Propel Morning Briefing Mast HeadAccess Banner  
Propel Morning Briefing Mast Head Propel's LinkedIn LinkPaul's Twitter Link Paul's X Link

Opus Apeiro Banner
Morning Briefing for pub, restaurant and food wervice operators

Mon 2nd Sep 2024 - Clive Watson launches leisure cricket venture
Clive Watson launches leisure cricket venture: Clive Watson, co-founder of Capital Pub Company and City Pub Company, is launching Sixes Growth, an innovative leisure cricket venture. As chairman, Watson joins forces with fellow co-founders – former cricketer David Nash and his brother Glen, and Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar. David Nash, a former Middlesex county and England “A” cricket player, co-founded D&G Group with Glen. D&G Group is a sports and entertainment hospitality company and was acquired by Pitch International in early 2023. An entirely new company, Sixes Growth builds on the success of Sixes Indoor Cricket, “blending cricket with technology-driven competitive socialising, dining, and hospitality”. After raising £1.5m in seed funding from family and friends, the group aims to secure £10m over the next 18-24 months to fund its nationwide expansion. It has already acquired its first site at Headingley, Leeds, which is located 300m from the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Sixes Growth plans to open ten sites by 2026 in cities like Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Southampton and Brighton. While Sixes Growth will share similarities with its predecessor, it will also establish its own identity, “targeting a diverse audience with a premium sports-led entertainment concept”. The venture will offer immersive indoor cricket, VIP and corporate hospitality, premium drinks, and pop-up dining experiences led by Michelin-starred chefs, alongside exclusive sporting events. Sixes Growth will be managed by the existing Sixes team led by chief executive Calum Mackinnon and chief operating officer Andy Waugh. Sixes Growth will “benefit from established systems, suppliers, and marketing infrastructure”. The venture seeks to raise the new equity under the enterprise investment scheme (EIS), following Watson’s successful track record with Capital Pub Company and City Pub Company. An AIM flotation is planned for early 2028. Watson said: “As a huge cricket lover, I am bowled over by the potential of Sixes Growth and believe we have an exciting opportunity to build a leading experiential, sports-led entertainment business focussed on our great game. The combined skills of the founding team are unrivalled and we have created a corporate structure that enables our fellow investors to leverage that knowledge, sporting prowess and a proven business track record of delivery, to realise the most from their investment and share in the future success of the group.” Watson is a well-known figure in the pubs sector, having made his name as finance director of Regent Inns. His most recent ventures, Capital Pub Company and City Pub Group, expanded with EIS before being sold to rivals. Capital was sold to Greene King in 2011 for £93m, while City Pub Company was sold to Young’s in March this year for £162m. A new report produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector was launched on 1 August. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report is available for £595 plus VAT although Premium Club members can receive the report for £395 plus VAT. The report will be made available for free to existing Premium members on Tuesday, 10 September at 9am. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to order a copy.

Premium Club members to receive new searchable and segmented New Openings Database this week: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club members on Friday, 6 September. The database will show the details of 240 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club members will also receive a 11,881-word report on the 268 new additions to the database. The database includes new openings in the casual dining sector such as the all-day, neighbourhood concept, Megan’sBill’s, opening two new sites; and award-winning chef Aiden Byrne’s Li-Ly. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the Multi-site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Talent and Training Conference (1 October), Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club 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 Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.
 
