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Monday 31st January 2022
Propel Monday News Briefing
Mackenzie – we need a concerted effort from government and employers to encourage workers and tourists to return: Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King, has said that the sector needs a concerted effort from government and empl … view
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Sunday 30th January 2022
Richard Caring enters fight for control of Corbin & King
Richard Caring enters fight for control of Corbin & King: Serial sector investor Richard Caring is in talks over a possible acquisition of Corbin & King, the London-based restaurant group behind the Wolseley in Piccadilly. Corbin & King went i … view
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Friday 28th January 2022
Friday Opinion
Subjects: Let’s have Instagrammable kids’ meals, industry can take streamlining lessons from the car sector, thinking fast and slow in hospitality, licensed premises continue to be scapegoats
Authors: Katy Moses, Glynn Da … view
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Friday 28th January 2022
Give us a chance to recover from Plan B covid rules, say businesses
Give us a chance to recover from Plan B covid rules, say businesses: Businesses have urged Rishi Sunak to delay the rise in national insurance contributions to give them more time to recover from the impact of covid restrictions. The Time … view
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Friday 28th January 2022
Propel Friday News Briefing

Emeny – the rebound in terms of the trajectory back to normality will be quicker this time: Simon Emeny, chief executive of Fuller’s, has told Pr … view

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Thursday 27th January 2022
McDonald’s reports global like-for-likes up 10.8% in fourth quarter on 2019 levels, UK sees ‘very strong’ growth
McDonald’s reports global like-for-likes up 10.8% in fourth quarter and 8% in full year on pre-pandemic levels, UK business sees ‘very strong’ growth: McDonald’s has reported global like-for-likes were up 12.3% year-on-year in its … view
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Thursday 27th January 2022
Exclusive: Yattendon Estates paid £3.1m for West Berkshire Brewery, creditors owed almost £10m
Exclusive – Yattendon Estates paid £3.1m for West Berkshire Brewery, creditors owed almost £10m: Yattendon Estates, one of the privately held group of companies owned by the Iliffe family, acquired West Berkshire Brewery in a pre-pack … view
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Thursday 27th January 2022
Fuller’s – we are seeing an improvement in trade
Fuller’s – we are seeing an improvement in trade: London-based pub operator Fuller’s has reported that trading has begun improving since the New Year. In a trading update for the 43 weeks to 22 January 2022, it stated: “We fully r … view
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Thursday 27th January 2022
Propel Thursday News Briefing
Lane7 to make move into family entertainment centre market: Boutique bowling company, Lane7, is moving in to the family entertainment centre market with new concept – “Level X”. The concept “will bring together the best in games a … view
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Wednesday 26th January 2022
US fund Knighthead offers £38m to keep Corbin & King trading
US fund Knighthead offers £38m to keep Corbin & King trading: An American investment fund has tabled a £38m offer to keep London-based restaurant operator Corbin & King afloat, hours after it was forced into administration by its bigges … view
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Wednesday 26th January 2022
Jeremy King – We plan to thwart this move and buy Corbin & King out of administration
Jeremy King – We plan to thwart this move and buy Corbin & King out of administration: Jeremy King, co-founder of London-based restaurant operator Corbin & King, which was put into administration by its majority shareholder Minor Hotels … view
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Wednesday 26th January 2022
Propel Wednesday News Briefing
Andrew Fishwick to launch new hospitality company Adamo: Andrew Fishwick, executive chair of sector consultancy firm Salt, is teaming up with Tristram Hillier, former managing director of Corney & Barrow Wine Bars, to launch a new hospita … view
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Tuesday 25th January 2022
Corbin & King put into administration by majority shareholder amid ongoing dispute
Corbin & King put into administration by majority shareholder amid ongoing dispute: London-based restaurant operator Corbin & King has been put into administration by its majority shareholder. Minor Hotels said it had been “left with no … view
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Tuesday 25th January 2022
Corbin & King lines up financial backing from US-based fund amid Minor Hotels dispute
Corbin & King lines up financial backing from US-based fund amid Minor Hotels dispute: London-based restaurant operator Corbin & King is lining up financial backing from US-based fund, Knighthead Capital Management, amid a dispute with Mi … view
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Tuesday 25th January 2022
Marston’s reports like-for-like sales down 3.6% as Omicron hit consumer sentiment
Marston’s reports like-for-like sales down 3.6% as Omicron hit consumer sentiment: Brewer and retailer Marston’s has reported like-for-like sales of minus 3.9% for the 16-week period to 12 January 2022 (compared to the same period in … view
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Tuesday 25th January 2022
Propel Tuesday News Briefing
Pizza Punks plans to grow to 25 sites over next three years, appoints new FD: Pizza, music and cocktails concept Pizza Punks, which is part of the Hell Yeah Hospitality Group, plans to grow to 25 sites in the next three years, Propel has … view
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Monday 24th January 2022
Propel Monday News Briefing
Osmond – I hope the crisis will enable a new wave of exciting offers on the high street: Serial sector investor Hugh Osmond has told Propel that he hopes the impact of the pandemic on the sector will “enable a new wave of exciting, fu … view
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Saturday 22nd January 2022
Corbin & King makes court filings to protect itself in battle with investors
Corbin & King makes court filings to protect itself in battle with investors: London-based restaurant operator Corbin & King has made court filings as proof of being solvent to protect itself in an ongoing battle with its investors, Prope … view
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Friday 21st January 2022
Friday Opinion

