All MCA Insight articles in December 2025
View all stories from this issue.
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NewsLeon appoints administrators with plans to exit loss-making sites
Leon has applied for an administration order as part of proposals for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), following its acquisition by co-founder John Vincent last month. The move will involve the closure of several of Leon’s restaurants and a number of job losses
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NewsNick Mackenzie: ‘This isn’t the relief or reform we were promised’
Many publicans are questioning how they will stay in the business over the coming years, the Greene King CEO has said
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NewsDiageo gears up to open London’s Guinness Open Gate Brewery
The £73m, 54,000ft space opens in Covent Garden tomorrow, encompassing a microbrewery - albeit the Guinness will continue to be brewed in Dublin
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NewsTimothy Taylor appoints Patrick Dardis as NED
The former Young’s CEO joins the Yorkshire family brewer to help champion the cask ale category and develop its premium pub estate
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Analysis & InsightBusiness rates: ‘Stealth tax increases will push many hotels to breaking point’
As businesses continue to assess the impact of the budget on their balance sheets, hotels are learning they are some of the worst affected by changes to business rates, with a double whammy of tax hikes which will see bills rising 115% for the average hotel
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InterviewsXP Factory reflects on ‘remarkable’ year despite tough market
Richard Harpham, CEO of the listed experiential leisure business, tells MCA that Escape Hunt will continue to work towards the 100-site mark as rapidly as possible
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NewsFive Guys launches loaded fries
In a first for the premium burger brand, Five Guys has added a new item to its food menu, which will feature fries topped with cheese sauce, a ‘secret’ fry sauce, and up to 14 toppings of choice
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InterviewsArdent Pub Group: British pub sector is one of the most revered drinking cultures in the world
Founder Dominic Jacobs says his recent private investment deal for the three-strong pub company shows there is still a strong investment appetite for premium businesses
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NewsPub-goers favour pre-booking
Gen Z are three times more likely to prefer tech-based ordering, with 34% of pub customers overall, preferring to order from their table via an app or website, found the new report from Zonal.
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NewsTGI Fridays’ parent company looks to appoint administrators
Liberty Bar & Restaurant Group has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, in the latest twist in the tale of the beleaguered casual dining chain.
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NewsBrewDog Bars’ joint MD to step down
Joint MD Martin Keith is to step down after 14 years at the brewer and pub operator, having begun his career as a GM at BrewDog’s third bar, at Glasgow Kelvingrove.
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NewsXP Factory reports significant uplift in interim results
The operator of Boom Battle Bars and Escape Hunt achieved a 13% rise in revenue for the 26 weeks to 28 September 2025, describing the group as having given “a creditable performance” in a tough market environment.
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OpinionGerry Carroll: ‘To present this budget as support is indefensible’
Valiant Pub Company’s co-founder accused the government of being either ‘incompetent in policy design or outright dishonest’. Featuring additional commentary from JW Lees and Oak Taverns.
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NewsKate Nicholls: ‘We warned them’
Commenting on the recent Budget, the UKHospitality chair has said the government failed to deliver on business rates reform - and that sector will undergo a “structural realignment” in the coming years
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OpinionCan Jamie’s Italian recapture the zeitgeist?
Jamie’s Italian was once a gamechanger for casual dining. Now, nearly two decades after it was founded, the celebrity chef has partnered with Brava Hospitality to bring the brand back
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Analysis & InsightYoung people planning to reduce festive drinking
Almost half (48%) of 18–34-year-olds are planning to drink less alcohol this Christmas, the latest Barclays Consumer Spend report has suggested.
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NewsPapa Johns to open 20 sites in Northern Ireland
The pizza brand has signed an agreement with 25-strong franchise opereator Rana Abhol, with the first store opening in Ballymena
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NewsExultant Group acquires Pret franchise
The Pret franchisee has acquired Chesterford Group subsidiary Joy Brands, encompassing seven Pret A Manger sites across Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex
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NewsNTIA: ‘Youth unemployment scheme risks missing the point entirely’
The trade body has warned the government’s plan to offer young people on benefits job opportunities in hospitality is pointless if the sector is ‘priced out of existence’
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OpinionSimon Emeny: ‘There’s no plan for economic growth and, without it, nowhere left to go’
The executive chair of Fuller’s says the budget was worse than he feared and leaves pubs and hotels ‘being wrung dry by tax shocks’