National Living Wage
Coverage examines how wage legislation affects restaurants, pubs, bars, and catering businesses across the UK, including annual National Living Wage uplifts, government policy changes, and the operational impact on payroll, pricing, and staffing strategy. Reporting includes analysis of labour cost modelling, response from sector bodies, and practical adjustments made by multi-site operators and independents. Insight is tailored for operators, finance leads, and HR teams navigating rising employment costs in a tight labour market.
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Apr- 2024 -30 AprilFood and Drink
Foodservice price inflation below 10% for first time since 2022
Foodservice price inflation has fallen below 10% for the first time in two years, according to data from CGA. This comes after a 1.4% decline in foodservice price inflation in March, the largest month-on-month decline ever recorded by the Foodservice Price Index. The softening of inflation has also been seen…
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Mar- 2024 -21 MarchPubs and Bars
Shepherd Neame revenues surge to £89.0m in H1 2024
Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewer and owner and operator of 296 pubs in Kent and the Southeast has reported a record revenue growth of 4.3% to £89.0m in H1 2024. For the 26 weeks ended 23 December 2023, the group also saw its underlying EBITDA increase 5.2% to £12.0m and…
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Feb- 2024 -19 FebruaryTrade Associations
Quarter of hospitality venues have run out of money, survey finds
A quarter of hospitality businesses have no cash reserves and a further 29% have less than three months’ worth, according to a joint survey by UKH, the BBPA, BII and Hospitality Ulster. The joint survey also found that 98% of businesses have seen food and drink costs increase, while 96%…
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16 FebruaryCafes and Coffee Shops
Costa Coffee to boost pay in April
Costa Coffee has announced that from 1 April 2024 it will increase pay rates for over 15,000 team members in its 1,500 UK company-owned stores. This is the fifth time the company has increased pay rates for store team members since April 2021. As part of an investment of over…
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Jan- 2024 -29 JanuaryRestaurants
Buzzworks sees revenues rise to £29.9m
Buzzworks Holdings Limited has reported a 19% increase in revenue to £29.9m for the year ending 30 April 2023. Its like-for-like sales were also up 5.3% for the five weeks to 31 December 2023 which came on top of “strong growth” last year. However, the group recorded underlying EBITDA before…
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17 JanuaryTrade Associations
UKH ‘encouraged’ as job vacancies fall by 35,000 in 2023
UKH has been “encouraged” by news that job vacancies within the industry have fallen by 35,000 within 2023, according to new figures from the ONS. However, current vacancies still remain “far higher” than pre-pandemic levels, when there were 89,000. According to UKH, reforms to the apprenticeships levy and addressing the…
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17 JanuaryFood and Drink
Mitchells and Butlers sees LFL sales rise to 7.7% in Q1
Hospitality group Mitchells and Butlers has reported strong Q1 results as it recorded a 7.7% like-for-like sales growth, with total sales growth of 9.7%, for the 15 weeks ended 13 January 2024. It also stated that trading continued to strengthen over the festive season. The company’s like-for-like sales grew by…
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5 JanuaryNews
Revolution Bars Group to close eight sites
Revolution Bars Group, trading mainly under the Revolution, Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands, has announced the closure of eight sites despite a 9% like-for-like sales increase for the four weeks from 4 to 31 December. Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs performed well, and whilst the Revolution brand…
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Nov- 2023 -22 NovemberNews
Chancellor extends business rates relief for hospitality
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a series of measures to help boost the UK economy as part of his Autumn Budget including slashing National Insurance by 2% and freezing business rates for retail and hospitality. As part of the new measures, Hunt revealed that National Insurance will be cut from…
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22 NovemberNews
UKH criticises 10% rise in NLW amid business rates row
UKH has criticised the government’s latest announcement that the National Living Wage will rise 10% and 28p more than originally planned, saying that this increase will have a “knock-on” effect on businesses already struggling with costs. Yesterday, the government announced that the NLW will increase to £11.44 from April 2024,…
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