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Papa John’s sees UK sales growth of 7%, to use UK closure strategy in US: Papa John’s saw a 7% increase in sales growth across its UK business in the three months to 28 December 2025, as it said it would use the same site closure stra … view

Sandwich Sandwich secures debut transport hub site, grab-and-go format ‘set to be a game changer’, eyes New York launch: Sandwich Sandwich, which was founded in Bristol in 2012, is to make its transport hub debut with an opening in Lo … view

TGI Fridays UK business was acquired in pre-pack deal for £1m, had losses of £12.4m at time of sale by Calveton UK and Breal Capital: The business and assets of Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, the company which manages the operations … view

Exclusive – Harry Ramsden’s seeking further service station opportunities after making return to UK motorway network, in talks on more international openings: Harry Ramsden’s has told Propel it is seeking further service station opp … view

Shaftesbury – estates ‘performing well’, ‘high demand’ from F&B operators: Central London landlord Shaftesbury has reported its estates are “performing well” with “high demand” from food and beverage operators. The compa … view

Ole & Steen parent company hires advisors to test market: Danish Bake, the parent company of Danish bakery group Lagkagehuset, which owns the Ole & Steen brand, has hired advisors to review its options for the business, which could includ … view

Admiral Taverns – ‘we remain acquisitive’, invests circa £39m on acquisitions: Admiral Taverns, which runs 1,350 community pubs across the UK, has said it remains acquisitive and believes there will be further opportunities to grow … view

Admiral Taverns reports record turnover of £210.4m as profits rise: Admiral Taverns, which runs 1,350 community pubs across the UK, has reported revenue increased to a record £210.4m for the year ending 1 June 2025 compared with £194.5 … view

Exclusive – Little Door & Co secures new funding to accelerate UK expansion: Little Door & Co, the house-party-inspired late-night bar and restaurant concept, has secured new funding to support the next stage of its growth, with plans t … view

James Watt to invest £10m into rescue bid for BrewDog: James Watt, the co-founder and former chief executive of Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog, is to plough £10m of his own money into a rescue bid for the struggling craft brewer a … view

Exclusive – Franco Manca owner brings in advisors to review options: Fulham Shore, which operates the Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant brands, has appointed advisors to review its strategic options to ensure both brands are � … view

Flat sales in January after Christmas hangover for hospitality: Tight consumer spending after festive celebrations led to a 0.1% drop in like-for-like sales at Britain’s top managed restaurant, pub and bar groups in January, according t … view

M&A experts – ‘generalist investors have left the market’, ‘sector starting to awaken to opportunities outside UK’: Sector M&A and investment experts have told Propel that generalist private equity firms are currently out of the … view

First round bids in for BrewDog, talk of deal needing to be agreed by end of the month: First round bids for the whole or parts of BrewDog have already been submitted, with a deal or deals needed to be done by the end of this month, Prope … view

Exclusive – The Ned sees trading levels comparable to pre-pandemic, turnover nudges £80m: The Ned, the City of London mega-venue and private members’ club operated by Soho House, has reported turnover of £79,910,000 for the year en … view

Thunderbird Fried Chicken CEO – ‘Strip Shack could be a gamechanger and opens up new opportunities’: Paul Gilchrist, chief executive of Thunderbird Fried Chicken, the wings and fried chicken concept backed by TriSpan, has told Prope … view

Sides to open 15 new restaurants in 2026, seeing “incredibly momentum in the UK”: Sides, the food business from YouTube collective Sidemen, has unveiled plans to open 15 more restaurants this year. The brand said it plans to commit fu … view

Ian Edward – ‘the relationship between private equity and the sector has changed irreversibly’: Ian Edward, sector investor, chair of Incipio Group, and special advisor to advisory firm AlixPartners, has said the relationship betwee … view

BrewDog calls in advisors to oversee sale: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog, has called in advisers to oversee a sale that could trigger a break-up of the business. Sky News reports that the board of BrewDog has appointed AlixPartners … view

Leon lost more than £60m since EG Group takeover, closed 22 stores since CVA: Leon, the naturally fast-food brand, lost more than £60m following its 2021 takeover by EG Group and has closed 22 stores since its company voluntary arrangem … view

