, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will now be able to transfer half of their…
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