Sir Tim Martin – ‘I should have opened a small supermarket in 1979, not a pub’: Sir Tim Martin, founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has said he “should have opened a small supermarket in 1979, not a pub” on the back of the m … view

Gail’s sees full-year retail sales nudge £220m as it targets 40 new openings: Fast-growing bakery brand Gail’s has reported sales across its retail arm increased to £219,828,000 in the year to 28 February 2025 (2024: £179,050,000) … view

Exclusive – Ten Entertainment Group acquires Fairgame: Ten Entertainment Group, the Tenpin brand operator which is backed by US private equity firm Trive Capital, has acquired Fairgame, the competitive socialising concept from Richard H … view

Premier Inn owner anticipates £40m-£50m increase in business rates following Budget: Whitbread owner Premier Inn has said the measures announced in the Budget will lead to an increase in business rates of between £40m and £50m from i … view

Poolhouse CEO – ‘our venues will be akin to Apple stores promoting what we can do’, closing in on US debut site: Andrew O’Brien, chief executive and co-founder of Poolhouse, the new concept from the founders of Topgolf and Puttsha … view

TGI Fridays’ UK chain up for sale a month after changing hands: The future of TGI Fridays’ British operations has been thrown into fresh doubt just a month after the casual dining chain was bought by the manager of most of the brand� … view

Admiral Taverns CEO – The government has placed an even bigger burden on the shoulders of community pubs: Chris Jowsey, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, which runs 1,350 community pubs across the UK, has said the reality of yesterday … view

UKHospitality – government is creating a two-tier economy: UKHospitality has accused the government of creating a two-tier economy through its autumn Budget. The trade body said new rateable values, published after the Budget and used t … view

Hospitality chiefs accuse the chancellor of ‘crippling’ jobs market: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been accused of “crippling” the jobs market after she announced businesses will be forced to pay teenagers more than £10 an hour fo … view

Tokyo Industries CEO – ‘Saturday afternoon is the new Friday night’, ‘traditional nightclub format less relevant now’: Tokyo Industries chief executive Aaron Mellor has said Saturday afternoons “are the new Friday nights”, a … view

UKHospitality warns business rates reform ‘critical’ for sector as it faces additional £1.4bn in wage increases: UKHospitality has said the additional £1.4bn in wage increases from April means business rates reform in full for the s … view

UKHospitality warns tourist tax U-turn could cost Brits £518m: UKHospitality has said the U-turn to introduce a holiday – or tourist – of tax directly contradicts and undermines the government’s aim to reduce the cost of living. Lo … view

Exclusive – RedCat sells 21-strong leased and tenanted division to Admiral Taverns: RedCat Hospitality, the operator of Coaching Inn Group and RedCat Independent Pubs, has reached an agreement with community pub group Admiral Taverns ov … view

Exclusive – PizzaExpress reassessing US relaunch plans: PizzaExpress, the Paula Mackenzie-led business, is reassessing its plans to relaunch in the US after deciding not to progress with the potential franchise partner it had initially … view

Sector investor Luke Johnson – ‘there needs to be some creative destruction of the industry to eliminate capacity’: Sector investor Luke Johnson has argued “there needs to be some creative destruction of the industry to eliminate … view

FoodCo Group CEO – ‘potential to double footprint as we prepare to open 100th store’, ‘Jamaica Blue getting good traction and could outgrow Muffin Break’: FoodCo chief executive Mike Arbuckle has told Propel the franchise compan … view

Nando’s full-year sales climb 8% to £1.48bn but warns on impact of cost pressures, to open 14 new restaurants this financial year: Nando’s has reported stronger sales and profits for the 12 months to 23 February 2025 but warned incre … view

McDonald’s UK VP of development – ‘we’re seeing re-emergence of families coming back to fast food’, looking at smaller formats: Mike Spencer, McDonald’s UK & Ireland vice-president of development, who is overseeing the brand� … view

RedCat Hospitality reports 4.3% increase in second quarter like-for-like sales: RedCat Hospitality, the operator of Coaching Inn Group (CIG) and RedCat Independent Pubs, saw a 4.3% increase in like-for-like sales in the three months to th … view

Exclusive – TGI Fridays hires Giles Fry to oversee UK business: Sugarloaf TGIF Management, the global manager of the TGI Fridays brand, has hired Giles Fry, the founder neighbourhood-style bar and kitchen concept Snug Bars, to lead the … view

Record three in ten sector businesses have no cash reserves left as trade bodies warn ‘urgent action’ needed at next week’s Budget: A record three in ten (29%) sector businesses have revealed they have no cash reserves left as indus … view

Record three in ten sector businesses have no cash reserves left as trade bodies warn ‘urgent action’ needed at next week’s Budget: A record three in ten (29%) sector businesses have revealed they have no cash … view

