Restaurants, pubs and bars urged to consider using covid passports and continuing table-only service: Covid passports could be used in pubs, bars and restaurants as new government guidance for businesses urged their wider rollout. On Wednesday (14 June), ministers published delayed advice for businesses on how to operate when the country moves to step four of the roadmap out of lockdown on Monday (19 July). It said hospitality firms will be encouraged to consider asking customers to show covid passports to enter their premises. The government was accused of widening the net of companies encouraged to use domestic covid passports after prime minister Boris Johnson signalled this week they would be recommended for nightclubs and venues with “large crowds”. Johnson said relevant firms should show “social responsibility” and make use of the NHS covid pass app, which shows proof of double vaccination, a recent negative test or natural immunity, as “a means of entry”. The updated guidance sparked a backlash among Conservative MPs and hospitality bosses after advice specifically for restaurants, pubs, bars, nightclubs and takeaway services encouraged the use of covid passports. The document stated: “Consider the use of the NHS covid pass to reduce the risk of transmission at your venue or event.” It went on to say the government would “work with organisations that operate large, crowded settings (for example, nightclubs) where people are likely to be in close proximity to a large number of those from other households to use the NHS covid pass as a condition of entry”. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the guidance for pubs and restaurants was “disappointing” in the wake of a select committee of MPs and a cabinet office consultation “acknowledging that this was a very difficult thing to implement in a domestic hospitality setting”. She said ministers needed to provide a “whole suite of guidance” to explain how covid passports should work in the sector “for us to decide whether we are willing to adopt this on a voluntary basis”. Predicting few businesses would adopt the measure by Monday, from when the guidance is meant to apply, she said: “I don’t think anybody would be able to introduce this on a voluntary basis from Monday until we have clarification.” She added “more work is needed by the government”, warning there were “real concerns” around equalities legislation, and “practical issues” around the type of testing that qualifies and how businesses should handle customers’ personal health data. The updated government covid guidance for businesses also encourages the continued use of table service in hospitality venues. Restaurants, pubs and bars are also encouraged to keep many of their other covid adaptations including contactless payments, to discourage self-service of food and provide only disposable condiments. Venues should also “encourage the use of outside space where practical”. It comes amid fears that retaining optional measures after legal requirements are scrapped could dent consumer confidence and stifle the economic recovery. A study has found that hospitality and shop workers could be driving the third wave of virus infections as they are 20% less likely to have been vaccinated.

Six of 62 new companies added to second edition of Blue Book for Premium subscribers turning over more than £100m: Six of the 62 new companies added to the updated Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is now available to Premium subscribers, are turning over in excess of £100m. The second edition features a total of 280 companies and provides an overview of the most recent five years, ranking them by turnover and profit conversion. It also shows directors’ earnings over five years and the top-earning director. Total turnover for the 280 companies is £25.8bn. The minimum company turnover included is £4m. The Blue Book is updated each month, with more companies added. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The regular single subscription rate of £395 plus VAT for operators and £495 plus VAT for suppliers remains the same. Premium subscribers also receive access to a second exclusive monthly database, The Propel Multi-Site Database. The updated database of multi-site companies for June included 63 new companies since its previous update in May – making a total of 1,880 listed businesses. Collectively, the 63 new companies operate 565 venues. Subscribers not only received the database as a PDF and an Excel spreadsheet, they were also sent a 10,389-word report on the businesses added during June. Subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of lockdown videos and Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel insights editor Mark Wingett. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to sign up.

Soho House valued at $2.8bn for IPO: Membership Collective Group, the new parent company of Soho House, raised $420m in an initial public offering (IPO) priced at the bottom of a marketed range. The company, which has 30 Soho House clubs in 12 countries, secured a valuation of $2.8bn. The private members’ club group raised $420m through the IPO in the US, selling its stock at $14 a share, at the bottom of the range it had pitched to investors. Founded in 1995 in London’s Soho district as a venue for executives in the creative industries, the group now has about 119,000 members, according to its filings. Membership Collective is majority owned by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Co, which will continue to control the company. Founder and chief executive Nick Jones owns a minority stake, as does board member Richard Caring, who first invested in 2008. The company set aside a portion of its IPO shares for its employees and members in the UK and the US in a scheme it’s calling the “Community Offer”. The business aims to be net profitable by 2022 and is listed in New York because the US accounts for 41% of turnover. According to the FT, the company plans to open houses in Nashville, Portland, and a second in Hollywood by 2024 as well as a ranch in California, a beach house in Palm Springs and a branch of The Ned in New York. It bought US boutique hotel group The Line in June and plans to open a Line hotel in San Francisco next March. The hospitality group said its membership numbers held steady through the pandemic. It retained 92% of Soho House members in the 2020 financial year and received more than 30,000 applications for its membership brands. Revenues in the first quarter of this year totalled $72m, down from $142m in the same period a year earlier. It also reported a net loss of $93m, compared with a $45m loss in 2020. Soho House opened its first site in Greek Street in central London in 1995.

