Pubs urge ministers to call time on unfair business rates system: A pledge to provide a £300m support package for pubs hit by a surge in property tax has led to demands for an overhaul of the “flawed” way the industry’s bills are calculated. The Treasury is poised to announce help for pubs hit by soaring business rates bills after a backlash over post-Budget rises. Many operators fear the rises could leave them on the brink of insolvency. The climbdown is bringing fresh scrutiny to the unusual way pubs’ business rates bills are calculated, with many in the industry calling for an overhaul amid warnings the current approach does not reflect “economic reality”. Pubs have been left facing increases in their rates of more than 100% in some cases as a result of the unwinding of industry support and property revaluations. Ministers are being urged to go beyond an expected increase in the discount the sector receives on its rates bills as they consider what form the support package should take. Rather than being based on an estimate of the average annual market rent on the valuation date, as bills for shops and offices and many other properties are, pubs’ bills are linked to what is called “fair maintainable trade”. This valuation method is based on an analysis of expected trading performance, taking into account factors such as the type of pub, turnover of pubs in the locale and services offered. The problem with this approach, critics said, is it can leave rates bills becoming increasingly divorced from the economic reality of running a pub, particularly in an era when costs have soared and drinking habits have changed. Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of brewer and retailer Greene King, told The Times any changes from the government’s forthcoming intervention “must now fix the fundamental unfairness of the business rates system”. Mackenzie has supported calls for a more straightforward profit-based valuation system. He said increasing the 5p-in-the-pound discount on the business rates “multiplier”, which helps set bills, to 20p, or a 30% relief for pubs would be an “immediate first step” towards addressing this; but he urged that in the longer term pubs’ rateable values should be reviewed “and made more equitable, reflecting the cost-intensive nature of our industry”. The British Beer & Pub Association said the most recent rates revaluation and “eye-watering increases pubs have seen makes it even more apparent” that the way rates are calculated “needs reviewing, especially as pubs were already paying disproportionately higher rates relative to their turnover compared with other sectors”. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure to extend the planned U-turn on the decision to scrap business-rate relief for hospitality venues to other kinds of businesses after warnings that the changes made in her November Budget may wreak havoc on high streets across the country. Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yo! and an investor on the first BBC series of Dragons’ Den, told Times Radio that the country was “heading towards a cliff edge” and there needed to be a “radical change in how we are taxed”.
Propel 500 report – chicken shop segment as leading openings in fast food: The chicken shop segment led openings in fast food in 2025, according to Maria Vanifatova, chief executive and founder of Meaningful Vision. Writing in Propel 500 – 2026, the sector-leading report covering the top 500 hospitality companies in the UK, Vanifatova said the segment showed 6.4% growth on the year in site numbers. Looking ahead, Vanifatova expects new openings to continue to support traffic growth for fast-food brands, with chicken concepts, bakeries and coffee shops still having room for expansion. Vanifatova said: “In 2025, the growth areas were premium fast-food and fast casual restaurants, which benefited from consumer downshifting. This trend will continue in 2026.”
Propel 500 – 2026 is available free to Premium Club subscribers. The report is available to non-Premium Club subscribers for £595 plus VAT. 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.
Wildwood operator Bow Street Group in discussions with several potential acquisition targets, trading ‘stabilises’, introduces new targeted incentive schemes for staff: Wildwood operator Bow Street Group has revealed it is in discussions with several potential acquisition targets spanning European and Asian cuisine as it reported trading has “stabilised”. The company has also introduced new targeted incentive schemes for the group’s employees and will trial a new menu design. In a trading update for the year ended 28 December 2025, the group stated: “The company has experienced a year of relative calm after several years of post-covid disruption and turmoil. Trading stabilised during the final quarter of the financial year and the group’s restaurants had a successful four weeks in the run up to Christmas, with some restaurants experiencing record trading. Group revenue for the four weeks ended 28 December 2025 rose by more than 1.3% on a like-for-like basis, and this was an encouraging end to the year. The company expects to report FY25 results in line with current market expectations. In September 2025, £10.1m of new funds (before expenses) were raised and David Page was appointed as executive chairman and Nick Wong was appointed as chief financial officer. The company was also renamed Bow Street Group, which completed the trio of a new name, a recapitalised balance sheet and a revitalised team. A comprehensive review of the group’s estate immediately commenced following the fundraising and more than 280 work streams have been set up to improve performance in all areas of the business. The company expects to realise the benefits of this review in the coming year. The current estate has a mixture of long leases and short/very short leases and each restaurant will be judged on its merits and performance. Further to the review outlined above, an agreement has been reached in connection with the lease at Gerrards Cross, which has been assigned to the landlord for a substantial premium. This restaurant was marginally profitable at the Ebitda level (before rent amortisation) and would have required an outlay in excess of £150,000 to refurbish. The net result for the group is a major positive in cash terms. The company is also introducing new targeted incentive schemes for the group’s employees and a share option scheme over approximately 200 million ordinary shares for 105 team members (including the executive directors) was instituted in December 2025. Looking forward to 2026, refurbishments of an initial six restaurants are underway; a new menu design will be trialled in February 2026; and new dishes are being launched across the estate. The investments and new menus will help the group adapt to the increases in national minimum wage and business rates from April 2026. The early trading performance of, and customer growth at, the refurbished restaurants such as York, Ely and Billericay has been encouraging. The group is in positive discussions with several potential acquisition targets and will update on the progress of these negotiations in due course.” Page said: “2025 was an important year for the group as we completed a fundraise that will enable Bow Street to execute a revised strategy to create shareholder value based on improving the performance of the estate and delivering acquisitions of exciting and scalable restaurant brands. During recent months we have conducted a thorough review of the group’s operations and have identified a number of areas for improvement. We have already started to implement some of these improvements and were pleased to see an uplift in trading in the run up to Christmas. Special mention should go to the Lincoln and Maidstone Wildwood restaurants and the Winchester dim t site, where exceptionally large numbers of customers were served. We are in active discussions with several potential acquisition targets spanning European and Asian cuisine. Looking forward to 2026, it will be a year of rebuilding, refreshment and transformation for Bow Street.”
JD Wetherspoon names new non-executive director: JD Wetherspoon has named John Herring as a non-executive director with immediate effect. He will become chair of the audit committee. Herring is a qualified chartered accountant and in 1986, joined the corporate finance department of Kleinwort Benson, where he was involved in the initial public offerings on the London Stock Exchange for several companies, including that of Wetherspoon. In 1996, he established his own private equity advisory business and has acted as a non-executive director on the boards of several public and private companies, including Wetherspoon from 1997 to 2011, Hawksmoor and sandwich shop business EAT. He is currently non-executive chairman of Ceiba Investments.
Devonshire Hotels & Restaurants reports increased losses: Devonshire Hotels & Restaurants, which operates six hotels as well as restaurants and inns in Yorkshire and Derbyshire and a range of holiday cottages, has reported turnover rose to £12,250,754 in the year to 31 March 2025. However loss before tax rose to £1,702,986 from a loss of £1,543,140 the year before. Revpar was £125.48 (2024: £120.37) which was 12% below budget, like the year before. The company stated: “This decrease is as a result of decreased occupancy in the year, which was a key factor in driving the revenue below budgeted levels. Overall guest satisfaction levels are slightly behind target but in line with the previous year.”
