Bob Ivell joins ALMR as president: The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has appointed one of leisure and hospitality’s best-known leaders to be its president. Bob Ivell, chairman of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), will join the senior team of the trade association, marking another significant milestone in the ongoing development of the ALMR, which has grown 30% each year for the past three years. Steve Richards, chairman of the ALMR, said: “I am delighted Bob Ivell has joined the ALMR board as our president. He is one of the sector’s most respected leaders, and the depth of his experience makes him a great ambassador for our industry. His commitment reflects the importance of the ALMR, and the role it plays in taking business-critical messages to government.” In addition to his role at M&B, Ivell is chairman of Carpetright and a non-executive director at Britvic and Charles Wells. In his career, he has held various senior roles, including serving as the long-term executive chairman at Scottish & Newcastle Retail and chairman at David Lloyd Leisure. He said: “The ALMR has emerged as a uniting voice for our industry, representing businesses big and small. It successfully spans the spectrum of hospitality with over 200 pub, restaurant, bar and nightclub companies as members, and provides an essential voice to government, to MPs and to political influencers. The membership is strong and in our chief executive Kate Nicholls we have expert leadership. I’m looking forward to helping the association promote our industry’s growth agenda.” Nicholls added: “I am delighted to welcome Bob to our team. As an organisation we are expanding rapidly, driven by a clear and compelling need for companies to come together as one voice and help government understand that the hospitality industry is an engine of growth that needs a free, fair and flexible market place in which to operate. Our members’ businesses are highly responsive to, and easily impacted by, increasing taxation and regulatory change, in its many forms. It is therefore vital that we continue to build and fortify our links with Whitehall, at all levels, and Bob’s contribution will prove invaluable.” The creation of the new president position follows a number of other recent, high profile appointments. In 2015, both Robin Rowland of YO! Sushi and Peter Marks of Deltic Group joined the ALMR’s management board.

James Hacon to interview Bill’s managing director Roberto Morretti at Propel Multi Club Conference: Elliotts managing director James Hacon is to interview Bill’s managing director Roberto Morretti at the first Propel Multi Club Conference of 2016, which takes place at Congress Hall in London on Wednesday, 16 March. They will discuss the brand’s USPs, trading all-day, developing a retail dimension and staying true to the brand founder’s vision. Multi-site pub, restaurant and foodservice operators can claim up to two free places by emailing Adam Dickinson on adam.dickinson@propelinfo.com

 

Sapient advises on over £300m of pub and brewing deals in 2015, strong deal pipeline for 2016: Mergers and acquisitions advisory Sapient Corporate Finance, led by Peter Hansen and Fraser Anderson, has reported it was involved in more than £300m of pub and brewery sector deals in 2015 – and has a strong pipeline of deals for 2016. It stated: “Sapient remains the market leader for corporate finance advice to the pub, bar and nightclub sector having advised on £2.8bn of deals since the beginning of 2009, which at 37 transactions is more than the next ten advisers combined. Encouragingly, our pipeline for 2016 is strong and we expect a year of increased activity in pubs and brewing following on from recent large-scale mergers and acquisitions and driven by structural changes in the pub industry. Deals in 2015 included the sale of the craft brewer Meantime to SABMiller, the sale of 158 pubs owned by leading pub company, Punch Taverns to NewRiver Retail, Stonegate’s acquisition of 53 pubs from Tattershall Castle Group, one of the highest quality managed estates to be sold in the last five years, and the sale of a majority stake in one of London’s leading pub restaurant businesses Cubitt House.” In 2014, Sapient advised on £1.1bn of deals, taking its total for the two-year period to £1.5bn.

