Exclusive – new sector acquisitions vehicle featuring Justin King planning listing: Epicurean Endeavours, a newly formed hospitality and leisure acquisitions vehicle, which is being backed and advised by former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King, is planning to raise an initial £15m through a market listing later this summer, Propel has learned. The new vehicle, which is being led by Andrew Fishwick, executive chair of sector consultancy firm Salt, and Handley Amos, formerly of Nando’s, Benugo, Rossopomodoro and Creams Cafe, is intending to seek admission of the company's ordinary shares to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Admission is likely to take place in September. The group plans to raise funds to facilitate “strategic acquisitions or investments of businesses across the high potential hospitality and leisure sectors predominantly within the UK, US and EMEA, and to generate long-term capital growth for investors by doing so”. Epicurean Endeavours said it aims to capitalise on selected opportunities by acquiring entire or controlling interests in target businesses and improving their performance by “creating and implementing operating strategy, driving operational improvements, and leveraging the skills and experience of its management team”. It said it had identified a number of potential targets across the international hospitality and leisure sectors, ranging from wellness brands, restaurant and cafe groups and bakeries, to emerging food and beverage concepts. King, who is currently a non-executive director at Marks & Spencer, is joining the venture as special advisor to the board as well as a “significant cornerstone investor”. Fishwick said: “We believe there are significant opportunities across the international hospitality and leisure sectors to acquire underperforming but fundamentally strong businesses and brands in attractive markets and improve their performances by implementing enhanced operational strategies and creating synergies. The covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the acquisition opportunities available to Epicurean Endeavours and we intend to seize this opportunity to build a leading leisure and hospitality group.” For the past 18 months Fishwick has worked alongside Amos in building The Pepper Collective, which supports emerging and established talent across the hospitality industry. The business also includes Matthew Dean, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the London private equity market, as its head of M&A. 

Covid passports planned in time for England’s autumn wave: Covid-19 certificates will be required for customers to enter bars, restaurants and nightclubs under plans to tackle a fourth wave of the virus in a move that experts hope will boost jab rates among the young. According to The Times, entertainment venues in England would be forced to make customers use so-called vaccination passports from autumn, to prove they had either had both doses or a negative test the day before. Recent figures have shown a reduction in the take-up of vaccines with first doses halving in two weeks. Fewer than 100,000 a day are being given out on average for the first time since April. Government sources said it had been decided not to force covid-19 certificates to be used as part of the easing of restrictions this month because it would discriminate against younger people who had not had their second jab. There were also concerns it could have hit the so-called “spontaneous economy” with people being turned away from businesses because they could not prove a negative test result. However, by mid-September ministers say all over-18s will have had the chance to have both jabs and officials believe vaccination passports could be mandated for use in premises where social distancing is not possible. A Downing Street source said: “In autumn, vaccine passports could become an important tool that will allow us to keep things open.” Another government figure added: “If we can show real benefits of getting vaccinated in terms of everyday life then it could be quite a useful tool.”