The Athenian founder – ‘we can double size of UK estate in medium term through mix of delivery kitchens and bricks and mortar sites’: Tim Vasilakis, founder of Greek street food restaurant group The Athenian, has told Propel he beli … view

Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit returns for 2026, open for bookings: Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit is returning for its eighth edition, and tickets are now on sale. The event is a partnership between Prop … view

Reeves’s fruit machine tax gambles with pubs’ futures: About 36,700 fruit and slot machines operate across nearly half of Britain’s pubs, generating £622m of income a year, according to UKHospitality. After existing tax and rent p … view

Gailʼs owner revives sale plans: The owner of Gail's is exploring a sale of the fast-growing bakery brand with a wider set of suitors after talks with food-focused investor McWin Capital Partners failed to result in a deal. Merger Market … view

Stonegate eyes £1bn sale of 1,000 sites: Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company, is ramping up plans for a £1bn sale of more than 1,000 pubs as the company looks to pay down more than £3bn of debt. The Sunday Times reported se … view

Domino’s turns to fried chicken as chief says Britain is nearing peak pizza: The chief executive of Domino’s UK is betting the future of the country’s largest pizza delivery operator lies in fried chicken, as he predicts the pizza m … view

Loungers chairman – ‘rent as a percentage of turnover now down to 3.4%, opening of larger Lounge shows we can generate sales of £130,000 a week’: Alex Reilley, chairman of Loungers, the Cosy Club and Brightside operator, has said t … view

Young’s reports record half-year performance, like-for-like sales up 5.7%: Young’s has reported a record half-year performance with revenue for the 26 weeks to 29 September 2025 up 5.4% to £263.6m, while adjusted Ebitda rose 5.9% to … view

Fuller’s chairman – pubs are back in fashion, we’re in the right place to act on acquisition opportunities: Simon Emeny, chairman of Fuller’s, has told Propel that he believes pubs are back in fashion “at the expense of restaura … view

It is not often the world of licensing competes for attention with the day’s bigger headlines. Yet this year has felt different. A series of new developments means t … view

Fuller’s managed like-for-like sales up 4.6%: Fuller’s has this morning reported a 4.6% increase in like-for-like sales across its Managed Pubs & Hotels in the six months to 27 September 2025, with total revenue up 7% to £207.5m (H1 … view

The Coconut Tree placed into administration: Sri Lankan street food operator The Coconut Tree, which this summer was set to be wound up after defaulting on its company voluntary arrangement (CVA) over an unpaid £1.6m tax bill, has been … view

Azzurri Group CEO – ‘it’s a grind out there, it is harder for casual dining than QSR’: Steve Holmes, chief executive of Azzurri Group – the hospitality investment platform that operates ASK Italian, Zizzi, Coco di Mama, Boojum a … view

Exclusive – Nightcap returns to like-for-like growth as full-year revenue increases to £57.5m, ‘strengthened belief’ The Piano Works has ‘national and international roll-out potential’: Nightcap – the owner of The Cocktail Cl … view

Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards 2026 finalists revealed: Finalists have been announced for the eighth Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards, staged by Propel and Think Hospitality to recognise success in marketing and innovation i … view

Azzurri Group heralds “transformative year” underlined by move into QSR sector: Azzurri Group, the hospitality investment platform which operates ASK Italian, Zizzi, Coco di Mama, Boojum and Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, has said that the … view

Exclusive – Danny Meyer-backed concept Five Iron Golf eyes UK launch: Indoor golf simulator and entertainment company Five Iron Golf, which is backed by Callaway Golf and Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments vehicle, is e … view

Foodservice Price Index reaches new high as costs rise for sixth consecutive month: Food and drink prices in the hospitality sector rose 0.7% in September, taking the Foodservice Price Index from CGA by NIQ and Prestige Purchasing to a re … view

McDonald’s reports global like-for-likes up 3.6% in third quarter with UK seeing growth: McDonald’s has reported its global like-for-like sales increased 3.6% in its third quarter to 30 September 2025 compared with the previous year � … view

KFC UK & Ireland boss – ‘we're seeing incredible momentum right now’, in-store sales up 8%: Rob Swain, KFC UK & Ireland general manager, has said the circa 1,000-strong business is seeing “incredible momentum right now”, with st … view

Yum! Brands announces strategic review for Pizza Hut, KFC UK system sales up 10% in third quarter and 6% year to date: Yum! Brands has announced a formal review of strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand. Yum! Brands said the review wil … view

Yum! Europe paid circa £3.7m to acquire Pizza Hut UK dine-in operations, UK franchisee suffered from effects of declining trade, rising costs and loan repayments and owed £9.9m to HMRC: Yum! Europe paid circa £3.7m to acquire Pizza Hut … view

Wasabi founder to launch UK’s first all-Asian food court next year, believes Sushinoya can grow to 80 sites: Wasabi founder Dong Hyun Kim is to launch the UK’s first all-Asian food court next year that will see all his concepts open u … view