 

Tim Martin – my confrontational style can be good and bad for business: JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin has admitted his out-spoken leadership style can be a double-edged sword for the business. He told PR Week: “It can either be good for your business or bad. If you say Diageo are morons for recommending prices in pubs become even higher, people will generally sympathise with that bluntness. If then the next week you’re in the paper saying something else, and then the next week, you become overexposed. It’s almost like people feel you’re doing it for effect. Mostly now we only say things when our results come out.” However, he criticised “PR-speak”. Martin added: “A lot of Britain is caught in a bad PR bubble where ordinary speech is reduced to sound bites and the truth is heavily distorted, and it’s alienated the public. Business speak is an aspect of bad PR; the language is alienating and evasive and untruthful.”

  

Google – we could be delivering beer by drone within a year or two: Google’s drone executive Dave Vos has told a crowd of aviation experts the tech company’s drone delivery service could deliver a beer right to people’s hands and it could begin as early as next year. “I think it’s possible literally within the next year or two,” Vos, who runs Google Project Wing, told the crowd of drone and aviation officials and lobbyists. “I have to say that the conversations I’ve had with both those entities, those companies, as well as the [Federal Aviation Administration], are going super well, so I think it is in fact doable within the next few single years to get that, including all of the complexities, all of the hard stuff. It’s entirely doable.” Vos explained the possibilities of the company’s future drone delivery service at a speech in Washington DC and included an example where someone could order a beer on their phone and have it delivered right to their hand in three minutes. When asked after the speech about a possible timeline for implementing some of these ideas, he said within a year or two, earlier than many experts expect the technology to be up and running.

 

Greggs to launch flat white coffee this year: Greggs is to sell a flat white for the first time this year. The coffee, to be priced at £1.75, is in demand from customers, Roger Whiteside, chief executive said. Coffee now accounts for sales of £1m a week. Whiteside said many shoppers avoided the High Street from Black Friday on, preferring to shop for Christmas online. “Footfall was a problem around Christmas,” he added. The sausage roll continues to be the food chain’s most popular line but meal deals, costing between £2 and £3, have really taken off, including the company’s healthy choices — soups, salads and sandwiches — which all have fewer than 400 calories. Greggs converted 222 shops last year to its new format and will convert a similar number this year. It will also open in Northern Ireland for the first time.

 

SIBA to showcase 20 craft breweries at annual event: The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) will showcase 20 craft breweries from across the UK at its annual BeerX event, which takes place from 16-19 March in Sheffield. The event will also feature two independent craft keg beers, plus an array of bottles and cans of various strengths, styles, colours and flavours. Demand was so high amongst SIBA’s 850 brewery members that a lottery-style draw was introduced to select the breweries that would be given a place at the UK’s biggest beer industry trade show and beer festival. Nick Stafford, SIBA’s commercial director, said: “BeerX’s Festival of Beer is all about showcasing the very best in British brewing across cask, keg, bottle and can, and with the addition of our new Brewers Village and brewery bars we are allowing beer drinkers to speak to and have beers poured by the brewers themselves. We think this is a great way to get people engaged with beer and also allows our members to get direct feedback at the point of sale. The addition of the new bar space will more than double the size of the public ‘Festival of Beer’ with hundreds of beers being showcased, many of which are being judged in SIBA’s National Beer competition, held at BeerX. However the brewery bars won’t be limited to serving beers from the competition. The great thing about the brewery bars is they allow brewers to choose the beers they are most proud of, whether that is a beer taking part in the SIBA competitions or a one off brew they believe to be really special and worth showcasing. We expect the addition of the brewery bars to really expand the range and variety of beer styles and flavours on offer at BeerX and be a big hit with drinkers and delegates alike.”

 

McDonald’s UK signs partnership with Nuffield Farming Trust: McDonald’s UK has become the first major retailer to enter into a partnership with the Nuffield Farming Trust. The McDonald’s Nuffield Farming Scholarship will mirror the traditional programme, with a “Global Focus Tour” included. McDonald’s encourages individuals to consider a scholarship that will see a study into their own choice in agriculture, land management, horticulture or the food chain. Recognised for its dedication in developing leadership in farming and the rural industries, the first McDonald’s scholar will embark on a programme that will identify new knowledge and apply practical knowledge, seeking profitable industry outputs. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, McDonald’s UK supply chain director Connor McVeigh said: “We make no secret of our reliance on a thriving farming sector, which underpins our UK business, currently in its 38th consecutive quarter of growth. That success is down to an industry which involves brilliant people and minds and being the first UK retailer to sponsor a scholar is something we are infinitely proud of. This partnership further demonstrates our support of the sector and finding talent within it, critical in securing the future of farming within our UK shores.”

