Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Premium Club subscribers to receive new searchable and segmented New Openings Database on Friday: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club subscribers on Friday (4 July), at noon. The database will show the details of 153 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. The database 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 subscribers will also receive a 9,983-word report on the 153 new additions to the database. The database is segmented into seven categories – cafe bakery, casual dining, experiential leisure, fine dining, hotels, pubs and bars, and quick service restaurants – making it even easier for users to search. The database includes new openings in the pub and bar sector such as The Ragged Robin in Godalming in Surrey from the Heartwood Collection, Liverpool operator Pub Invest Group’s Temple Tavern, and Kapital Beer Hall & Restaurant, from Sheffield brewer and retailer Two Thirds Beer Co. Premium Club subscribers 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 Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Operational Excellence Conference this month and discounts on specialist sector reports. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers 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 subscribers 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 subscribers 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.

Dry weather pushes up UK food inflation as harvests suffer: UK food inflation has risen to the highest rate in more than a year as dry weather hits fruit and vegetable harvests and pushes up prices, according to industry data. The annual rate of food inflation was 3.7% in June, up from 2.8% in May and the highest since March 2024, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, told The FT: “In the UK, fruit and vegetable prices increased due to the hot, dry weather, reducing harvest yields,” while prices of meat “have been impacted by high wholesale prices and more expensive labour costs”. The Met Office reported that this spring was the warmest and sunniest spring for the UK on record. This has been a mixed blessing for farmers – early sun and heat in the spring boosted yields of some fresh produce like strawberries and tomatoes, but a lack of rainfall has stressed arable crops such as wheat and barley. “From a UK point of view we’ve had huge pressure on outdoor production, and within Europe particularly there have been extremes of weather again, so cumulatively that adds up to cost pressures in the supply chain,” said Nigel Jenney, chief executive of trade group the Fresh Produce Consortium. The BRC’s Dickinson said retailers had warned of price rises for consumers, citing higher employer national insurance contributions and national living wage costs introduced in April, along with mounting geopolitical tensions and the effects of climate change. “Within three months of the costs imposed by last autumn’s Budget kicking in, headline shop prices have returned to inflation for the first time in close to a year,” she said.

Bosses losing confidence as budget bites: Confidence levels at British businesses have lost half the gains made since last November as a result of the tax increases in Rachel Reeves’ budget and global uncertainty. The Times reports that the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) economic confidence index, which measures business leaders’ optimism about the British economy, fell to -53 in June, down from -35 in May. This marks a significant drop, reversing much of the progress made over the previous seven months. Confidence in individual businesses also declined, according to the IoD. The index tracking sentiment in respondents’ own organisations slipped to +3 in June, compared with +15 in May. Anna Leach, chief economist at the IoD, said: “It is disappointing to see the confidence of UK business leaders in the economy dropping back again this month. Business leaders are finding economic conditions increasingly challenging, both as autumn budget tax measures take effect – particularly changes to national insurance, and business and agricultural property relief – and from ever-increasing global uncertainty. While the recently launched strategies from the government tick many boxes, the message coming through is that the tax increases unleashed on business have already undermined the industrial strategy’s ambition ‘to make the UK the best country to invest anywhere in the world’.” The IoD’s survey revealed further pressures across a range of indicators. Investment intentions turned negative in June, falling to -10, down from zero in May. Revenue expectations also slipped, dropping to +8 from +18 the previous month. Export expectations fell to +4, compared with +9 in May. Businesses’ expectations for headcount declined notably, reaching -10 from -1. Cost expectations eased slightly to +81 in June, down from +83, while wage expectations also fell, from +45 to +40.

