All articles by James Halliwell
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NewsMarston’s strikes deal with Brains
Marston’s has announced a deal that will see it operate 156 Brains pubs in Wales. The combination of leased and management contract arrangements consists of a freehold estate of 86 managed and 55 tenanted pubs, together with a leasehold estate of 15 managed pubs and bars. It employs around 1,300 people. Marston’s already has 106 pubs in Wales but plans to continue to operate the existing 156 Brains pubs under the Brains brand. Marston’s will operate the 141 freehold pubs on a leasehold basis from February 2021, with rent chargeable from April 2021. The majority of these will be on long lease agreements of 25 years. The deal is set to complete in February 2021.
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NewsNewRiver: Remaining resilient
NewRiver CEO Allan Lockhart has said the business has proved to be “resilient” during a period of “unprecedented disruption”. Announcing its half year results, he said the business had seen a “significant increase in leasing activity, with over half a million square feet of transactions completed, which has led to occupancy in our retail portfolio increasing to more than 96% during the period. This reflects both our affordable rents and focus on essential and convenience retail.
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NewsFuller’s CEO Simon Emeny: Staying positive
Fuller’s has said sales for the first half of the year (for the 26 weeks to 26 September 2020) hit £45.6m, down from £167.1m it made last year. It also reported an adjusted loss before tax of £22.2m compared to a profit of £17.9m last year. “The tightening of the tier system will present further challenges over the winter months, but we welcome the Prime Minister’s comments that we will see the need for restrictions fall away in the spring,” said CEO Simon Emeny. “When the current lockdown was announced, we acted swiftly to implement the lessons learned last time round and this latest closure has been made with minimal stock losses.
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NewsM&B: Staying optimistic about recovery
Mitchells and Butlers has reported a 34.1% sales fall compared to last year, coming in at £1,475m. It made a pre-tax loss of £123m compared to a profit of £177m last year. “Throughout a very uncertain and challenging year our businesses and teams have adapted quickly, creating a safe environment for guests and putting us in a strong position to benefit when consumers are able to eat out again,” said CEO Phil Urban.
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NewsHospitality Leaders Poll: 'Predicting the future is tough’
Less than 10% of operators are “very confident” they will reopen on 3 December, according to the latest Hospitality Leaders Poll carried out by Lumina Intelligence for MCA, the Morning Advertiser and Big Hospitality. A further 15% were “not sure at all”, though 33% are “fairly sure” they will reopen once the restrictions are lifted. Meanwhile the industry is split over the future, with 32% thinking they will go bust if existing lockdown measures continue into Spring. While 38% are unsure, just 30% are confident they will survive as a business should things continue as they currently are.
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NewsYoung’s: Toughest times in 189 years
Young’s CEO Patrick Dardis has described the last six months as the toughest period in its 189 years. In its half year H1 report for the 26 weeks to September 2020, it said sales were £55.1m, compared to £168.2m the year before, with the business recording an adjusted operating loss before tax of £19.2m. However it said was encouraged by the fact that sales since reopening on 20 July were 84% of last year. “Our business recently celebrated 189 years and the last six months has been one of the toughest periods in that incredible journey,” said Dardis.
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Analysis & InsightHospitality Leaders Poll: 41% support lockdown
Hospitality is split over the lockdown, according to the latest Hospitality Leaders Poll carried out by Lumina Intelligence for MCA, the MA, Big H and Restaurant. Though 41% of operators support the current lockdown, 43% are opposed to it with 17% undecided. ”I get why they’ve decided to do it, but want to know what support is going to be available other than loans, and the exit strategy, is there one?” said one multi-site operator, while another said they supported the move but it was a “month late”.
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NewsTasty: “An extremely difficult year”
Tasty, which owns the Wildwood brand, has said sales fell £8.7m from £21.1m in the prior year and it made a loss after tax of £11m. It has 48 of its 55-strong estate open. It said 2020 has been an “extremely difficult year which required swift action to mitigate the extraordinary challenges faced. Tasty was quick to react to the Covid-19 outbreak. Whilst the trading environment continues to be extremely challenging and ever-changing, with the additional bank facility and support from our creditors and landlords, we are hopeful that we will be able to navigate our way through these difficult times due to our agility and restructured operational base.”
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NewsSales slump by 48%
Sales in hospitality dropped by 48% in the third quarter of 2020, according to the latest Quarterly Tracker from UK Hospitality and CGA. It’s a fall of £17bn on the same quarter in 2019, and £53.2bn less than the £133.5bn generated in 2019. “This is clearly dreadful news and made ...
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OpinionEditor's Opinion: Confusion continues to rise
Divisions are everywhere. The sense of unity that helped the UK through the surreal first wave of the coronavirus is now a distant memory, like the azure blue skies in April. Now they have been replaced by grey skies and rain with nothing on the horizon but pain.