Just Eat Takeaway.com reports UK order growth up 733% in first half, upgrades expectations: Just Eat Takeaway.com has reported delivery order growth in the UK was up 733% in the first half of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020 and has upgraded the business’ expectations. The company stated: “On 15 June 2021, Just Eat Takeaway.com successfully completed the acquisition of Grubhub in the US. The combined business is one of the largest online food delivery marketplaces globally, with very significant growth opportunities in several of the largest profit pools in the world. Given the success of the company’s investment programme in the legacy Just Eat markets, expectations for 2021 have improved and management upgrades its previous guidance of more than 42% order growth for Just Eat Takeaway.com (excluding Grubhub) during 2021 to now more than 45% order growth for the full year. Gross transaction value for the full year 2021 for Just Eat Takeaway.com (including Grubhub) is expected to be in a range of €28bn to €30bn. The company’s efforts in the historically under-invested legacy Just Eat markets have continued to drive growth and win online share. Just Eat gained online share in the UK, including a significant inflection in London with triple-digit order growth in the first half of 2021 compared with the first six months of 2020. Delivery order growth in the UK was 733% in the first half of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020. Just Eat Takeaway.com will continue to invest in growth and prioritise market share over adjusted Ebitda. Management believes that adjusted Ebitda losses peaked in the first half of 2021 and expects its adjusted Ebitda margin to improve going forward, driven by the removal of significant fee caps in the US and Canada, improved unit economics in the company’s delivery network and increasing benefits from the investment programme in the legacy Just Eat markets. As a result, for the full year 2021, management expects Just Eat Takeaway.com (including Grubhub) to generate an adjusted Ebitda margin in a range of minus 1% to minus 1.5% of gross transaction value. This adjusted Ebitda margin includes the significant impact of fee caps and voluntary partner support of approximately €200m in the US and Canada. As previously announced, Just Eat Takeaway.com intends to take a period of time to determine the optimal listing venues for the company’s long-term future. Following the completion of the Grubhub transaction, this review is ongoing and no decisions on the structure of the company’s listing venues are expected prior to FTSE Russell’s semi-annual review of assigned nationality in August 2021. Therefore, it is possible that Just Eat Takeaway.com will cease to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series from the next review decision, expected to be announced on 1 September 2021.” Just Eat takeaway.com chief executive Jitse Groen said: “We have combined Just Eat Takeaway.com and Grubhub into one of the largest online food delivery companies in the world. The new combination grew 51% in terms of orders in the first half year. Adjusted Ebitda losses, mainly caused by US and Canadian fee caps and our investment programme, have now peaked. We therefore expect the company to trend back to profitability going forward while retaining significant growth during the second half of the year.”

Hammerson does not anticipate granting future rent concessions as covid restrictions ease: Hammerson, the landlord of properties including the Bullring and Grand Central in Birmingham, and Bicester Village, Oxfordshire, has become the latest landlord to say it does not anticipate granting future rent concessions as remaining covid-related restrictions are lifted. Earlier this week, British Land said it does not expect to grant further rent concessions to its tenants this quarter as the easing of coronavirus restrictions had boosted their trading. Hammerson stated: “Rent collection rates have continued to improve, with 89% of billable rents collected for FY20, and 68% for the first half of 2021. Initial third-quarter rent collection at 47% is ahead of the first quarter and second quarter at the same point in time, and FY21 year-to-date collection now stands at 62%. We expect all rent collections to continue to improve as remaining covid-related restrictions are lifted. We do not anticipate granting future concessions and all avenues to collect rents due are being pursued. Footfall trends in all territories remain encouraging, with seven-day averages currently sitting at about 70% to 80% of 2019 levels, following an initial spike on reopening. Many retailers continue to report high sales and conversion rates as visitors shop with purpose. These trends have been particularly positive in France during the first few days of the summer sales period.”

PureGym mulls float: Britain’s biggest gym chain is mulling a stock market listing to accelerate its growth, reports The Times. In an update to bondholders, PureGym said it was “in the early stages of considering options for potentially raising equity, including in the public markets” and was “working closely” with Leonard Green & Partners, its US private equity backer, to “review strategic options”. The group said it was “well positioned to take advantage of post-pandemic recovery” as well as “opportunities presented by competition weakened by the rigours of the past 18 months”, and it hoped to both open new sites and invest in existing ones. PureGym, which was launched in 2009, runs 283 clubs across the UK. Just before the pandemic, the group acquired Denmark’s Fitness World – which also has a presence in Switzerland and Poland – for about £350m. The last time the group considered an initial public offering was in 2016, when it pulled a £500m-plus flotation amid Brexit-related jitters. A year later, Leonard Green stepped in with a £600m takeover. PureGym said that UK memberships had recovered to 97% of their December 2019 level. Total visits during the month of June on a like-for-like basis in the UK were at 91% of the same month two years ago.

Everyman appoints Maggie Todd as new non-executive director: Cinema operator Everyman has announced the appointment of Maggie Todd to its board as an independent non-executive director, with immediate effect. Todd joins the 35-strong Everyman from the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures European marketing leadership team where she most recently held the role of vice president of communications for 12 years. At Disney, Todd was responsible for managing and executing communications strategies for every major Disney launch in the UK and Europe since 2008. Everyman stated: “She is adept at building and maintaining senior stakeholder relationships and has a passion for working with creative talent to design immersive experiences that drive consumer engagement. As the co-executive sponsor of women at Disney, and a key diversity and inclusion mentor, Maggie demonstrated her commitment to supporting and empowering women whilst working at the company. In addition to Disney, Maggie has experience at 20th Century Fox, in the music industry and has delivered campaigns for BAFTA, AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) Awards and world-renowned European film festivals.” Everyman chairman Paul Wise said: “Maggie’s wealth of experience working with Disney and its associated brands, both in Europe and LA, as well as her deep industry knowledge will be very valuable to the business going forwards.”