 

New app launches to provide cost-effective recruitment solution for temporary workers in hospitality industry: A new app has been launched to provide a cost-effective recruitment solution for temporary workers in the hospitality industry. Syft, founded by Jack Beaman and Novo Abakare following frustrating temporary work experiences while at university, provides temporary staff for front and back-of-house and claims to be up to 65% cheaper than traditional recruitment methods because of online automated processes. It allows companies to hire one or multiple staff in varied roles with Syft handling all payroll and tax obligations and the employer paying for the workers’ wages and any national insurance contributions via the app. All job seekers are fully vetted and trained prior to being given access and are rated according to specific skillsets by the community of employers. Companies can also view workers’ previous roles completed through Syft and their given ratings to further gauge suitability. Jobseekers can view potential employers and have complete choice over when, where and how long they work for. They can also get access to free training to improve existing skillsets and gain access to higher paid roles. Beaman, who is one of the founding employees of Fuse Universal – a enterprise software start-up that recently raised $10m, said: “Whilst at university I found it hard to believe that the recruitment agency employing me on behalf of top hotels were earning such huge fees on top of my wage, whilst providing the employer with minimal control and choice over the staff they received. Furthermore, I could not choose where or when I wanted to work. Combined with my years working in a tech start-up, I feel strongly that technology is set to have a huge impact across hospitality and recruitment and believe Syft is the app to kick start this.” 

 

McGettigan’s buys first Glendola Leisure site for UK debut: Rainforest Café and Waxy O’Connor operator Glendola Leisure has just sold its leasehold interest in the well known Irish themed bar Brogan’s, Fulham Broadway, for an undisclosed sum. The purchaser McGettigan’s is a long established global bar operator, dating back to its first Dublin bar, which opened in the 1960s, and now has venues in the Middle East, Singapore and New York. Brogan’s will be its first UK venue. James Davies, from Fleurets, who acted on behalf of Glendola Leisure, said: “Fulham Broadway is once again becoming a popular bar and restaurant circuit so demand for Brogan’s was strong with a number of offers from well known operators. McGettigan’s acted very professionally throughout the transaction and having visited one of their venues, I am confident it will quickly become a success and we will soon see more McGettigan’s popping up.”

Davy’s reports December like-for-likes up 12%: London operator Davy’s has reported strong trading for the key December period with overall revenue for December 2015 up 12% on 2014 on a like-for-like basis. The best performing “traditional wine bar” was Davy’s original wine bar, the Boot & Flogger in Southwark, which in its 50th year posted a 21% increase on 2014 revenue. The Heeltap, a more modern bar close to Borough Market, reported a 23% increase. Stand-alone burger and slow meat restaurant concept, Lazybones in Farringdon, saw a 49% rise in revenue. The wine merchant business, which comprises online retail, Davy’s wine shops and wholesale, was up 28%, driven largely by strong on-trade sales performance and the launch of a new e-commerce website. The December trading figures exclude the five El Vino bars, which Davy’s purchased in August 2015. After a thorough review of the business in the second half of 2015, Davy’s will introduce developments over the next few months focusing on menu development and improved customer areas. James Davy, chairman and chief executive of Davy’s, said: “December is a key barometer for the business and so it was very pleasing to see strong growth across the board – from our traditional wine bar and merchant businesses to slow meat concept, Lazybones. We are now looking forward to an even more successful 2016. The hard work and investment that has gone in to the El Vino business over the past six months is starting to come to fruition; Christmas was up over 6%, and that figure is expected to rise substantially this year.” Davy’s made two important senior appointments in the second half of 2015 to drive further business. Jerry Marks joined Davy’s as operations director for the wine bar business in September from Center Parcs in Woburn, where he was beverage and retail manager. James Jones joined as head of marketing in November. He had previously been group marketing manager at D&D London.