Trejo’s Tacos closes crowdfunding campaign: Trejo’s Tacos UK, which holds the licence here for the US taco brand from actor Danny Trejo, has closed its crowdfunding campaign after raising £670,055 from 306 investors on Crowdcube. Following the opening of its flagship restaurant in Notting Hill, which has generated more than £1m in turnover in the last 12 months, the company is looking to add further locations to its portfolio. The new funding will be used to secure the new sites and to support design, fit-out costs, franchise support, tech systems and head office operations. Trejo’s Tacos is already backed by prominent investors such as Julian Mylchreest, executive vice chairman of the Bank of America, and Tom Gordon, chief executive and founder of Slim Chickens. The UK company, which is led by Jerome Armit and Sean O’Kelly, opened the debut site here for the brand last year, in London’s Notting Hill. Armit is former chief operating officer of food and beverage consultancy firm Truffle Hunting and advisor to Shiva Hotels, Bourne Capital and InterContinental Hotels Group, while O’Kelly is a film producer and financier. Trejo’s Tacos operates seven restaurants in the US, including Trejo’s Coffee and Donuts.

Stack gets green light for Seaburn plans: Leisure venue operator Stack, which operates mixed-use sites known for their fusion of bars, live entertainment and leisure activities, has secured approval to make its site on Sunderland seafront a permanent fixture. The container village entertainment hub has welcomed three million visitors since it opened in 2020, with initial plans for it to remain on site until 2027. Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highway Committee has now given its approval for Stack Seaburn to remain – and given a green light to its expansion plans. Phase two will include the creation of Sideshow, Stack’s competitive socialising gaming concept, which was first introduced at Stack Lincoln. This carnival themed area will offer interactive shuffleboard and darts, karaoke booths, bowling, beer pong and pool tables on the ground floor with a first-floor function room. It will add to the existing range of street food outlets and bars at Stack Seaburn, which regularly welcomes 50,000 visitors of all ages on a weekly basis. Neill Winch, chief executive of Stack, said: “Sunderland seafront is a huge asset to the area and the region as a whole and has always had a great deal to offer both local residents and visitors. Being able to retain Stack Seaburn and to expand our offering will make it even more attractive to everyone, which is not just good for us but for the local economy as a whole. We look forward to being able to start work.”

Music tourists drum up £10bn: Performances by Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and Bruce Springsteen helped to lure a record 23.5 million music tourists to concerts and festivals in the UK last year. The Times reports that according to UK Music, the trade body, they spent a record £10bn in 2024, up from a total of £8bn in 2023. Of the 23.5 million total, 21.9 million were British music tourists from the UK, an increase of 21% year on year, while 1.6 million visitors were from overseas, an increase of 62% from one million in 2023. Swift’s Eras Tour helped to drive the 2024 figures to record highs, though Charli XCX, who had a breakthrough year with her album Brat, performed at a number of arenas for the first time last year. Dua Lipa played at Glastonbury and in London. Sam Fender, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and concerts by a number of other popular artists, such as Springsteen, also helped the music industry achieve record sales last year.

Vegan burgers that bleed like meat hit by ‘frustrating’ red tape delays: Vegan burgers that “bleed” like meat have been blocked from being introduced in Britain for four years because of delays and red tape. The Telegraph reports that Impossible Foods, the Silicon Valley-headquartered company behind the plant-based burger, first applied to launch it in Britain in 2021. However, its chief executive, Peter McGuinness, said the process had now dragged on for four years, preventing the company from being able to sell its burgers in the UK. He said: “We’re ready to contribute to the UK economy and be good citizens and put better options out there for the UK consumer that we know they want, and we are a bit frustrated with how long the process has taken. It’s been frustrating – our team tells us that [the Food Standards Agency] has more information than any other regulator in the world on this ingredient.” Impossible was given permission to sell its burgers in the US by American regulators in 2018, and is close to gaining approval to sell them in the EU. McGuinness said: “A few years is a long time – we’ve had it approved everywhere else.” Founded in California by a Stanford University professor in 2011, Impossible shot to fame in the years that followed, owing to its proprietary ingredient which gave its burgers an edge over rivals. However, its plans to expand in Britain come following a slump in the plant-based foods market. Vegan products have seen their sales decline after an initial explosion, which has been blamed on concerns over excess processing and high prices.