UK’s ‘first dedicated hospitality festival’ to launch in August: The UK’s “first dedicated hospitality festival” is to launch in August. PX+ Festival will take place at Duchess Farms in Sawbridgeworth, Essex, from Friday, 24 A … view

Costa Coffee pledges to boost coffee cup recycling scheme: Whitbread’s Costa Coffee brand has pledged to recycle as many disposable cups as it sells by 2020 in a bid to reduce landfill waste. Under the scheme 500m coffee cups a year wou … view

Restaurant numbers hold up, licensed premises fall just 0.3% as drink-led venues lead closures: Restaurant numbers have held up while there was only a small decline in licensed premises in 2017, according to the latest Market Growth Monit … view

Restaurant numbers hold up, licensed premises fall just 0.3% as drink-led venues lead closures: Restaurant numbers have held up while there was only a small decline in licensed premises in 2017, according to the latest Market Growth Monit … view

Diversey and Zenith merge: Diversey and Zenith Hygiene Group have announced the completion of the transaction by Bain Capital Private Equity which will combine the two companies, creating the UK and Ireland’s largest manufacturer and su … view

Wagamama highlights rise of the ‘nano lunch’: A new report compiled by Wagamama has revealed a rise in the “nano lunch” trend, where people take fewer than 15 minutes for their lunch break. Publication of the “Lunch Report” fo … view

Punch appoints Clive Chesser as new chief executive: Punch has appointed Clive Chesser as its new chief executive. Chesser will join Punch on Monday, 4 June and brings more than 25 years of industry experience, having run Greene King’s … view

ETM Group secures £10m funding package to support growth plans: ETM Group, the 14-strong bar and restaurant company, has secured a £10m funding package from HSBC to support its growth plans. The next site to open will be Maple in Westfi … view

JD Wetherspoon to close Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts: JD Wetherspoon is to close down its Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts for its individual pubs and head office. The company, which has almost 900 pubs across the UK a … view

Deliveroo trials delivering food to airport departure gate: Deliveroo and HMSHost International are trialling the delivery of food to passengers at the gate at Amsterdam Schipol airport. A pilot service has involved passengers flying from … view

Sector enjoys strong Easter but sees March like-for-likes fall 3.1%: Strong trading over the Easter holiday weekend helped lift the gloom for Britain’s managed pub and restaurant groups after a snow-hit March. The latest Coffer Peach Bu … view

SA Brain chief executive to depart: Brewer and retailer SA Brain has announced chief executive Scott Waddington is to step down as part of a board succession planning process being undertaken by chairman John Rhys. The search for his succ … view

Greene King has reported like-for-like sales down 1.8% in first 49 weeks: Greene King has issued a pre-close trading statement in which it reported like for-likes down 1.8% in its first 49 weeks of the financial year. The company stated: … view

TGI Friday’s UK staff ballot to strike over pay and tips: TGI Friday’s UK staff will ballot to strike in a dispute over wages and tips. The Unite union said it would hold strike ballots at two branches every week from Friday (13 April … view

Leon to launch first Thai fast food restaurant: Leon has announced the launch of a Thai fast food pop-up Tuk Shop – a joint venture with Bangkok-based food group Aylmer Aaharn. The restaurant will debut this spring in an existing … view

Thai brand seeks equity investor as it opens its 13th site: An award-winning Thai brand is seeking an investor following the successful opening of its 13th branch, this time in Hove in Sussex. Led by Minhaz Nasir, who opened his first Lem … view

Online distributor EeBriaTrade launches craft beer tendering technology: Beer distributor EeBriaTrade has launched tap tendering technology that allows the UK on-trade to source craft beer from more than 400 breweries online. The process … view

Coffee shops to overtake pubs by 2030: New research commissioned on behalf of The London Coffee Festival has found 3.3 new coffee shops opening daily across the nation. This growth sees the coffee shop industry pouring £9.6bn into the UK … view

Innventure expansion on hold in high-cost environment, diversifies into holiday let and art gallery business: Innventure, the gastro-pub operator led by former Mitchells & Butlers executive Chris Gerard, has put its expansion plans on hol … view

C&C Group managing director Andrea Pozzi – ‘failure of Matthew Clark and Bibendum would have had ripple effect on sector’: C&C Group managing director Andrea Pozzi has argued it’s good for the UK hospitality sector that Bibendum a … view

C&C Group to ‘go back to basics’ with Matthew Clark and Bibendum, ‘deal brings period of uncertainty to end for operators’: C&C Group managing director Andrea Pozzi has told Propel the company plans to “go back to basics” wit … view