Starbucks reaches 2,000-store milestone in China, announces series of new staff initiatives: Starbucks has opened its 2,000 store in China and has revealed a series of initiatives to improve the experience for staff as it aims for a 3,400-strong estate by 2019. The company made the announcement at the Partner Family Forum, a first-of-its-kind employee engagement event first introduced by Starbucks China in 2012, as part of a series of new initiatives aimed to honour the special role families play. Beginning this month, full-time baristas and shift supervisors in Starbucks company-owned stores across China will receive a monthly housing allowance subsidy. This benefit is expected to, on average, cover 50% of their monthly housing expenditures. In addition, Starbucks China will introduce the career coffee break, a partner benefit tradition from the US, allowing employees within company-operated stores with ten consecutive years of service eligible to apply for up to 12 months’ unpaid leave. The current pay and benefits programmes offer comprehensive health insurance to full and part-time partners while the Starbucks Bean Stock programme gives all partners equity in the company. Chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz said: “As Starbucks second largest and fastest-growing market globally, China represents the most important and exciting opportunity ahead of us. We are deeply humbled by the enthusiasm with which Chinese people have embraced Starbucks as part of their daily ritual over the past 17 years. Over time, it’s conceivable that China could become our largest market and I am grateful to our 30,000 dedicated China partners and their supportive families for the significant contributions they are making to Starbucks’ success.” Starbucks opened an e-flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall last month, China’s largest open business-to-consumer platform, enabling customers to send a Starbucks gift digitally. The store has more than 300,000 people registered. Over the past two years, Starbucks has opened 45 Starbucks Reserve stores and introduced the pour-over slow bar in 150 stores across the country.

Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant set for possible redundancies: Redundancies are likely at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall’s Watergate Bay. Fifteen said it would try to find affected staff another job – and it will not cut the number of roles. The organisation wants to “integrate the operational delivery to create efficiency savings” so it can “fulfill its mission” over the next ten years. Bosses admit they are “exploring the possibility” that some existing roles within its Cornwall Food Foundation and senior management team could be made redundant. Consultations are underway. Spokesman Matthew Thomson said: “We are determined to make sure Fifteen and the Cornwall Food Foundation can do even more in its next ten years for Cornwall than they have in its first ten. While this may need us to make some difficult decisions now we will do our very best to look after all the brilliant people who have made Fifteen what it is and will continue to offer exciting opportunities to young people across Cornwall.” In a statement, the company said: “Balancing the charitable and commercial objectives effectively within a social enterprise is always a challenge. We are currently exploring proposals to integrate the operational delivery of all restaurant and foundation activities, to create efficiency savings and to position the organisation to fulfill its mission for the next ten years.” It is currently closed until Saturday, 23 January for annual maintenance.

 

Online craft beer retailer Beer52 passes 50% crowdfunding mark, has ambitions to build equivalent of Direct Wines’ £350m revenue business: Beer52, the world’s largest online craft beer retailer with £2.6m annual sales, has passed the 50% mark in its £200,000 fund-raise on crowdfunding platform AngelsDen. The company, founded by James Brown and Fraser Doherty in September 2013 and backed by Secret Escapes co-founder Andrew Bredon, is looking to expand and has ambitions to build the equivalent of Direct Wines’ £350m revenue business in the much larger beer category. It is now offering an increased equity stake of 12.52% following feedback from investors. So far it has raised £121,764 with ten days remaining and has a maximum target of £500,000. The company has over 8,000 monthly paying subscribers and has shipped more than one million bottles. Its revenue is eight times larger than its closest competitor HonestBrew with £326,000. Beer52 works with more than 500 microbreweries and has over 50,000 customers. It plans international growth by entering the Danish market next month followed by Holland in April. The pitch states: “The global craft beer market has exploded over the past five-ten years, growing at as much as 80% per year. With more than 14,000 microbreweries and 100,000-plus individual beers to discover, craft beer is a long tail category, perfect for online retail. Direct Wines is a £350m revenue online wine retailer. Our ambition is to build the equivalent operation within the much larger beer category. (The funding will be used for) customer acquisition, working capital and technology development and design/product development.” The company forecasts post-investment sales of £7.4m in year one, jumping to £19.1m in year two and then £34m in year three.

