Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Greene King CEO – Jump in business rates could change shape of industry forever: Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King and chairman of the British Beer and Pub Association, has said that on the back of the budget some landlords “are telling us they just don’t know where they will find the money to pay their bills” and that the decision not to provide the reform of business rates promised could be “the tipping point that changes the shape of the industry forever”. Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: “Landlords desperate for relief from relentless cost pressures watched the budget the week before last with bated breath. They were hoping previous warm words from the chancellor would finally translate into tangible relief and a wholesale rebalancing of costs for the industry. Instead, the budget presented a set of complex changes that left many publicans despairing, questioning how they will stay in business over the coming years. Quite simply, this isn’t the relief or reform we were promised, and it could be the tipping point that changes the shape of the industry forever. In fact, hundreds of our tenants who run their own small pub businesses at the heart of their communities in partnership with us now face an increase of over £6m in rating liability by 2029 – even with the transitional relief being introduced over the next few years. Some of these landlords are telling us they just don’t know where they will find the money to pay their bills. With our sector responsible for millions of jobs and growth in every local economy, it is all the more surprising that this government is unwilling to listen to these home truths and back them. I don’t want this moment to be looked back upon as one in which the government could have stepped in, but has chosen not to. Failing to recognise the value of pubs and the need for support will simply result in more closures. For some, it is already too late to fix the damage done by years of disregard and the assumption that these great British institutions can absorb higher costs. But for others, considering their future business rates bill and asking how they will pay it, I ask the chancellor to urgently look again at the system. She has the ability to provide a 20p multiplier discount or equivalent relief to all pubs which would offer immediate relief and make a material difference.”

Premium Club members to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club subscribers will receive two updated databases this week. The latest Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisee Database will be sent today (Wednesday, 10 December) at 12pm. The database will feature ten new additions plus updates to existing entries. The database now has 280 entries and more than 114,000 words of copy. Among the new entries are Costa Coffee franchisee Leisure Inc Knightsbridge, Black Sheep Coffee franchisee MSP Coffee, JD Wetherspoon franchisee Papa’s Hospitality Group and German Doner Kebab franchisee SB Group. Premium Club subscribers will then receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (12 December), at 12pm. The database will feature 11 new companies and 104 updated accounts. The database now features a total of 1,194 companies, with 746 in profit and 448 making a loss. The Blue Book is updated each month and ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: The New Openings Database, 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 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 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.

Everyman – on track to achieve growth but cuts forecasts: Everyman, the independent, premium cinema group, has said it is on track to “achieve growth across all key metrics” in the year to 1 January 2026, but cut its revenue and Ebitda forecasts for the period. The business said: “As previously reported, the group is operating in a challenging economic environment. Despite these challenges, the group is on track to achieve growth across all key metrics in FY25, including improvements in revenue, Ebitda, F&B spend per head, paid-for average ticket price and market share. However, as widely reported, UK Box Office performance in Q4 FY25 has been weaker than anticipated. As a consequence of this, the board now expects group revenue of no less than £114.5m (FY24: £107.2m) and Ebitda of no less than £16.8m (FY24: £16.2m). Accordingly, net debt is now expected to be approximately £24m at period end (2024: £18.1m). It is worth noting that FY24, as a 53-week period, contained an additional trading week compared to FY25. On a comparable 52-week basis, FY24 revenue would have been £103.8m and Ebitda £15.4m, reflecting further year-on-year growth in these metrics in FY25.” The group expects to release a further trading update for FY25 and amended guidance on its outlook for future years in January 2026. Alex Scrimgeour, chief executive of Everyman, said: “Notwithstanding the industry-wide challenges, to date this has been a year of progress in which we have achieved growth across our core operating metrics, delivering increased revenue, Ebitda and customer spend per head, as well as strong membership growth and expanding market share. The continued growth in customer satisfaction reflects our commitment to delivering the premium experience across our estate, and with our market leading position, we remain confident in the long-term growth opportunity in the premium cinema sector.”

Truss-fronted private club has bold plans – and a mortgage: Former UK prime minister Liz Truss has joined forces with financier Robert Tchenguiz to launch an ultra-exclusive club in London. The club’s publicly touted ambition is to create a “strategic nexus for a global network of pro-growth leaders”. The FT reports that Tchenguiz, who previously owned Laurel Pub Company, which operated the Slug and Lettuce brand, is also planning to use a portion of the club’s proceeds to pay off a debt. He hopes to raise £350m by finding 700 of the world’s most influential business people to invest £500,000 each to become founding members. Tchenguiz plans to use about £130m of that sum to pay off a mortgage on Leconfield House, the office building (and former headquarters of the MI5 security service) in London’s Mayfair from which Tchenguiz has long overseen his property and business empire. The club will be based in the building. On the other side of that loan sit the Reuben brothers, a pair of billionaire property moguls who originally made their fortune in Russia’s metals markets in the 1990s and who refinanced the mortgage in 2023. Of the remaining money, Tchenguiz will use about £70m to complete the purchase of Royal Pavilion, a property in Hampshire that he intends to turn into a “luxurious wellness retreat”; £100m for the Leconfield’s fit-out and the rest for working capital and contingency. The club, which is aiming to have more than 14,000 members, will feature AI to facilitate deals between members by deducing who should work with whom. If the benefits weren’t enough to tempt prospective members, they have each been sent a hefty black box that opens to reveal a screen playing a video with Truss pitching what will be “a nexus of a global network of leaders, of entrepreneurs, of technologists”. One person targeted for membership told the FT: “They have called me so many times.”