C&C Group to buy Bibendum and Matthew Clark: C&C Group has announced, that with the support of AB InBev, it is in advanced discussions to acquire the entire issued share capital of Matthew Clark (Holdings) Limited and Bibendum PLB (Topco … view

Italian investors hit £300,000 crowdfunding target to expand clubhouse concept in London: Matteo and Ioana Cerri, who are behind venture capital company Made by Italians (i2i.london) and social media and events firm #EatDrinkLoveItalian, … view

Be At One promotes Andrew Stones to MD, reports Ebitda boost as turnover exceeds £40m: Cocktail bar specialist Be At One has made a trio of key strategic appointments as it looks to further accelerate its growth. The appointments come as … view

Two-thirds of Brits would boycott brands that ‘lack ethical conscience’: Two-thirds (67%) of UK consumers would boycott brands that lack an ethical conscience, according to research by Fourth, the software partner to the hospitality i … view

Conviviality warns it is set to go into administration: Conviviality is to appoint administrators in the wake of its failure to raise £125m in fresh capital. The company stated: “Further to the announcement on 28 March 2018, and follow … view

Barworks co-founder Marc Francis-Baum and Gizzi Erskine launch Mare Street Market in Hackney: Marc Francis-Baum, co-founder of central London bar and pub operator Barworks, and food-writer Gizzi Erskine have launched Mare Street Market in … view

Time Out lines up Time Out Market in New York: Time Out Group, the global media and entertainment business, is pleased to announce that it has signed a conditional lease agreement for a new Time Out Market in New York. Located at 55 Water … view

Hakkasan Group and SBE merger officially off: A year after announcing plans to merge and create a billion-dollar nightlife and restaurant group, the proposed deal between SBE and Hakkasan Group is officially off. US-based hotel, restauran … view

Brighton Pier Group reports sales and profit dip: Brighton Pier Group has reported sales dropped to £16m in the 26 weeks to 24 December 2017, down from £17.74m the year before. Profit before tax was £2.34m compared to £2.65m the year … view

CGA Group acquires CPL Online: CGA Group has completed the acquisition of CPL Online, the specialist provider of e-learning, business solutions and interactive services from CPL Training. The deal extends CGA’s product portfolio and tec … view

CGA Group acquires CPL Online: CGA Group has completed the acquisition of CPL Online, the specialist provider of e-learning, business solutions and interactive services from CPL Training. The deal extends CGA’s product portfolio and tec … view

Casual dining sector faces ‘restructuring wave’ with quarter suffering severe financial distress, warns KPMG: Britain’s casual dining sector will endure a wave of closures in the coming months, with a quarter of restaurant groups al … view

Drake & Morgan to open second Manchester city centre site: Drake & Morgan, the London-based bar and restaurant group backed by Bowmark Capital, is to open The Anthologist this summer for its second venue in Manchester city centre and 23rd … view

BrewDog reports Ebitda boost as turnover hits £112m: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog has reported an Ebitda boost as sales surged past £100m. The company saw turnover increased 56% to £112m for the year ending 31 December 2017 com … view

Levels of ‘significant’ financial distress up 8% across UK restaurants: An increasing number of restaurants in the UK have unpaid debts of up to £5,000, new research has revealed. More than 11,000 eateries are showing “significant� … view

Adnams report turnover growth operating profit down in year of investment: Adnams, the Suffolk brewer, distiller and retailer, has reported sales up 6.2% to £74.8m for the 12 months to 31 December 2017, with operating profit down 45% to … view

Premium and healthier soft drinks to ‘plug the alcohol gap’: Premium and healthier soft drinks are set to “plug the alcohol gap” in 2018, according to Britvic’s latest Soft Drinks Review. Soft drinks accounted for £6.9bn in sal … view

Ten Entertainment Group reports sales and profit growth: Ten Entertainment Group, the UK operator of bowling and family entertainment centres, has reported total sales up 5.5% to £71.0m (52 weeks versus 53 weeks) with total sales up 8.9% … view

Wagamama launches world’s first walk-away payment app: Wagamama has launched a walk-away payment app that will save diners “12 minutes every meal”. Created in partnership with Mastercard, the world first is described as “Uber for … view

NewRiver chosen to develop 66-acre leisure park in Basingstoke: NewRiver has been appointed by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council as its nominated developer to bring forward the risk-controlled redevelopment of a 66 acre leisure park i … view