Escape Hunt and Boom operator reports volume-driven like-for-like growth in ‘positive’ start to new financial year: XP Factory, which operates the Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar brands, has reported a “positive” start to its new financial year with both brands delivering volume-driven like-for-like growth. Like-for-like sales across the Boom owner operated sites were up 1.9% in the 20 weeks to 18 August and by 1.5% across the Escape Hunt owner operated estate. Three Escape Hunt sites and one Boom are currently in build stage, “with a developed pipeline underpinning site roll-out targets for the year”. XP Factory has also received credit approval for a new £10m revolving credit facility from Barclays. The company stated: “Trading since the start of the financial year to March 2025 has been positive, with both brands delivering positive volume-driven like-for-like growth. While the rate of growth has slowed compared with the same period a year ago, the change reflects the gradual maturing of the estates. Both businesses have maintained margins while absorbing significant further labour cost increases, driven by the increases to minimum living wage levels and our desire to continue to pay a premium to attract talent. While the summer uplift in sales in July and August was modest, forward bookings for the end of year peak are well ahead in comparison with previous years providing confidence for the coming months. Our recently approved banking facility is a strong endorsement of the progress made within the group and provides us with flexibility to roll out new sites in line with our strategy and the potential to accelerate our plans as we secure new sites. With the anticipation of further interest rate cuts on the horizon and a materially lower inflation rate which is now being outstripped by labour inflation, we believe there is scope for improving consumer confidence underpinning optimism in our sector and we view the future with growing confidence.” Acquisitions of further Boom franchise sites in Wandsworth and Aldgate in London were completed in May 2024 and Bournemouth in June 2024. It comes as the group reported revenue for the 15 months to 31 March 2024 increased to £57.3m (12 months 2022: £22.8m) “demonstrating the significant growth in scale”. Escape Hunt owner operated site revenue increased to £16.7m (2022: £9.8m). Boom owner operated revenue increased to £37.5m (2022: £9.5m). Franchise revenue was £3.1m (2022: £3.6m). Like-for-like sales were up 22.4% at Boom owner operated sites and 16.9% in Escape Hunt during the period. Gross margin increased slightly to 64.6% (2022: 64.4%). Group adjusted Ebitda rose to £9.9m (2022: £4.0m). The group generated an operating profit of £1.9m (2022: loss £4.9m). Chief executive Richard Harpham said: “Our focus on incremental improvements alongside ongoing expansion in the estate has helped deliver market leading returns on investment in both our brands and strong operating cash generation. Since the period end, we have continued to see positive like-for-like growth and performances well ahead of the industry as a whole. With record advance bookings for the busy end of year season and improving consumer sentiment, the board’s expectations for the full year are unchanged and we continue to view the prospects for the business with optimism.”
 
Large fines for businesses that break new workers’ rights laws: Businesses face paying thousands of pounds in fines if they do not uphold new protections for employees introduced by Labour as part of its overhaul of workers’ rights. The Times has been told ministers are considering a warning system which would allow companies to make improvements before being hit with fines. But business leaders have called for small businesses to be exempt from any financial sanctions to prevent government “overreach” that would damage economic growth. The sanctions regime will be overseen by a new Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will bring together existing watchdogs into a single enforcement body for workers’ rights. However, Craig Beaumont, from the Federation of Small Businesses, feared the government was focusing too much on large corporations and said ministers should exempt smaller firms from any fines. It is understood ministers are still debating at what level financial penalties should be set, but they are likely to be in the lower thousands due to worries that any “punitive” levels would impact business confidence. Currently six bodies plus local councils can enforce working regulations, overseen and funded by seven government departments. Some of these can impose fines but only in specific circumstances, and a report by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank, found that the sanctions regime was “fragmented” with “financial penalties too low to act as a meaningful deterrent”. The creation of the FWA is part of a package of reforms to rights for workers which will also include a ban on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, granting day-one rights, after probation, on sick leave and unfair dismissal, and allowing employees to apply for flexible working with a presumption to approve the request. It will also create a right to switch off, through a code of conduct between bosses and employees over when they should be expected to be contacted about work. The plans to boost workers’ rights has also led to fears for the future of fish and chip shops, which are already under pressure due to high energy costs and poor potato harvests driving up prices for customers. Andrew Crook, who has run Skippers in Euxton, Lancashire, for 17 years and is president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, has written to business secretary Jonathan Reynolds warning the “odds are stacked against” fish and chip shops. Crook is expanding with another outlet called Oh My Cod in nearby Coppull, but says many of his fellow owners are in despair. Crook called for “common sense” from Labour on workers’ rights, and told The Mail: “You’ve got to protect employees from bad employers. But you also have to protect employers from bad employees.”

Return to Archive Click Here to Return to the Archive Listing
 
Punch Taverns Link
Return to Archive Click Here to Return to the Archive Listing
Propel Premium
 
Square Kiosk Banner
 
Testo Banner
 
Tevalis Banner
 
Tenzo Banner
 
Nutritics Banner
 
Contract Furniture Group Banner
 
Nory Banner
 
Tenzo Banner
 
Access Banner
 
Propel Banner
 
Purple Story Banner
 
HGEM Banner
 
Zonal Banner
 
Christie & Co Banner
 
Sideways Banner
 
Venners Banner
 
Airship – Toggle Banner
 
Wireless Social Banner
 
Startle Banner
 
Deliverect Banner
 
CACI Banner
 
Meaningful Vision Banner
 
Growth Kitchen Banner
 
Zonal Banner
 
McCain Banner