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Tue 27th Jan 2026 - Update: Business rates support package, alcohol labelling rules, Everyman, Just Eat |
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Pubs to get £100m a year support package after business rates U-turn: The Treasury is to hand the struggling pub sector a new support package worth around £100m a year after being warned of mass closures and job losses unless relief is provided. The Times reports that the relief is expected to be announced as soon as today (27 January), according to people briefed on the matter. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been under pressure to offer a lifeline to the pub industry after officials admitted they had not foreseen the impact of the Budget’s changes to business rates on the sector or predicted the intense backlash. Reeves has also been barred from her local pub, the Marsh Inn in her constituency of Leeds West and Pudsey, as part of a campaign by landlords to ban Labour MPs in the wake of the business rates row. As well as earmarking the £100m for pubs, the government is also trying to sell its message that licensing reforms, including allowing extended hours, will help the industry. It is not expected to reduce VAT on beers, spirits and wine despite recent calls from celebrity Michelin chef Tom Kerridge to lower the tax from 20% to 10%. Last week Reeves suggested that pubs were in a different situation to other hospitality businesses, disappointing restaurants, cafés and hotels that had been given hope that the whole sector would receive support. “The situation the pubs face is different from other parts of the hospitality sector but we will be setting out the details in the next few days,” Reeves said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Premium Club subscribers to receive updated Multi-Site Database with 3,518 operators and 31 new companies on Friday: Premium Club subscribers are to receive the updated Multi-Site Database on Friday (30 January), at midday. The next Propel Multi-Site Database provides details of 3,518 multi-site operators and is searchable in seven main segments. The database features 1,019 (29%) operators from the casual dining sector, 803 (23%) pub and bar operators, 617 (18%) cafe bakery operators, 496 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 289 (8%) hotel operators, 237 (7%) experiential leisure operators and 55 (2%) fine dining operators. The database is updated each month, and this edition includes 31 new companies. The database includes new companies in the cafe bakery sector such as speciality coffee and artisan bakehouse concept Joe Blake’s, London patisserie and café concept Le Choux and Ukrainian coffee concept Kava. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five additional databases: the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, 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 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. Alcohol health warning plan sparks drinks industry outcry: Ministers have sparked fresh concerns across the drinks and hospitality industries over plans for new alcohol labelling rules as they prepare to U-turn on the threat of business rates increases for pubs in England. The Times reports that the Department of Health and Social Care will today (27 January) summon more than two dozen companies that make and sell alcoholic drinks, including spirits giant Diageo, as well as trade groups such as the British Beer & Pub Association and Wine and Spirits Trade Association, to discuss the plans. Executives are worried that the government will impose strict and explicit labelling for beer, wine and spirits with prominent warnings against cancer and other health risks – which would raise costs and drive down sales. At the most extreme they fear the government could impose graphic cigarette packet-style labels designed to shock consumers into cutting their intake. Alcohol sales are already at a record low in Britain, driven by the cost-of-living crisis and a greater awareness of the health risks of drinking, resulting in a growing trend for moderation. The drinks industry warns that the costs of changing labels would be significant, especially with one proposal expected to include the potential for ‘rotating messages’, where health warnings on packaging are swapped regularly to increase awareness. One of the attendees of Tuesday’s meeting said it was the industry’s first with the Department of Health for more than five years, and that they were “still seeking clarity on the aims of the meeting”. DHSC officials have requested data about the effects of the labelling proposals, expected implementation costs to businesses as well as the time it takes for producers to update packaging. Everyman – performance in line, no new venues set to open this year: Everyman, the independent, premium cinema group, has said that its financial performance is currently in line with expectations, and in line with its strategy to reduce net debt, no new venues are expected to open this year. The 49-strong business, which last month saw Alex Scrimgeour step down as its chief executive with immediate effect, reported admissions of 4.4 million (FY24: 4.3 million), up 2.3%, for the year to 1 January 2026, with group revenue of £116.5m (FY24: £107.2m; comparable 52-week period: £103.8m), up 8.7%. It reported group Ebitda of £17m (FY24: £16.2m; comparable 52-week period £15.4m), up 4.9%; with food and beverage spend per head of £11.32 (FY24: £10.64), up 6.4%. Paid for average ticket price stood at £12.51 (FY24: £11.98), up 4.4%; and its net debt was £22m (FY24: £18.1m). Two new venues were opened during the year: a five-screen venue at The Whiteley, Bayswater (August) and a three-screen venue at Brentford (February). It said that further detail on the future strategy of Everyman, over both the short and longer term, will be provided at the company’s full year results in April. Farah Golant CBE, interim chief executive, said: “The group continued to make progress in FY25, delivering growth in revenue, Ebitda and market share, supported by increased admissions and higher spend per head. Against a challenging economic backdrop, our business model is showing resilience, underpinned by the strength of the iconic Everyman brand, our differentiated offering within a dynamic market, and our continued commitment to deliver a distinctive, experience-led proposition. As we enter 2026, I am looking forward to working with our exceptional people to drive the business forward. We are encouraged by the quality of upcoming content and are focused on further elevating the iconic Everyman brand.” Just Eat launches AI Voice Assistant technology: Just Eat has unveiled an AI Voice Assistant on iOS and Android, designed to make ordering easier and provide customers with personalised recommendations. Launching first in the UK ahead of Just Eat’s global markets, this business said that the new technology allows customers to bypass menus and simply have a conversation to discover not only new cuisines, restaurants and dishes, but also everything else Just Eat has to offer including pharmacy, beauty and electrical products. It said that the AI Voice Assistant has been designed specifically to tackle “decision fatigue”, acting as a personal “delivery concierge” that offers tailored recommendations based on genuine interaction and speeds up the process of placing an order. The company said: “The assistant is designed to understand what people are trying to ask, no matter how loosely or informally they phrase it, meaning customers can think out loud about what they want for dinner and the assistant will still provide meaningful and relevant recommendations by evaluating the potential intent based on the user’s natural conversation. Whether a customer’s request is a precise order for a Greggs sausage roll, or a rambling stream of consciousness that suggests they may want a local poke bowl, the assistant cuts through the noise to deliver accurate, meaningful answers.” The roll out follows weeks of trials with volumes of conversations increasing everyday and a “significantly higher conversion rate” for users who utilise the AI Voice Assistant. Mert Öztekin, chief technology officer at Just Eat, said: “We are always innovating and continually focused on leveraging technology to improve the ordering journey for our millions of customers. This custom-built conversational assistant represents a major step forward, making our service more intuitive and accessible.”
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