All articles by Georgia Cronin – Page 15
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NewsUK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls: Sector ‘back into intensive care’ because of second lockdown
It is “imperative” that the second national lockdown is time limited so hospitality businesses burning through cash reserves can “gain some income during December,” UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has warned.
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NewsNTIA: ‘Nightclubs are on the brink of extinction’
The late-night sector will not survive to see recovery without urgent financial support from government, Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill has warned.
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NewsWest and central Scotland to face toughest restrictions in three-week lockdown
Pubs and restaurants will be required to close in a further 11 areas in Scotland as part of a “short, sharp” move to level 4, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
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NewsEveryman hires FTI to assist in rent talks
Everyman Media Group has become the latest cinema chain to hire financial advisors, Sky News reports.
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NewsTGI Fridays to launch sister brand 63rd+1st
TGI Fridays has announced the launch of a new cocktail bar and restaurant brand, 63rd+1st.
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NewsDeltic asks for £1m-a-month government support to see it through sales process
The Deltic Group has asked government for a £1m-a-month bailout as it continues its sales process, the Mail on Sunday reports.
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NewsBrewdog secures £25m CBILs and financing arrangement to tackle crisis
Brewdog has said it is optimistic about the remainder of 2020 in light of financial measures taken to protect the business going forward.
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Analysis & InsightThree in four keen to return to hospitality post-lockdown
Consumers are keen to return to pubs and restaurants after the month-long lockdown, with the majority feeling confident in the safety measures in place, CGA has found.
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Analysis & InsightPubs and restaurants see pre-lockdown sales boost
Pubs, bars and restaurants saw a boost in sales at the beginning of this month as consumers made the most of their final days before lockdown, according to CGA.
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NewsThe Real Greek lines up Bracknell opening
The Real Greek is set to open its 18th site in The Lexicon in Bracknell next month. Located on 12 Eagle Lane, the 145-cover site will include inside and outside seating and will open with delivery and collection after the month-long lockdown comes to an end in December. According to the Fulham Shore-backed brand, it has “continued to thrive” despite the current crisis, and the new opening follows a period of “sustained demand” throughout 2020.
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NewsDeliveroo appoints Worldpay’s Medlock ahead of IPO
Deliveroo has lined up former Worldpay CFO Rick Medlock to chair its audit committee as it prepares to list, Sky News reports.
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NewsPhased reopening set out for Northern Ireland hospitality
Hospitality business in Northern Ireland are to remain closed until at least the 20 November as the country’s ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown is extended another week. Leaders announced yesterday (12 November) that unlicensed premises, including cafes and coffee shops, will be permitted to reopen from next Friday with an 8pm curfew, and pubs and bars will be able to sell sealed off-sales.
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InterviewsMeatliquor co-founder Scott Collins: ‘We’ll pick up stronger than we left off”
In February, Meatliquor was set for a record 2020. Eight months into the financial year, sales across the burger concept’s eleven sites were already higher than in any other, and with four months to go it was set to see unprecedented year-on-year revenues. “It was going to be a boom year,” co-founder Scott Collins tells MCA. “But that was all wiped out.” Describing the implementation of tier 2 across the capital as its “tipping point” for the drop-off in dine-in, the business nevertheless continued to remain viable through its delivery, click and collect and new meal kit offer via at-home food delivery company Great Food 2U. And given the opportunity for a pause in its everyday operations, Collins explains that its priority in lockdown was twofold – to reopen, and to improve.
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Analysis & InsightTiering system prompts sector-wide sales dip
The implementation of the tiering system caused all parts of the sector to suffer last month, with sales dropping across pub, bar and restaurant groups, according to CGA. The latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker for October found that with 83% of group-owned sites open, down from 88% in September, total sales across the managed sector were down 33.9% year-on-year, a further fall from September’s sales which were 20.3% down on 2019. Like-for-like sales in trading businesses were 28.9% below October last year, compared to 14.7% down in September.
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InterviewsVarious Eateries director Hugh Osmond: ‘We’ll be opening new sites as quickly as possible’
Coppa Club operator Various Eateries’ prospects are better than ever despite the latest month-long lockdown, director Hugh Osmond has said.
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NewsMarston’s seeks waivers from noteholders
Marston’s has released a formal request to the holders of its secured class A notes for a limited number of further technical waivers during the first half of 2021. In an announcement on the London Stock Exchange today (11 November), the pubco said it was requesting the waivers as a precautionary measure following the renewed lockdown restrictions introduced in Wales on 23 October and England last week.
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NewsWetherspoons sales hit by 'baffling' and 'questionable' restrictions
Wetherspoons sales were significantly lower in October than previous months as the imposition of new restrictions took its toll, the business has revealed in a trading update today.
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NewsSalt Dog Slims set for Manchester
Restaurant and bar group GSG Hospitality, previously Graffiti Spirits Group, has secured a site for its second Salt Dogs Slims concept. The new restaurant, located near Manchester’s Northern Quarter and Spinningfields, will be the brand’s first move into the city following its debut site in Liverpool in 2012. Set to open in early 2021, the restaurant will have an ‘appointment only’ underground bar that will require a secret code, as in its Liverpool site, and will serve American style chilli dogs alongside an extensive beer and cocktail selection.
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NewsSacha Lord: ‘This is government’s last chance to take the sector seriously’
Sacha Lord has called on government to work collaboratively with the sector and rethink its post-lockdown hospitality restrictions.
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InterviewsHugh Osmond: ‘If you want to prevent deaths, you start with the places people are likely to die’
Various Eateries director Hugh Osmond has criticised the government’s mass testing strategy as a “giant propaganda exercise,” arguing that ministers initially failed to utilise the approach where it could have had the biggest impact.