Guy Hands’ Hand Picked Hotels reports £6.9m loss: Hand Picked Hotels, the operator of 17 upmarket hotels run by Julia Hands, wife of the company’s controlling party Guy Hands, has reported a pre-tax loss of £6.9m in the year ended 29 November 2012, following on from a loss of £7m the year before. Turnover decreased by 0.7% to £59,911,036. Operating profit decreased to £510,000 from £730,000 in the previous year. EBITDA was £8.3m compared with £8.9m in the previous year. The company stated: “The group is well-positioned for growth as the market recovers, driven by investment that will deliver increases in sales and EBITDA. The ongoing improvement in brand perception together with the continued drive towards excellence in service provision will also contribute to future growth. We are maintaining out investment in constancy upgrading our existing bedroom stock. The group currently holds a portfolio of 949 bedrooms. Additionally, we are seeking to grow our portfolio through the acquisition of suitable hotel assets throughout the UK.” The company’s annual interest bill in 2012 was £7,425,247. The company debt decreased by £17,600,000 during the year to £103,731,783 – the net book value of company freeholds is £97,194,077 and net book value of long leasehold property is £11,304,455. The company has 1,087 employees and the highest paid director earned £207,016. A total of £11,147,548 is owed by the company to Guy Hands and £14,005,000 is owed by the company to Julia Hands. 

Technomic reveals key drivers in UK café, bakery and patisserie segment: Research firm Technomic has revealed the unique drivers in particular parts of the UK café, bakery and patisserie segment, the fastest growing segments by sales in the UK. Of the three key segments, monthly patronage is highest at patisseries (65% versus 58% at coffee cafés and 40% at bakery cafés). Overall value and cost of food and beverages is more important to patisserie visits than bakery or coffee café visits. Three-quarters (78%) of consumers’ orders at patisseries are for takeaway, compared to just 49% of orders at bakery cafés and 38% at coffee cafés. Bakery cafés are top of mind for high-quality menu offerings and for wide variety of occasions. Two-fifths of consumers (44 percent) visit their favourite bakery café for the quality of food and beverages. Consumers who are visiting bakery cafés more often today than last year primarily attribute this to high-quality food (56%), compared to just 35% of coffee café and 47% of patisserie consumers. Bakery-café customers report visits in the widest variety of dayparts and special occasions. Coffee cafés are consumers’ go-to café for quick, convenient dine-in occasions. Half of consumers visit a particular coffee café (50%) most often because it is convenient and a quarter (26%) do so because they provide fast service. Among the three segments, dine-in orders are most common at coffee cafés (62%). The report by Technomic added: “The bakery-café, coffee-café and patisserie segments are the three fastest growing limited-service segments by sales. Still, all three sectors have further room to expand their reach and increase incremental traffic and sales. As bakery café, coffee café and patisseries operators consider growth strategies, they will want to make sure they meet the needs of their customer base. For example, coffee-café and patisserie operators may want to add amenities that can enhance the convenience of a visit while bakery-café operators can focus on the quality of their menu items.”

Blavod signs deal with Hi-Spirits to distribute brands: Blavod Wines & Spirits, the AIM-quoted owner of premium drinks brands, has signed a three-year agreement with Hi-Spirits for the distribution of its portfolio of owned brands including RedLeg Rum, Blackwoods Gin and Vodka and Blavod Black Vodka in the UK and Ireland. The move follows Blavod’s strategy to develop its growing number of owned brands and to focus on their development and marketing rather than committing resources to continuing to build its own UK sales and distribution network. As a result Blavod will now exit these activities altogether, and although there will be one off costs associated with this, over the longer term the company expects the reduced cost base will improve margins and profits. Hi-Spirits will distribute the Blavod drinks portfolio to the on-trade, off-trade, wholesale sector and Duty Free across UK and Ireland. Don Goulding, executive chairman of Blavod said: “We are delighted to appoint Hi-Spirits for our brand portfolio. They are a highly successful distribution team and their portfolio is an ideal fit for our brands. It means our team can now focus on doing what they do best which is developing award winning brands and the marketing strategies to go with them to ensure success.”