Revolution Bars Group Christmas lfls up 9%, to close eight sites: Revolution Bars Group, the operator of the Revolution, Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands, has announced that eight of its least profitable bars will close to reduce future site losses. It comes as the company reported that its group like-for-like sales for the four weeks from 4 to 31 December 2023 were up 9%. The business said its Revolución de Cuba sites and Peach Pubs performed well over the festive period, but while its Revolution brand traded positively on a like-for-like basis over the four weeks, its guests continue to be disproportionately impacted by the current macro-economic conditions. It said group like-for-like sales for the first half, including New Year’s Eve, continued to demonstrate an improving trend but remained negative at -2.8%. It said: “While the group delivered a strong festive trading period, the macroeconomic trading environment continued to be challenging, and the prospect of the statutory 10.8% increase in the national living wage in April 2024 increases the challenge.” The company said that as part of its constant process of reviewing its estate, it has been decided that eight of the the group’s least profitable bars will be closed to reduce future site losses. The closed bars are: Revolution Bars in Beaconsfield, Derby, Reading, St Peters Liverpool and Wilmslow; Revolución de Cubas in Sheffield and Southampton; and the Playhouse in Newcastle under Lyme. Negotiations for five of the eight bars had already begun for them to be transferred to other operators or their leases rescinded. The group is currently working through redeployment plans to enable those team members affected to be offered alternative employment elsewhere in the business. It will continue to operate 58 bars and 22 pubs. As at 4 January 2024, the group’s net debt was £18.3m, below that reported in July 2023. Rob Pitcher, chief executive of Revolution Bars Group, said: “We have had the best festive trading period for four years with all of our brands recording positive like for like sales and Revolución de Cuba being the standout performer. However, our younger customers are still feeling the disproportionate effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the national living wage will increase materially in April 2024. Therefore, we have taken the difficult yet ultimately beneficial step for the group to close several bars which are unprofitable. Our teams do a terrific job in making guests welcome and giving them a great experience and again we have demonstrated that when our customer base can afford to do so, they are choosing to celebrate with us, and we have delivered record levels of guest satisfaction. This should bode well for the future.” Earlier this week, Propel revealed that a Dubai-based investor, who became the largest shareholder in Revolution Bars Group at the end of last year, had further upped his stake in the business. Eldose Babu took his shareholding in the business from just over 15.3% to 16.2%. Prior to the end of the year, Babu had lifted his stake in the company from 7% to more than 12% in just a few weeks, to become the company’s biggest shareholder. Babu came to attention last October when he acquired a 3.2% stake in Saga, becoming one of the top three shareholders in the British holiday group. In October, Pitcher told Propel that Revolution Bars Group was focused on operating prudently over the next 12-18 months while the cost-of-living crisis “hopefully abates”. Revolution Bars features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £140,821,000 for the year ending 2 July 2022 is the 70th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

 

Propel’s Multi-Site Database improved for 2024 with unique segmentation: Propel’s leading database, the Multi Site Database, which provides the details of more than 3,000 multi-site operators, has been redesigned so Premium subscribers will be able to search the data segmented into key industry sectors. This new straightforward segmentation will allow users to search quickly in key categories such as Pubs and Bars, Cafe Bakery, QSR, Casual Dining, Fine Dining, Hotel and Experiential Leisure. Subscribers will be able to drill down into the details and updates for these specific areas – so, for example, the circa 640 multi-site operators in the Pubs and Bars sector and 150 operators in the Experiential Leisure area can be examined in a stand-alone format. This new functionality will be available later this month when the latest Multi-Site Database is released on Friday, 26 January at midday. An updated Multi-Site Database is published every month, with an average of 50 or so companies added each month. Phil Pemberton, Propel’s director of premium services, said: “The new ability to segment this vital information is unique to the industry and is an element that our Premium subscribers requested. It will provide even more clarity and search capability to each segment of the sector.” A Propel Premium subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up. The Premium subscription service currently has more than 4,000 subscribers.

 

McDonald’s – Middle East boycott leading to ‘meaningful’ hit to business: McDonald’s has said it was seeing a “meaningful” hit to business as customers in the Middle East and elsewhere boycott the firm for its perceived support of Israel. Chief executive Chris Kempczinski acknowledged the impact in a social media post blaming the backlash on “misinformation”. He is the second boss of a major US firm to address the business toll sparked by Israel-Gaza war tension, with Starbucks also affected, reports the BBC. “Several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s,” Mr Kempczinski wrote in the message. “This is disheartening and ill-founded. In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators.” McDonald’s relies on thousands of franchisees to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the world, with about 5% located in the Middle East. The brand was caught up in the conflict in the region when McDonald’s Israel said it had given away thousands of free meals to members of the Israeli military. This prompted owners in Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan to put out statements distancing themselves. The post from Kempczinski comes as tensions over the boycotts have escalated in recent days. The pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which had not formally targeted McDonald’s, this week officially called for a boycott of the brand. This after McDonald’s Malaysia, which is backed by a Saudi firm, sued the Malaysia BDS group for $1.3m (£1m), citing “false and defamatory statements” that it said had hurt its business. BDS said McDonald’s should cut ties with its franchisee in Israel – and also in Malaysia, unless it dropped the lawsuit. McDonald’s declined to comment on the lawsuit, instead referring back to Kempczinski’s post. In his message, Kempczinski added: “We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone.”

