Mission Mars delivers first half EBITDA growth of 46% as turnover increases to record £63.9m: Mission Mars, the owners of the Albert’s Schloss bar business and Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana brand, has reported revenue was up 12% to a record £63.9m in the first half of its financial year between October 2025 and April 2026. Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana, which has 42 venues across the UK, contributed £35.1m (2025: £29.0m) and the four-strong Albert’s Schloss contributed £26.4m (2025: £25.3m). On a like-for-like basis, Albert’s Schloss delivered growth of 4.2% in the first half, around 9% ahead of the market segment according to the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, and Rudy’s delivered growth of 3.3%, around 5% ahead of the market segment for the same period. Group adjusted EBITDA (adjusted for one-off site opening costs) in the first half increased by 46% to £9.2m (2025: £6.3m). Almost half of the increase is driven by the strong growth in Albert’s Schloss in London’s Soho. Chief executive Roy Ellis said: “Our financial results are very pleasing, but importantly, progress on all our key strategic initiatives have continued to accelerate. Delivering industry-leading group guest experience score of 85.3% in the first half, Rudy’s is consistently the number one brand in their casual dining cohort on the Feed it Back net promoter score tracker. Our most recent colleague engagement survey score improved by 11%. The impact of this is reflected by our recent colleague turnover percentage reaching below 50% on an annualised basis for the first time. Our continued strong trading over a sustained period gives us confidence that both our businesses are well set to deliver growth and are likely to trade successfully in all parts of the UK. I am pleased we have further progressed with our plan to open six Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana in FY26. Rudy’s Cambridge opened in November and is performing strongly. Rudy’s Sutton Coldfield opened in the last week of the first half and early trade has been very positive. Two further Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana are due to open in the next eight weeks with a further two likely before the end of summer.” In October, Propel revealed Mission Mars was working with advisors at Houlihan Lokey on its funding options, which could include the exit of current backer Business Growth Fund.

Premium Club subscribers to receive all 13 videos from Propel Multi-Club Conference on Friday: Premium Club subscribers will receive all 13 videos from the Propel Multi-Club Conference on Friday (10 April) at 9am. These include videos featuring Graeme Smith, managing director at AlixPartners; Dan Brookman, Airship and Toggle founder and chief executive; Maria Vanifatova, founder of Meaningful Vision; Nicc Wright, founder of Barbs; Phil Eeles, the Honest Burgers co-founder; Guy Ivesha, founder and chief executive of Maslow’s; Pano Christou, chief executive of Pret A Manger; Christobell Giles, managing director of Vagabond Wines; Mat Finch, managing director of Cornish Bakery; Russell Quelch, chief executive of Neos Hospitality; Markus Thesleff, founder and chief executive of the Thesleff Group; legendary London restaurateur Jeremy King; and John Vincent, co-founder and chief executive of Leon. Premium subscribers receive all the videos from Propel conferences each year – around 100 in total. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. A new Premium Unlimited Plus option, which costs £1,995 plus VAT per annum, has some amazing additional benefits including four free tickets to Propel’s paid-for conferences – Excellence in Pub & Bar (19 May), Operational Excellence (9 July) and Talent & Training (15 October) – and the opportunity to run one free sponsored message or situation vacant notice during the year on the newsletter. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Butcombe completes refinancing ahead of next stage of growth: Butcombe Group, the UK pub operator and brewer, has refinanced its debt facilities. The new facilities are provided by Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest, and comprise both term debt and a “sizeable” revolving credit facility. Butcombe said the refinancing enhances the efficiency of its balance sheet, strengthens the group’s capacity to invest – both in its existing estate and in acquisitions – and will also facilitate a material return of capital to shareholders. Chief financial officer Simon Hope said: “This refinancing – on attractive terms – provides the flexibility to pursue our growth plans.” In February, Butcombe reported “strong” trading in the year to 31 January 2026 with like-for-like sales growth of 8.0% across its managed pub division. The performance was underpinned by drink sales growth of 10.1%, food at 6.5%, and accommodation at 5.3%, on a like-for-like basis. The business said it continues to invest in its premium pubs and inns business – it will shortly complete the transformation of The Brown Cow, a development project that will near-double the trading capacity of the venue, located in west London’s Fulham Road. Chief executive Jonathan Lawson said: “I am delighted with the outcome of our debt refinancing, which is a strong endorsement of our strategy over the last five years. We have built one of the highest quality businesses in the sector, and this puts us in a very strong position to capitalise on both organic investment opportunities and selective acquisitions that can deliver strong returns.” Butcombe operates 118 pubs and inns.