Subjects: We need your support for vital industry survey, vegan food isn’t just for vegans, getting your values right helps retain staff, we’re becoming a moderation nation

Authors: Kate Nicholls, Louise Pa … view

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Friday 21st January 2022
Update: The Restaurant Group and Everyman trading
The Restaurant Group upgrades expectations after strong trading relative to market: The Restaurant Group (TRG) has upgraded expectations after reporting strong trading relative to the market. The business now expects FY21 adjusted Ebitda … view
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Friday 21st January 2022
Propel Friday News Briefing
Revolution Bars Group to put food prices up between 5% and 10% due to inflation: Revolution Bars Group chief executive Rob Pitcher has told Propel the business will be putting up food prices between 5% and 10% in the coming weeks as the c … view
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Thursday 20th January 2022
Update: Licensed premises numbers, coffee shop market growth, Revolution, City Pub Group and Deliveroo
Number of licensed premises grows quarter-on-quarter for first time in more than five years but still down in excess of 8,000 on pre-pandemic levels: Britain’s hospitality sector grew modestly in the last quarter of 2021, the new Market … view
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Thursday 20th January 2022
Propel Thursday News Briefing
Government must now ‘lay out plan for living with covid’ and ‘support sector long term’: Hospitality leaders have called on Number 10 to introduce long term support for the sector following the announcement that Plan B restriction … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards winners revealed
Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards winners revealed: The winners of this year’s Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards, staged by Propel and Think Hospitality, have been revealed. More than 120 entries were judged by a panel of industry … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
‘Plan B’ restrictions in England to be lifted next week
‘Plan B’ restrictions in England to be lifted next week: All “Plan B” restrictions in England will be lifted next, prime minister Boris Johnson has told MPs. These include the advice to work from home, covid passports and mandatory fac … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
Inception Group to take on ex-Balls Brothers site in Mayfair as Grosvenor makes latest tenant investment
Inception Group to take on ex-Balls Brothers site in Mayfair as Grosvenor makes latest tenant investment: Landlord Grosvenor Britain & Ireland has made its latest investment in a new tenant, Inception Group, the London-based group, with a … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
Update: JD Wetherspoon, Hostmore, covid restrictions to lift
JD Wetherspoon reports like-for-likes down 11.7% in year to date, will be loss-making in first half of financial year: JD Wetherspoon has reported like-for-like sales are down 11.7% in the financial year to date compared with 2020 and the … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
Propel Wednesday News Briefing
Six By Nico group secures £5.5m new debt facility, online business generates revenue of £7.3m: Simone Group, the parent company of the Six By Nico brand, secured a £5.5m debt facility last year through ThinCats to aid its continuing gr … view
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Wednesday 19th January 2022
December sales down 11% on pre-pandemic levels for managed restaurants, pub and bars
December sales down 11% on pre-pandemic levels for managed restaurants, pub and bars: The UK’s managed restaurant, pub and bar groups suffered a double-digit drop on sales from pre-pandemic levels in December after widespread cancellations o … view
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Tuesday 18th January 2022
Hospitality restrictions to ease in Scotland from Monday, no extension to covid passport scheme
Hospitality restrictions to ease in Scotland from Monday, no extension to covid passport scheme: Scotland’s covid-19 restrictions will be eased from Monday (24 January) – with nightclubs reopening, large indoor events resuming and social d … view
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Tuesday 18th January 2022
Update: Consumer confidence grows, Hotel Chocolat, McDonald's, Chopaluna et al
Consumer confidence grows to raise hopes for hospitality's recovery in 2022: Consumer confidence about eating and drinking out remains high despite the spread of the Omicron variant, new research from CGA shows. The Consumer Pulse survey … view
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Tuesday 18th January 2022
Propel Tuesday News Briefing
Hostmore to replace Fatburger in Dundee with new QSR concept: Hostmore, the parent company of Fridays and the 63rd+1st concept in the UK, has secured the former Fat Burger site in Dundee to trial its new quick service restaurant (QSR) for … view
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Monday 17th January 2022
Poké House eyes IPO as it plans 65 UK openings over next two years, expands to US
Poké House eyes IPO as it plans 65 UK openings over next two years, expands to US: Poké House, Europe’s largest poké restaurant chain that acquired the six-strong, London-based Ahi Poké business last year, is eyeing an initial publi … view
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Monday 17th January 2022
Update: Brighton Pier Group, working from home and covid passports set to be scrapped, grant concerns
Brighton Pier Group expects first-half sales to be up 31% on 2019 levels, plans to pay down £7.7m of debt: Brighton Pier Group has reported strong trading for the 26-week period ended 26 December 2021. The company stated: “The period s … view
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Monday 17th January 2022
Propel Monday News Briefing
Jamie Oliver Restaurants plans 18-plus international openings in 2022, in talks on US launch: Jamie Oliver Restaurants is planning to open 18-plus sites across the globe this year, and is exploring new partnerships in the US, Propel has l … view
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Friday 14th January 2022
SA Brain close to striking £100m deal to sell circa 100-strong pub portfolio
SA Brain close to striking £100m deal to sell circa 100-strong pub portfolio: Welsh brewer and retailer SA Brain is close to agreeing a deal to sell the freeholds of circa 100 pubs to Song Capital and Cerberus Capital Management, the for … view
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Friday 14th January 2022
Friday Opinion
Subjects: QSRs leading the way in the vegan revolution, goodbye and good riddance to 2021, teens and technology, striking the balance for staff
Authors: Glynn Davis, Paul Chase, Alison Vasey, Jon Spiteri