French kebab concept seeking entry into UK market: French kebab concept Zen Döner is seeking partners with which to enter the UK market. Zen Döner was founded by Dr Turhan Guldas, a dentist by trade, and opened its debut site last year … view

Maki & Ramen – we’ve had investment approaches but focused on organic growth for now: Michael Salvador, chief operating officer of Japanese restaurant concept Maki & Ramen, has told Propel that the fast-growing business has received i … view

I recently came across the headline: “One in seven food delivery businesses in England are dark kitchens.” It was the sort of statistic that makes you stop mid-scroll – on … view

Exclusive – Starbucks reshapes its UK licensing structure, one franchisee to hand over almost half its estate ahead of ambitious 100-store development plan: Starbucks has reshaped its UK licensing structure in a strategic process after … view

Punch reports underlying Ebitda growth, acquires Mash Inn JV: Punch Pubs & Co, the Fortress-backed operator of circa 1,300 community pubs, has reported revenue of £105.1m for the 16 weeks to 30 November 2025 compared to £97.3m in the pr … view

Butcombe reports like-for-like sales up 9.7% across managed estate driven by accommodation and London sites: Butcombe Group, formerly Liberation Group, has reported a 9.7% increase in like-for-like sales across its managed pub estate for … view

For such a populist subject, Reform leader and pint-lover Nigel Farage had been strangely quiet. A month after writing that line about the government’s U-turn on business rates support for the pub secto … view

JD Wetherspoon founder Sir Tim Martin calls on hospitality industry to back political support for tax reform: JD Wetherspoon founder Sir Tim Martin has called on the hospitality industry to back political support for tax reform – “the … view

JD Wetherspoon responds to BBC article regarding its policy on dogs, opens first pub in continental Europe: JD Wetherspoon has responded to a BBC article regarding its policy on dogs. The company said the article ‘Wetherspoon dogs polic … view

Tortilla founder – ‘we are upping our game in the face of increased competition’, ‘significant opportunity internationally’: Brandon Stephens, founder of Tortilla, the UK and Europe’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant bra … view

Tortilla promotes Brandon Stephens to group CEO and hires former Leon MD as UK CEO: Tortilla, the UK’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, has promoted Brandon Stephens to group chief executive and hired former Leon managing d … view

Domino’s to roll out chicken concept to all UK stores after ‘outperforming expectations’: Domino’s Pizza Group is to roll out its Chick ‘n’ Dip across all its circa 1,400 stores in the UK & Republic of Ireland following a succ … view

Exclusive – Australian bakery brand Brooki Bakehouse plans UK launch after securing new investment: Brooki Bakehouse, the Australian bakery brand, which is famed for its viral social media following, is planning to make its UK debut lat … view

Pubs and restaurants suffer longest period of job losses since financial crisis: A fall in pub and restaurant hiring has contributed to the longest period of job losses since the financial crisis, according to new figures. Staff numbers i … view

Pitch co-founder – ‘opportunity for 200 sites globally with 20 opening in UK over next five years’, ‘next launch here to be an important test with smaller scalable format’: Chris Ingham, co-founder of golf club concept Pitch, ha … view

Mayfair Chippy founders – ‘Saudi Arabia deal only the start of overseas growth’, ‘potential to expand in the UK through smaller QSR format’: Mayfair Chippy, the London fish and chip shop concept, has told Propel that its franchi … view

Punch acquires 30 pubs from McMullen’s: Punch Pubs & Co, the Fortress-backed operator of circa 1,300 community pubs, has completed the acquisition of a 30-strong package of pubs from family-owned brewer and pub operator McMullen's, for … view

Greggs overtakes Costa to become largest overall operator as UK branded coffee shop market grows 3.5% in 2025: The UK branded coffee shop market grew 3.5% in 2025, with Greggs overtaking Costa to become its largest overall operator. Alleg … view

AG Barr acquires Fentimans and Frobishers for combined £51m: Drinks firm AG Barr has acquired soft drinks brands Fentimans for £38m and Frobishers for £13m. AG Barr stated: “Both brands operate in the attractive adult soft drinks ma … view

Thesleff Group founder – ‘our next £40m-£50m of investment will go outside the country’, builds US pipeline: Thesleff Group founder Markus Thesleff has said the group’s next £40m-£50m of investment will go outside the UK, beca … view