 

SSP wins £61m Bangkok airport contract: SSP, the UK-based transport hub food and beverage specialist, has been awarded a contract valued at circa £61m to operate 21 outlets at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport. The contract will run for five years. Chris Rayner, chief executive of SSP Asia Pacific, said; “Our proven ability to provide world-class brands together with our continuing focus on driving customer satisfaction, quality and sales have been instrumental in helping us win this latest deal. Don Mueang is not only one of the fastest growing airports in the world, but it is also where SSP’s operations in Thailand first began. We are delighted to be building on our strong partnership with Airports of Thailand, and to have secured this very substantial new deal in the face of strong competition from local as well as international operators.” The brand mix SSP will offer features a number of names the company has already operated with great success in Thailand, including internationally renowned brands Burger King, The Pizza Company, ice cream concept Dairy Queen, coffee shop Caffè Ritazza and SSP’s own pub offer Bill Bentley. As about three quarters of the passengers who use the airport are locals, SSP is opening a range of Bangkok favourites alongside these global names. These include bakery S&P, fast food concept Thai Express, and noodle brand Yentafo. The majority of the airport’s international passengers are from south east Asia and China, and to meet their needs SSP will introduce Asia’s much loved Ajisen Ramen, and bakery Bread Talk.

 

German brothers launch modern European restaurant concept Salut! in Islington: German brothers and experienced restaurateurs Martin and Christoph Lange have opened a modern European restaurant concept in Islington, north London. The Langes have launched Salut! In Essex Road, which describes its food as “a fusion between Nordic and French with some German influence”. The restaurant features wooden tables and vintage furniture as well as an open kitchen. Chef Christoph Lange, who has worked at fine dining restaurants in Mayfair and South Kensington as well as René Redzepi‘s renowned venue Noma in Copenhagen, uses sustainably sourced fish and organic vegetables to create his dishes. Martin Lange runs the front-of-house and has worked at The May Fair Bar at The May Fair Hotel and as catering manager at The National Theatre where he was also tasked with opening its first restaurant outside the main building. 

Dirty Martini operator reports 16.4% increase in December like-for-likes: CG Restaurants & Bars has reported a 16.4% increase in like-for-like sales across its Dirty Martini bar estate in December. This result was driven by a 35% increase in pre-booked business across December, representing 61% of overall sales. Customers are actively seeking the type of premium experience Dirty Martini delivers and demand has never been higher. Scott Matthews, chief executive at Dirty Martini, said: “We’re delighted to announce an outstanding performance for Dirty Martini over the December period. Our new sites are outperforming expectations and our original Dirty Martini in Covent Garden continues to deliver excellent growth every year with its strongest ever New Year’s Eve performance in 2015. Our successful expansion in 2015 with two new sites opening in Clapham and Islington has proved there is a continued appetite for the Dirty Martini brand and early discussions are underway on new acquisitions for 2016 both in London and regionally.”

