All interviews – Page 56
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InterviewsJonathan Neame: ‘Scapegoating of hospitality won’t wash’
No one wanted to go into a second lockdown. But are there any silver linings?
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InterviewsPizza Pilgrims co-founder Thom Elliot: ‘Demand is like a coiled spring’
Consumer demand for a shared food experience is “like a coiled spring,” and will transfer to other channels if dine-in is no longer an option, MCA’s The Conversation has heard.
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InterviewsKate Nicholls: Lockdown beyond 2 December 'inevitable'
The extension of hospitality restrictions is “inevitable” regardless of whether England’s national lockdown is lifted as planned on 2 December, UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has said.
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InterviewsPuttshack MD Hugh Knowles: ‘If you stand still you go backwards’
Puttshack MD Hugh Knowles is keen to get back in the swing. Having completed a £30m equity raise with lead investor Promethean Investment last June, followed five months later by its third UK site opening in London’s Bank, 2020 had all the promise of a stand-out year for the concept. Its expansion was expected to push on at pace, with a £5m site set to open in Watford, followed by a US rollout in Atlanta, Chicago and Miami. Needless to say things didn’t quite go to plan, and by virtue of the coronavirus crisis the business is currently operating in just two sites – Westfield London and Lakeside Essex – and, alongside the rest of the industry, bracing itself for Boris’ next surprise.
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InterviewsGerman Doner Kebab CEO Imran Sayeed: ‘We want to be a household name’
Not too long ago, even the most committed fast-causal enthusiast may not have heard of German Doner Kebab.
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InterviewsSacha Lord: Wet-led community pubs ‘completely shot’
Manchester’s wet-led pubs are “completely shot” under tier 3 and “many will not reopen again,” the city’s Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord has warned. Speaking at MCA’s The Conversation, Lord cited the wet-led sub-sector as his “greatest concern” and said that given that the city has been operating under at least tier 2 restrictions in all but name for the past three months, large-scale closures and redundancies are now “inevitable.”
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InterviewsBBPA CEO Emma McClarkin: ‘We have to get to pain point before government will listen’
The government’s communication with and about the industry “has slipped” and needs to be improved, MCA’s The Conversation has heard. Speaking at the event, British Beer and Pub Association CEO Emma McClarkin said that following the conclusion of the Eat Out to Help Out initiative in August, there was a “distinct shift” in government’s consultation and dialogue with the industry, so now “it’s almost like we have to get to pain point before they’ll start to listen to us.”
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InterviewsAlchemist CEO Simon Potts: ‘Burnham is highlighting the plight of the people’
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s refusal to accept tier 3 restrictions has “highlighted the plight of the people” and emphasised the need for sufficient job support, MCA’s The Conversation has heard.
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InterviewsGraffiti Spirits' Matt Farell: ‘Liverpool has too much to lose, we’ve come too far’
Graffiti Spirits Group co-founder Matt Farrell told MCA of his devastation and surprise at Liverpool being placed into the harshest tier three coronavirus restrictions.
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InterviewsWasabi backer Ashton Crosby: CVA was ‘necessary evil’
Wasabi backer Ashton Crosby has described how the coronavirus crisis has forced the brand to overhaul its property strategy.
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InterviewsWelcome Break CEO John Diviney: ‘We’re looking to ourselves to provide the solutions for ourselves’
Motorway service operator Welcome Break will not be relying on government support to help it through the upcoming months of uncertainty, CEO John Diviney has said. Of the opinion that schemes put in place earlier in the year were “superb”, Diviney told MCA’s The Conversation that the business is now much better prepared to tackle whatever lies ahead, and it will henceforth be “looking to ourselves to provide the solutions for ourselves, rather than being reliant on government for every solution.”
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InterviewsPret UK MD Clare Clough: Crisis ‘powered up the engines’ for our digital transformation
The onset of the coronavirus crisis caused Pret to “power up the engines” and move at pace with its digital transformation strategy, UK MD Clare Clough has said.
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InterviewsRestaurant Group CEO Andy Hornby: TRG is emerging stronger and leaner
Under normal circumstances, any CEO of a restaurant group posting a half-year loss of over £200m would be gone. But these are not normal circumstances. So despite that huge fall in pre-tax profits, over half of which was down to restructuring costs, The Restaurant Group CEO Andy Hornby believes the 400-site business is in “good shape, all things considered. You have to judge your performance in the context of what’s going on around you.” Has there ever been context as chaotic as this? “It’s such a strange period,” says Hornby, and it’s fair to say that sales and profits have been so wildly skewed by the events of the last few months that judging any operation by the numbers over the last six months feels pointless.
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InterviewsPizza Pilgrims co-founder Thom Elliot: ‘Ignore delivery demand at your peril’
Consumer demand for delivery is only set to increase, and operators ignoring that trend are doing so at their peril, Pizza Pilgrims co-founder Thom Elliot has said.
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InterviewsD&D London CEO Des Gunewardena: ‘We’re going to suck it up and get on with it’
Like so many others in the sector, D&D London CEO Des Gunewardena is now well accustomed to receiving bad news. As the operator behind some of central London’s most iconic corporate and fine dining hot-spots, the government’s latest round of restrictions forcing city workers back out of the office and socialites to bed by 10pm have had an inevitable impact on the business. But Gunewardena is “trying to stay positive,” and having accepted that we could be living in a world of continued uncertainty for quite some time, his ‘new normal’ management style when it comes to the group’s 41-strong estate is “to suck it up and get on with it,” he tells MCA.
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InterviewsGiggling Squid founder Andy Laurillard: ‘This is the asteroid that hit the dinosaurs’
Up to date on rent payments, a brand-new opening, and like for like’s ahead of last year - looking at Giggling Squid, the word ‘crisis’ doesn’t spring to mind.
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InterviewsCity Pub Group CEO Clive Watson: ‘250 jobs at risk without better support scheme’
Up to 250 jobs could be at risk at City Pub Group without an improvement in the chancellor’s Job Support Scheme, CEO Clive Watson has told MCA. Given the continued closure of certain premises – the group has reopened 37 of its 48-strong estate – Watson said that Sunak’s proposed 33% wage subsidy plan will not be sufficient to support pubs that are still closed, or those where operating hours have been significantly reduced.
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InterviewsArc Inspirations CEO Martin Wolstencroft: ‘Tech will drive the future of our business’
The role of technology in data handling, ordering and payment will drive the future of hospitality, Arc Inspirations CEO Martin Wolstencroft has said.
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InterviewsUK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls: ‘We need many voices speaking the same message’
The industry must join together in its demands from government if it is to see any kind of meaningful support, UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has said.
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InterviewsOakman Inns founder Peter Borg-Neal: ‘We need to work on public opinion’
Turning the tide on public opinion could help in turning the tide on government measures, MCA’s The Conversation has heard.