view
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Friday 14th January 2022
Caffe Nero refinancing, Welsh covid restrictions, KFC, Cineworld
Caffe Nero refinancing kills off Issa brothers takeover hopes: Caffe Nero has killed off the takeover hopes of the billionaire Issa brothers after completing a £330m debt refinancing with a syndicate of three banks. Last April Mohsin and … view
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Friday 14th January 2022
Propel Friday News Briefing
Hawksmoor secures new debt facility to aid future expansion: Graphite Capital-backed steakhouse concept Hawksmoor has secured a new debt facility to support its next three years of growth, Propel has learned. The company worked with Parry … view
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Thursday 13th January 2022
Hospitality suffers £3bn sales hit over festive period
Hospitality suffers £3bn sales hit over festive period: The hospitality market suffered devastating sales falls in the last week of the year, new figures have revealed. Sales were a massive 60% down on Christmas Day as customers opted no … view
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Thursday 13th January 2022
M&B – Lfl sales in the year to date down 1.5%, festive season lfl sales down 10.2%
M&B – Lfl sales in the year to date down 1.5%, festive season lfl sales down 10.2%: Mitchells & Butlers has this morning reported that like-for-like sales in the 15 weeks ended 8 January 2022 declined by 1.5%, with total sales down 5.2% … view
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Thursday 13th January 2022
Propel Thursday News Briefing
A third of Scottish operators ‘at risk of collapse’, Star Pubs & Bars offers its Welsh and Scottish pubs 30% rent reduction: A new poll has revealed a third of hospitality and tourism operators in Scotland are at risk of collapse. The … view
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Wednesday 12th January 2022
Legal Briefing