 

Belfast-based bakery and patisserie French Village to launch restaurant venture: Belfast-based bakery and patisserie French Village is to open a restaurant in the city. The family run business, which has a cafe and bistro in Botanic Avenue, is aiming to launch the new venture in Lisburn Road in March, reports Belfast Vibe. In a post on its Facebook page it said: “January blues have passed at French Village headquarters, as after a long time with planning we got the keys for our two units of which will be transformed into our new restaurant venture at Lisburn Road. It’s now in the capable hands of the talented team of engineers at Montgomery Ash and Lee Austin Design!” French Village also has a production unit in the east of the city where it handcrafts a wide selection of specialised bakery products for wholesale customers and individuals.

 

Prezzo lines up second Northern Ireland opening: Prezzo is the latest brand to sign up to the Boucher Square development in south Belfast. Alterity Developments and Belfast-based property consultants TDK confirmed planning has been applied for, and the new restaurant – only the chain’s second in Northern Ireland after Victoria Square – could be open by the autumn. Prezzo joins The Restaurant Group brand Frankie & Bennys, Whitbread-owned Costa Coffee and Ed’s Easy Diner at Boucher Square, which opened last July – Nando’s opens on site at the end of January. Mark Thallon, of TDK, said: “We’ve been delighted with the success of Boucher Square, which has meant us having to look at ways to try and meet the demand for operators wanting a presence in the scheme. Prezzo, which has grown to more than 200 restaurants since first opening on London’s New Oxford Street in 2000, are a fantastic addition and will complement the other national restaurant operators already there.” TDK has also confirmed lettings to PizzaExpress and Caffé Nero for a new restaurant destination at Ballyhackamore in east Belfast, where Graze, Il Pirata, Greens and Beannchor Group brand Little Wing pizzeria already trade strongly.

 

Scottish bakery company Aulds eyes expansion after cutting losses: Scottish bakery company Aulds is planning to open two or three new sites this year after cutting losses by 25% and increasing turnover by 6% to just over £15m. The company reported a pre-tax loss of £640,134, for the year ended March 2015, compared to £849,677, according to accounts filed with Companies House. The accounts also showed a 3% rise in the cost of sales to £13.3m and an 8.7% increase in staff costs to £6.6m. Directors’ pay and pension contributions fell 21% to £197,633. Managing director and chief executive Alan Marr told Herald Scotland the company, which has about 470 staff and 30 bakeries, had closed some shops that had been trading for 50 to 60 years and were now in the wrong place. Aulds was also forced to shut its flagship Braehead store due to a planned lease-end redevelopment of the shopping centre’s food court. The closure of the firm’s busiest store offset increased activity in the foodservice desserts and own label bakery operations, which supply trade customers from caterers to restaurant chains. The jewel in the crown was Aulds’ partnership with Scotmid to provide branded in-store bakeries. The company now has 50 of these in Scotmid stores, up from 33 in 2013. “We’ve got to a level we’re quite happy with and we’ll now be expanding again,” said Marr, whose great grandfather founded the Greenock-based business in 1900. “We’re now looking for new outlets. It was a case of removing unprofitable outlets that had been there for too long, cleaning the operation up and moving on from there.”

 

Bristol gourmet burger concept The Burger Joint to open third site next month: Bristol gourmet burger concept The Burger Joint will open its third site next month. The company is launching the new restaurant in the Fishponds area of the city on Monday, February 8, reports Time Out Bristol. To celebrate the opening, The Burger Joint is offering 500 free meals between Monday, February 1 and Friday, February 5 to customers who register on its website. Dan Bekhradnia opened the first Burger Joint restaurant in Cotham Hill, Clifton, in 2009 but moved to bigger premises in Whiteladies Road in 2014. Its other site in Bedminster opened in May that year. 

