Cluster of London bakery openings to feature in next edition of The New Openings Database, 9,000-word report included: A cluster of London bakery openings will feature in the next edition of The New Openings Database. The database will show the details of 164 newly announced site openings and upcoming launches for Premium subscribers when it is published on Friday (2 December), at midday, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis, and the next edition features US-style cupcake concept The Hummingbird Bakery, which has launched its fifth London bakery, in St John’s Wood. Also added this month is London bakery and cafe concept Libby’s, founded by Simon Wolanski, which opened its debut site in Notting Hill in October 2021, and will open a second site, at 41 England’s Lane, in Belsize Park. Meanwhile, Danish baker Ole & Steen, which is set to further add to its openings pipeline in London with a site at 60 London Wall, will be featured. In addition, Greggs, which earlier this summer opened a flagship site in Leicester Square, and opened a new travel hub location, in Tottenham Hale, is soon set to open a second Canary Wharf site. Premium subscribers will also receive a 9,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to three other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, produced in association with Mapal Group; and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database. Premium subscribers are also to be given exclusive access to the recording and slides from this month's Propel Multi-Club Conference. The videos will be sent tomorrow (Wednesday, 30 November), at 9am. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Cooks Coffee reports strong performance for Esquires and Triple Two in UK: Cooks Coffee Company, the international coffee focused cafe chain, has reported sales at its Esquires brand in the UK were up 35% in the first six months of its financial year compared with pre-covid levels while Triple Two sales were up 60% on the previous year. The business plans to add nine stores in the UK under the two brands in the second half of its financial year. Of Esquires, the company stated: “UK store numbers were 50 at the end of September 2022, up from 47 as at 31 March 2022. Sales from the Esquires outlets for the six months were up 35% on the pre-covid period from April to September 2019 and up 20% on the same period in FY22. Record sales per store per day have been recorded in September and again, post period end, in October.” Of Triple Two, it said: “Triple Two joined the group on 19 June 2020. At the end of September 2022 there were 20 stores operating. The brand expects to have more than 25 stores open by the end of March 2023. Comparative sales with 2019 are not available, however sales for the six-month period to September 2022 were 60% ahead of the FY22 first six months. Triple Two achieved record sales per store per day in August and this was exceeded in October.” The business said its pipeline of store openings was “robust and underpinned by strong consumer demand”. Earlier this month, the company floated in London but secured only a third of the funding it hoped for. It raised about £500,000 through a rights issue and private placement alongside the listing. The company originally planned to raise about £1.5m. It comes as the New Zealand-based business reported revenue from operational trading increased by 37% to $1.93m for the six months ending 30 September 2022 compared with $1.41m the previous year. Overall revenue declined to $3.1m (first-half FY22 $3.66m) as a result of the timing of recognising capital revenues on store openings. The company said this revenue is expected to be recognised in the second half of the financial year as planned new stores open up. Profit from continuing operations increased by 14% to $146,000 (first half of FY22 $128,000). The company said full year revenue and profit was on track to meet expectations. The company stated: “The directors believe the prospects for the business in the balance of the financial year and beyond are strong. The company is committed to building the business based on ethical principles and community values. Store sales trends have been very positive in recent times, with the company benefiting from the ‘working from home’ trend, which we are confident will remain in one form or another and there is a solid pipeline of new stores. With both the Esquires and Triple Two brands achieving record daily sales per store in October 2022, following strong performances in the first six months, the directors are confident the business models are well suited to the current consumer market and these results are being achieved despite the concerns being expressed regarding the general economic outlook. The Cooks Coffee model is based on a franchised network and is very scalable in a capital light manner. With the focus on core markets, we believe that we have critical mass with an ability to grow. We are continuing to seek to raise further capital in order to accelerate our growth and we believe that we can achieve growing profitability in a sustainable manner.” Executive chairman Keith Jackson said: “The period was one of significant development for the group as we continued to build a group of ethical coffee chains with community spirit. Our Esquires and Triple Two brands continue to perform well, and I am delighted with our consistent outperformance of the market, thanks to the efforts of our staff, franchisees and their teams. Overall store numbers at the end of September 2022 were 111, a net gain of four stores during the six-month period, with the number of stores in the UK and Ireland growing to 85 and the total of 26 stores in the franchised regions outside of the UK and Ireland remaining unchanged. The company added seven outlets and closed three to the franchised network in the UK and Ireland during the period, under both the Esquires and Triple Two brands. The number of stores is expected to grow in the second half of the year, with nine store openings planned in the UK and two in Ireland which we anticipate will take the store numbers to 96 in the UK and Ireland by the end of March 2023.”

Alain Ducasse to open new London venture in Borough Yards: Alain Ducasse is to open a new Le Chocolat store at Borough Yards, the retail, office, leisure, and food and drink district in south London. Ducasse operates almost 30 chocolate shops across France and London, with stores in the capital located in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, and Oxford Street’s Selfridges. The Borough Yards store will occupy 1,400 square foot of space and serve chocolate and ice cream manufactured from the in-store kitchen – in what is a London first for Ducasse, and based on his La Manufacture concept in Paris. Borough Yards was developed by pan-European investment manager MARK, which manages more than €10bn (£8.75bn) of assets across Europe. The £300m regeneration project has seen a series of Victorian rail arches and industrial buildings restored, as well as three historic London streets – Clink Yard, Stonecutters Yard and Dirty Lane, where Le Manufacture de Chocolat will be located – revived. Stéphane Prévidi, international development director at Les Manufactures Alain Ducasse, said: “The opening of this new store in one of London’s most vibrant locations brings a significant advantage to our development strategy. Our Manufactures branch started in 2013 with Le Chocolat, then in 2018 with Le Café and, more recently La Glace and Le Biscuit. Altogether, these four Manufactures are present on four markets with more than 30 stores.” The lease was secured by Gillingham Bell, which is instructed to seek additional retail stores for La Manufacture de Chocolat Alain Ducasse in the UK and is working throughout Europe alongside partners Retail Bespoke. CBRE and Bruce Gillingham Pollard are joint leasing agents for MARK.

Four-day working taking place of pay increases to keep staff happy: Working a four-day week with no loss of pay is becoming more prevalent as employers offer alternative solutions to meet demands for salary increases to match soaring inflation. The Times reported more than 100 British companies and organisations have become permanently accredited four-day working week employers since the pandemic. Companies in sectors including manufacturing, architecture, technology, retail, housing, marketing, construction and events have been accredited in the past 18 months through the 4 Day Week Campaign’s employer accreditation scheme. The two biggest companies to sign up are the global marketing company Awin and Atom Bank, each of which has about 450 employees in the UK. The accreditation scheme cites a four-day working week of 32 hours with no loss as the gold standard and a 35-hour week as silver standard. Organisations can gain accreditation only if they are able to demonstrate a genuine reduction in working hours. Further evidence of a move beyond the traditional 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday working week was also provided in a new report. According to the report from Women in Banking and Finance and the London School of Economics (LSE), financial and professional services are moving towards more bespoke working models that boost efficiency and give workers more autonomy. The result has been a move away from presenteeism as a marker of productivity. The 100 workers interviewed insisted a “remote first” move either had no impact on productivity or had a positive impact. The report, which covered workers at companies including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Schroders, said the financial sector was going far beyond the four-day work week that is being trialled in many firms in the UK.