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NewsKFC UK sales up 16% in Q3
KFC’s UK sales were up 16% in Q3, the best performing territory in the Yum! global estate. Yum! CEO David Gibbs, described the results as “encouraging” and that they demonstrated the “resilience of the Yum! portfolio as Yum! generated year-over-year core operating profit growth, continued to reopen temporarily closed restaurants and achieved global same-store sales growth of approximately flat, in aggregate, for our open store base. “For the second consecutive quarter, digital sales increased by more than $1bn over the prior year and set a single quarter record of $4bn.
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NewsSeptember sales go in reverse post-curfew
Sales slumped in September after the combination of the withdrawal of EOHO and the introduction of the 10pm curfew, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Wet-led pubs were hit hardest, with sales down 22.7% and like-for-likes down 21.1%. Restaurant groups suffered a sales slump of 19.6%, but like-for-likes were down just 6.7% below September 2019, thanks to 72% of group-owned restaurant sites trading during the month. Bar groups, which had 79% of their sites trading, had the worst of the month, with like-for-like sales down 37.1% and total sales down 42.7%. Delivery accounted for 10.4% of sales, up from 8.8% in August and the pre-lockdown level of 5.9% in February.
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NewsHospitality Leaders Poll: Confidence remains low as curfew continues
Some 64% of operators would rather shut down for a ‘circuit-breaker’ now if it meant they could open as usual over Christmas, according to the latest Hospitality Leaders Poll carried out by Lumina Intelligence for MCA, the MA, Big H and Restaurant. However, even those that would prefer that option said it wouldn’t be possible without government support, while others said there was no guarantee it would be effective and Christmas trading may be impacted anyway. “It is unlikely to be temporary,” said one operator. “The last lockdown had to last months to have the desired effect, what is the case for a two-week circuit-breaker being a miracle solution?”
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NewsJD Wetherspoon Tim Martin: Regulations are capricious and damaging
JD Wetherspoon has released its full year results which lay bare the impact of the coronavirus on sales and profits. Sales were down 30.6% to £1,262m while it made a £34.1m pre-tax loss, down 133% on the previous year. Chairman Tim Martin slammed the government’s handling of the situation and the effect it’s having on the hospitality industry. “For the two months following reopening, it appeared that the hospitality industry, in difficult circumstances, was adapting to the new regime and was getting ‘back on its feet’, albeit in survival mode,” he said.
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NewsLoungers trading well post-reopening
Loungers has released a trading update saying since reopening on 4 July the Group delivered like for like sales growth of 25.1%. All of its 168 sites are trading and it plans to open three more before the end of the year. “I am delighted with our continued excellent trading which reflects the resilience of our brands and fantastic performance of our team working in very difficult circumstances,” said CEO Nick Collins. ”Loungers, and the sector more broadly, have gone to considerable efforts to ensure the safety of our teams and customers.
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NewsOnline sales soar at Domino’s
Online sales now account for 95% of sales in the UK, Dominos has said in its Q3 trading update.
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NewsFulham Shore predicts a promising future
Fulham Shore has said sales were up 7% to £68.6m before the full impact of the coronavirus as it revealed its results for the year to March 2020. It opened seven Franco Manca pizzerias and two Real Greek restaurants. It currently has 68 of its 70 restaurants open, including one new Franco Manca site, taking the total to 52. It said the business has “emerged in robust shape from this critical period” and without the coronavirus sales would have “exceeded market expectations”. “Franco Manca and The Real Greek are popular with the public,” it said. “Fulham Shore is well capitalised and we have ample headroom in our borrowing facilities.
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NewsMarston’s: 2,150 jobs at risk
Marston’s has released a trading update saying group sales are down 30% on last year to £821m. Total pub sales for the year were £515m, down 34% on last year. It also said that 2,150 jobs are at risk due to the new restrictions. “This year has been testing on many fronts,” said CEO Ralph Findlay. “Trading has been difficult, but to operate at 90% of last year on a like-for-like basis is better than our forecast, ahead of the market and a highly creditable result. In part, this is because most of our pubs are in suburban or community settings, and we have relatively few pubs in city centres which have been worst hit by changes in working habits.
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NewsComptoir hoping to emerge stronger
Comptoir has revealed its results for the six months ended 30 June 2020. It said sales at the 24-site chain were down 61.4% to £6.1m while gross profits were down 61% to £4.5m. “There is no hiding from the fact that we are facing unprecedented times across UK hospitality, and with that, market conditions will inevitably continue to be challenging for our business,” said non-exec chairman Richard Kleiner. ”However, I am greatly encouraged by the strength of the Comptoir brand with its excellent quality, healthy food served in the safest possible environment, whilst retaining the genuine feel of family and friendly hospitality that forms the very heart and soul of our offering.
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News'Feeble' employment market demands government support
UK Hospitality has warned that 500,000 jobs are at risk without further support from the government. Yesterday the ONS revealed unemployment hit 4.5%, the highest figure since 2017. “The feeble nature of the employment market is worrying in and of itself, but it masks a much larger worry for the country,” said UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls. “Furlough support is about to end and we are moving onto a Job Support Scheme that will not work for many of our businesses. Our sector is being forced to operate under crippling restrictions, so to pay staff for more than hours worked is an unachievable ask for many venues. Unless support is forthcoming, the outlook is only going to get bleaker.