Learning to live with covid by Michelle Hazlewood

While we are excited to welcome in a brand-new year, we still find ourselves trapped in this pandemic era. However, this time around the situation at hand is drastically different, and it … view
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Wednesday 12th January 2022
Pret raises pay to more than £10 an hour for 6,900 staff
Pret raises pay to more than £10 an hour for 6,900 staff, coffee subscription service used more than one million times a week: Pret A Manger has announced plans to invest more than £9.2m in staff pay, its biggest pay and benefits increa … view
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Wednesday 12th January 2022
Whitbread, Just Eat, Jamie Oliver, Marugame Udon, Danny Meyer
Total Q3 F&B sales down 11.1% at Whitbread: Whitbread, the Premier Inn, Brewers Fayre and Beefeater operator, has reported a 11.1% decline in total food and beverage sales in the UK, against a 10.6% rise in accommodation sales, during the … view
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Wednesday 12th January 2022
Propel Wednesday News Briefing
Hospitality sales fall 30% year-on-year: The first full week of 2022 saw hospitality sales fall by 30% compared with the same week in 2020, according to the latest data from S4labour, the online labour-scheduling management system from Ca … view
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Tuesday 11th January 2022
Christmas spending, covid restrictions, Jamie Oliver, Chipotle
Retail and restaurants held back as omicron dampened appetite for Christmas shopping and partying: Christmas retail and restaurant spending was held back last month as the spread of omicron and restrictions to tackle it took their toll on … view
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Tuesday 11th January 2022
Propel Tuesday News Briefing
Fireaway to open 100th site this month five years after inception: Fast pizza brand Fireaway will open its 100th site later this month, in Walsall, just five years after the business was launched. The business has doubled in size within t … view
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Monday 10th January 2022
Exclusive: Stonegate acquires remaining 25% stake in Hippo Inns
Exclusive – Stonegate acquires remaining 25% stake in Hippo Inns: Stonegate Group has agreed, by mutual consent, to purchase the remaining 25% share of Hippo Inns, the 12-strong, London-based pub venture, from Rupert Clevely and Ian Edw … view
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Monday 10th January 2022
McDonald’s trials MyMcDonald’s Rewards in UK
McDonald’s trials MyMcDonald’s Rewards in UK: McDonald’s has begun a trial of its global digital reward scheme, MyMcDonald’s Rewards, in the UK. The pilot scheme is operating at ten restaurants in the north west of England. Users have … view
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Monday 10th January 2022
Tortilla FY like-for-like revenue up 23.8%
Tortilla FY like-for-like revenue up 23.8%: Tortilla, the UK’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, has this morning reported a 23.8% increase in like-for-like revenue in the year to 2 January 2022, compared to the same period … view
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Monday 10th January 2022
Propel Monday News Briefing
‘Devastating’ festive period saw Welsh pubs lose £16,000 on average, anger as restrictions remain in place: Welsh pubs lost, on average, £16,000 in revenue over a “devastating” festive period, according to the Welsh Beer and Pub … view
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Friday 7th January 2022
Friday Opinion
Subjects: The one positive to come from covid, my hospitality wish list for 2022, time to commit to being kind, Only A Pavement Away is coming to a street near you
Authors: Glynn Davis, Ann Elliott, Katy Moses, Greg Manghamview
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Friday 7th January 2022
Oakman reports record Christmas Day, with like-for-like sales for December only 1.9% behind 2019
Oakman reports record Christmas Day, with like-for-like sales for December only 1.9% behind 2019: Oakman Group, the Dermot King-led pub-restaurant operator, reported sales for December of £6.7m, 9.5% up on 2019, with like-for-like sales … view
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Friday 7th January 2022
Propel Friday News Briefing
Upham Inns in discussions on securing new finance, exploring growth opportunities: Upham Inns, the Hampshire-based operator, has said it is actively exploring opportunities for growth and is in “positive discussions to achieve capital f … view
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Thursday 6th January 2022
2022’s list of outstanding sector Under 30s is unveiled
2022’s list of outstanding sector Under 30s is unveiled: This year’s crop of outstanding young sector individuals has been named. The Restaurant Marketer & Innovator “30 Under 30” list recognises 30 talented future leaders in marketing … view
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Thursday 6th January 2022
Roisin Currie named as next Greggs chief executive
Roisin Currie named as next Greggs chief executive: Greggs has announced Roisin Currie, currently Greggs retail and property director, will replace Roger Whiteside as chief executive to be effective from the date of the company’s annual … view
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Thursday 6th January 2022
Propel Thursday News Briefing
Happy Face Pizza eyes ten-strong estate, appoints MD to drive growth: Happy Face Pizza, the Neapolitan pizza concept from the founders of Canteen and Spiritland, is planning to expand to ten sites in London over the next three years, Prop … view
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Wednesday 5th January 2022
Sessions Markets raises $10m expansion fund
Sessions Markets raises $10m expansion fund: Sessions Market, the food hall concept backed by Imbiba and led by former Deliveroo managing director Dan Warne, has raised $10m (£7.4m) to fuel its expansion plans. The company, which operate … view
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Wednesday 5th January 2022
Propel Wednesday News Briefing
Itsu – ‘well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities created by the unprecedented level of disruption within the industry’: Itsu, the healthy Asian food chain founded by Julian Metcalfe, has said it is well positioned to t … view
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Tuesday 4th January 2022
December sales, and results at Everards, Beds and Bars, Swingers and Dirty Martini
Sector sales down 12% in December: Hospitality sales last month were down 12% compared to December 2019, according to the latest data from S4labour, the online labour-scheduling management system from Catton Hospitality. London sites’ s … view
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Tuesday 4th January 2022
Corbin & King, Tasty, Greene King, Only A Pavement Away, Gino D’Acampo at al
Jeremy King – customer demand is ‘gratifyingly strong’ and staffing levels are good: Corbin & King co-founder Jeremy King has told Propel that customer demand is “gratifyingly strong” and staffing levels are good despite the unc … view
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