Batemans completes extensive investment programme, reveals third acquisition: Batemans, the family brewer based in Lincolnshire, has completed an extensive investment programme in 2015, renovating several sites and working closely with its licensees to ensure they are comprehensively trained with the skills they need to make their pubs a success. Alongside the acquisition of The Olive Bar & Grill, Doncaster, and The Game Bird in Beverley, Batemans also purchased The Ladybower Inn as part of its strategy to buy larger pubs with good food, drink and accommodation income streams. This site will run under a Pub Operators Agreement (POA) style contract (a cross between a managed and tenanted pub, which sees the operator take a percentage of turnover). Located in the Peak District, The Ladybower enjoys high tourist footfall thanks to its scenic surroundings, and Batemans anticipates an annual barrelage of up to 400. Stuart Bateman, managing director of Batemans, said: “We have a much defined strategy in place for Batemans, to secure its future and ongoing success and key to this is investment – both into our people, and our estate. We are searching for talent: be they tenants, POA operators; managers; assistant managers and trainees. We want to have the best people working in our sites, and want the pubs they run to be of the highest standard. This investment programme will continue this year, as we look to acquire other sites and increase the number running under POA agreements and management.”

 

Gourmet Burger Kitchen set to open new site at Worcester shopping centre: Gourmet Burger Kitchen is set to open a new restaurant in the food court at the CrownGate shopping centre in Worcester. The company is aiming to open at the site of the former Early Learning Centre by Easter, creating about 30 jobs. Chief operating officer Keith Bird told the Worcester News: “We were thrilled to acquire this space in the CrownGate shopping centre in Worcester. We will be joining a great line-up of restaurants and shops and we can’t wait to be part of the buzz in the centre, especially over the Easter holidays.” Gourmet Burger Kitchen will join The Green Room, which is also a restaurant specialising in burgers, Carluccio’s, Bill’s, Tasty brand Wildwood, and Coffee Dough at the food court.

 

Leicester comedy club, bar and music venue expanding offering with new restaurant: Leicester comedy club, bar and music venue The Cookie is opening a new on-site restaurant tomorrow (Thursday, 14 January). The High Street venue, which began life as a coffee shop and has hosted music acts including George Ezra and comedians such as Russell Kane, is launching The Kitchen, which will serve a range of dishes for breakfast, lunch and early dinner – available until 7pm. Last year it added gin and cocktail bar The Attic upstairs and it is now expanding its offering further. Owner Tinny Hopkins told Leicester Market: “The Cookie has grown from a coffee shop into one of the city’s best loved venues over the last ten years. Not just hosting some of the biggest acts in the venue downstairs but also as a regular haunt to enjoy after work drinks and catching up with friends. It was important to us to nurture these new business developments within our venue and it’s fantastic to see the individual ventures doing so well.”

 

Denny’s expecting highest like-for-like sales growth in more than a decade: US restaurant company Denny’s is expecting to end its 2015 financial year with its highest sales growth in more than a decade, with like-for-likes rising 5.8%. The company released the preliminary results in advance of a presentation to Wall Street analysts at the annual ICR conference in Orlando, reports Nation’s Restaurant News. For the December 30 ended fourth quarter, Denny’s said domestic like-for-likes increased 2.9%, including a 2.8% rise for domestic franchised units and 3.5% growth at company locations, marking like-for-like sales increases for 18 of the past 19 quarters. The 5.8% like-for-like sales increase for the year included growth of 5.7% for domestic franchised units and 6.5% for domestic company restaurants, Denny’s said. It was the fifth consecutive year of positive annual like-for-like sales growth. Denny’s president and chief executive John Miller, credited the family-dining company’s brand revitalisation strategies that focused on improving food, service and atmosphere with about 32% of its 1,710 restaurants having been remodelled with the new “Heritage” design.

 