Goring Hotel owner reports profit and turnover boost following return of international visitors to London and strong uplift in average room rates: The owner of the Goring Hotel in London’s Belgravia has reported a boost in profit and turnover in the year to 31 March 2023 following the return of international visitors to London and a strong uplift in average room rates. Goring Holdings, which also operates The Chapel in Cornwall and Villa Iduzkia in France, saw its pre-tax profit climb from £600,577 in 2022 to £4,112,483. Revenue grew from £10,710,080 to £17,593,451, with £17,412,758 coming from UK operations (2022: £10,595,844) and £180,693 from France (2022: £114,236). The business also received an exceptional item payment of £1,426,688 in relation to the redevelopment of Grosvenor Gardens House, adjacent to the Goring Hotel. Director Jeremy Goring said: “We experienced a strong return of international visitors to London. The London luxury hospitality market experienced a strong uplift in average room rates, and as a result of this shift in market pricing, we experienced an unprecedented spike in revenues, exceeding our pre-covid trade. Having considered the post-pandemic spike in market conditions and resultant trade and profitability during this financial year, despite the cost pressures experienced across all areas of the group, the directors are satisfied with the results. We are satisfied the company is in a strong position to continue its journey in the 2023-24 financial year and beyond. London experienced a continuation of the strong average room rates over the summer season of 2023, and as a result we have seen trade exceed the same period last year. We do, however, anticipate trade to slow down over the coming months. Despite this, we are still expecting the group to return a profit for the year ended March 2024.”

Bloc Hotels returns to profit following record turnover: Bloc Hotels, which operates hotels at Gatwick airport and in the St Paul’s area of Birmingham, returned to profit after reporting record turnover in the year to 31 March 2023. A pre-tax loss of £450,896 in 2022 turned into a profit of £2,194,702 as turnover grew from £2,761,933 to £11,582,084. It received no government grants (2022: £245,170) but did gain an insurance pay out of £186,540 (2022: nil). No dividends were paid (2022: nil). Director Robert Morgan said: “During the period under review the Gatwick hotel reached occupancy levels of up to 97% and an average of 81% for the financial year. Although occupancy was below pre-covid levels, revenue exceeded the financial year ended March 2020 (i.e. pre-covid) through higher average daily room rates (ADR). Turnover for period was £9.3m, which compared favourably with the last full year prior to covid to March 2020 of £7.4m. The directors are satisfied with the performance during the year especially given being the first full year of trading following the reopening of the Gatwick Airport South Terminal. For the operating days of the hotel in the reporting period, occupancy was below the equivalent dates in the period ending 31 March 2020 (83.5% vers 99.7%), while ADR improved significantly by 47%, as a result RevPAR increased by 23%. During the period under review, the Birmingham hotel achieved an average occupancy of 77% for the financial year, this was above the 66% achieved in the financial year ended March 2020 (i.e. pre-covid). Turnover for period was £2.4m, which compared favourably with the last full year prior to covid to March 2020 of £1.6m. The directors are satisfied with the performance during the year following the impact of covid in prior periods. For the operating days of the hotel in the reporting period, occupancy was ahead the equivalent dates in the period ending 31 March 2020 (76.6% versus 66.2%), ADR also improved against pre covid levels by 28.7%, as a result RevPar increased by 48.8%.”

Bristol pub sells out Sunday roast bookings for 2024 in just two hours after clearing four-year waiting list: A pub selling Britain’s most popular Sunday roast sold out for the whole of 2024 in only two hours – having just cleared its massive four-year waiting list. The Bank Tavern in Bristol, located in John Street since the 1800s, reopened bookings for its Sunday lunch after clearing a four-year waiting list last year. It opened spots for tables at 10am on New Year’s Day for the year and all dates were filled by midday, reports The Daily Mail. The pub has just seven tables with space for up to 40 diners. Sharing the news on Instagram, The Bank Tavern team said: “Tables sold out quicker than we could have imagined”. It later added: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who supports us and wants to come in for a Sunday roast. We didn’t expect bookings to sell out quite as quickly as they did. Thank you all for the continued love for our little boozer.” The Bank Tavern had to stop taking new reservations in 2019 after winning the Observer Food Monthly Awards – turning a six-month waiting list to four years as demand became unmanageable. When the covid pandemic hit in 2020, some bookings across two years were missed and cancellations were offered to those who missed out. A three-course meal in the pub, including its Sunday roast with all the trimmings, costs £27.99. It is owned by Sam Gregory, who grew up in Plymouth and worked there as a barman while a student at the University of West England before becoming its landlord.