Premium Club subscribers to receive next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality on Friday featuring more than 332,000 words of content: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will feature more than 332,000 words of content when it is released to Premium Club subscribers on Friday (23 January) at midday. The database now features 1,387 companies, and this month’s edition includes 105 new additions and 375 updated entries. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent developments reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. 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 chief operating officer – editorial, 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.

Starbucks EMEA promotes Michael Lingham to vice president and CFO: Starbucks EMEA, the US brand’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has promoted Michael Lingham to vice president and chief financial officer. Lingham has been with the company for almost nine years, initially joining as head of finance UK in 2019. He was then promoted to finance director UK the following year, a role he has held ever since. Lingham previously spent 11 years in various financial roles with ED&F Man, an agricultural commodities merchant. At the same time, Starbucks UK has hired Martin McTigue as its new operations director. McTigue has spent the last seven years with Stonegate, first as senior regional manager and then as operations director, a role he has held since 2022. He previously spent three years at Nando’s as regional managing director for the Midlands, and three years at Greene King as business development manager. McTigue said: “Really happy to say that I’m joining Starbucks UK as an operations director in two weeks. It’s been an eventful seven years at Ei/Stonegate group, filled with personal growth and development. Personal highlight for me was getting involved with Hospitality Rides and completing two epic fundraising trips to Kenya & Taiwan. Sad to be leaving behind a team full of superstars who will no doubt carry on their excellent work. To be joining a business that puts its partners and customers at the heart of its decision-making process to drive success is truly an exciting prospect.Really looking forward to getting stuck in and perfecting my blend and learning from the best out there, be it latte or frappe.”

Amber Taverns sees festive like-for-like sales up 9%, plans to open 20 sites this year: Wet-led, community pub operator Amber Taverns, which is backed by Epiris, saw its like-for-like sales increase 9% across the key Christmas and New Year trading period spanning 19 December to 4 January 2026, as it said it planned to open 20 new sites this year. The 187-strong company said it achieved like-for-like sales growth in 25 of the last 26 weeks, with recently opened sites “performing well” and, in many cases, “well ahead of expectations”. Last month, Amber opened another three new sites – in Smethwick (West Midlands), Whitchurch (Cardiff) and Nottingham City Centre – after “extensive investment and refurbishment”. The company said the performance of these new openings “reinforces the appeal of community pubs and reflects the strength of Amber’s retail model, combining well-invested sites, competitive pricing, and highly engaged operators”. Alongside the ongoing investment plans in the existing pub estate, Amber said it continues to build “a pipeline of high-quality sites” and plans to add approximately 20 new pubs to its portfolio each year. The company is due to open its next site in Helensburgh, Scotland, next month, which will trade as the Comet, following a significant investment. Additional sites have been secured in Weymouth, Barnstaple and Salisbury, which are due to open in the spring as the company continues its expansion in the South of England. Propel revealed last November that the company had secured the Water Gate, a former JD Wetherspoon site, in Barnstaple, Devon, for its most south westerly site so far. Mark Brooke, chief executive of Amber Taverns, said: “We are pleased with this strong trading performance, which once again demonstrates the continued relevance and appeal of well-run, wet-led pubs and their ability to generate sustainable growth in the communities we serve. Looking ahead, we continue to see attractive opportunities across a wide range of towns and cities and plan to open 20 new pubs this year. We are excited to have a healthy pipeline of opportunities on which to deliver our growth plan whilst being able to continue to expand our geographical footprint.”

 

Heartwood Collection CFO steps down: Chris Guy has stepped down as chief financial officer of Heartwood Collection, the Alchemy Partners-backed business. He will remain with the business in an advisory capacity until June 2026 to support a smooth transition. The company said Guy’s decision follows “a period of reflection in which he has chosen to step back to spend more time with his family, seeking a better balance after many successful years with the business”.  Since joining Heartwood Collection in 2018, Guy has played a pivotal role in strengthening the company’s financial reporting framework, developing the finance and IT functions and reinforcing operational controls. He also had a central role in the sale of the business to Alchemy Partners in 2022 and has been instrumental in supporting the business’s growth strategy following the acquisition. Henry Olney, who has been with Heartwood Collection for eight years and most recently has served as finance director, will assume the position of interim chief financial officer. The company said Olney “brings deep knowledge of the organisation and extensive sector experience” and that his appointment “ensures continuity at a time of ambitious investment and expansion for the group”. A company spokesman said Heartwood Collection remains focused on its long-term strategy to develop a high-quality freehold estate of pubs and inns with rooms, alongside the continued growth of its well-established Brasserie Blanc business, and that investment in new pubs continues, supported by external financing and the backing of Alchemy Partners. Reflecting on his time with the company, Guy said: “It has been a privilege to be part of the management team at Heartwood Collection. I am confident that the strong foundations now in place will continue to serve the business well as it grows. I am sad to be stepping back, but I do so with great pride in what we have achieved together and with every confidence in the company’s continued success.” Last week, Propel revealed exclusively that Heartwood Collection is on track to achieve £100m of turnover in the current financial year ending June 2026, reflecting sustained momentum across its estate and on the back of record festive trading. The business, which operates 34 Heartwood Inns and 13 Brasserie Blanc restaurants across the UK, saw turnover for the year ended 29 June 2025 increase 21.7% to £82.6m (2024: £67.9m), while site Ebitda rose to £13.3m (2024: £11.7m). To support its growth strategy, the group said it had secured additional debt facilities from Heritable Development Finance, which Propel understands stands at £25m.