Travelodge plans 19 new hotels in 2016: Budget hotel group Travelodge is to invest £140m to open 19 new hotels this year. This expansion is expected to create 450 new jobs and increase the company’s network to 542 hotels. Travelodge said the new hotels “continue the company’s drive to build a greater network for corporate customers”. In addition to the 2016 openings, the company has identified 250 further locations for Travelodge development in the UK. Chief executive Peter Gowers said: “The value hotel market continues to go from strength to strength, boosted by ever more cost-conscious businesses and the growth in independent leisure travel. To meet the growing demand Travelodge is continuing to invest in upgrading and expanding our network. These 19 new hotels, many with our new bar café restaurants, mark another important step in our drive to deliver greater quality for our customers.” The 19 Travelodge hotels to open in 2016 are: London Belvedere, London Finchley, London Finsbury Park, London Raynes Park, Andover (Hampshire), Bristol Filton, Bicester (Oxfordshire), Chatham (Kent), Derby, East Grinstead (West Sussex), Glasgow Queen Street, Kings Lynn (Norfolk), Peterhead, Poole, Sale (Greater Manchester), Stirling, Stockport, Thetford (Norfolk) and Weston-super-Mare (Somerset).

Nick Batram – Just Eat is delivering growth: Peel Hunt leisure analyst Nick Batram has issued a recommendation of ‘Hold’ on Just East shares after yesterday’s (Tuesday, 12 January) 2015 trading update. He said: “Just Eat continues to perform with 57% order growth in FY15 versus 52% in the prior year and 46% Like-for-likes (50% in FY14). We don’t anticipate making material changes to forecasts at this stage. Today’s release, while light on detail, will keep momentum going and keeps the rating palatable at 53x FY16E earnings per share, which falls to 39x FY17E earnings per share. Our concern remains the long-term robustness of the pricing model. In the short/medium-term we expect the impressive momentum to continue and despite a price-to-earnings of over 50x in FY16, the growth rate (>60%) fully justifies this. Any move to increase UK commissions ahead of expectations will undoubtedly be well received. However, take home and delivery is a fast evolving market and whilst Just Eat faces little threat from aggregator competitors (in markets where it is number one), we do see longer-term challenges. Once the move online has played out, how much added value will Just Eat actually deliver to its restaurant clients?” 

Itinerary unveiled for second Propel and Thinking Drinkers Craft Beer Retail Study Tour: The itinerary has been unveiled for the second Propel and Thinking Drinkers Craft Beer Retail Study Tour. The event, which this year focuses on south London, takes place on Thursday, 28 January and will visit seven of the capital’s leading craft beer retailers in an eight-hour period. It starts at the Four Thieves brewpub in Battersea, owned by Laine Pub Company. The tour will then visit hybrid craft beer and bottle shop We Brought Beer in Clapham Junction, which was founded by former BrewDog employee James Hickson, followed by the Craft Beer Co site in Clapham Manor Street. The next stop will be the Crown & Anchor in Brixton run by London Village Inns before heading to independently operated Stormbird in Camberwell Church Street, which was runner-up in the Timeout Love London Awards in 2015. The tour then continues to Late Knights Brewery’s micro-pub Beer Rebellion in Gypsy Hill and ends at Utobeer’s The Rake in Borough Market. The tour will again be led by Thinking Drinkers, award-winning beer writers Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham, who will provide the latest craft beer facts and figures, market segmentation, analysis and spot up-and-coming trends. The day includes lunch and breakfast and travel between venues by coach. Tickets are £345 for Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) members and £395 for non-ALMR members. To book, email adam.dickinson@propelinfo.com

ALMR National Restaurant Association Study Tour to Chicago opens for bookings: The Propel and Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) 2016 Chicago Study Tour is now open for bookings. The trip, sponsored by CPL Training and Sky, takes place between Thursday, 19 May and Monday, 23 May 2016. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) draws 58,000-plus industry professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries, seeking the newest innovations and up-to-the-minute information about trends and issues. The ALMR trip provides: insights from industry experts on the rise in fast-casual dining, social media, new and emerging brands, menu development, staff management and a host of other issues – with 70 free education sessions at the NRA show. It also involves two tours of Chicago’s hottest concepts and a market overview briefing sessions from US experts. Paul Charity, managing director of Propel Info, said: “The NRA show combined with our tour of Chicago is a fantastic opportunity to find fresh inspiration and understand the emerging trends shaping the fast-changing US market.” To get more information or to book, email jo.charity@propelinfo.com