All articles by James Halliwell – Page 8
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NewsAzzurri appoints KPMG
The Azzurri Group has turned to KPMG as it looks to find a way out of the coronavirus crisis, according to the Sunday Times. It also said the business was still waiting to find out if it was eligible for a business interruption loan. Last year Azzurri, which operates Ask, Zizzi and Coco di Mama, made a pre-tax loss of £16m on sales of £299m.
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NewsMcDonald’s to offer limited delivery from 13 May
McDonald’s UK CEO Paul Pomroy has announced a “slow but safe” gradual return to operations - but its breakfast menu will temporarily be unavailable. On May 13th it will reopen 15 of its 1,350 UK restaurants on a delivery only basis, working with Uber Eats and Just Eat and offering a limited menu. The locations will be announced next week as the business assesses employee availability.
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NewsGreggs has done the right thing
It’s extremely quiet out there. So quiet that although I live down South I could hear the groans of disappointment from Newcastle this morning. If Horkos was a Geordie he’d be winging his way over to Roger Whiteside’s house today, but of course these are nothing like normal circumstances, so Greggs could and should be forgiven for reneging on its plans to fire up its ovens again. Particularly because behind its decision will be valid concerns for the safety of its staff and its devoted customers.
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NewsWhat it’s like to operate in lockdown part four: Creams
When the advice came through we realised we were kind of in a unique position, in that we typically operate with a very long counter divided into very secure and distinct sections, hot, cold, waffles, crepes, etc. So, when the original news came through we spoke to every store and every franchisee, and we had 23 that remained open for delivery.
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NewsPret to open another 20 shops in London on Friday
Pret will reopen 20 more shops in London on Friday, following a successful trial where it reopened ten shops in the capital. As before, all the outlets will be open for collection and delivery only. Pret said since reopening ten shops on 16 April it had “found a way to operate shops safely and in line with government guidance”.
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NewsPret: What it's like to operate in a lockdown
There are three main reasons for reopening. Firstly, we wanted to find a way to support the NHS and essential workers during this difficult period. Since we temporarily closed, we’ve received several requests from hospitals and healthcare workers wanting access to freshly prepared food. That’s why we’ve initially chosen Pret shops located near hospitals to reopen for takeaway and delivery only.
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NewsPaul: What it’s like to operate in a lockdown
We re-opened because, fundamentally, we’ve been operating as a bakery for 130 years offering bread to the local community, and we felt we needed to try and maintain that heritage. We’ve added to that by offering essentials like milk, and we’ve recently started adding flour and yeast, because there are shortages of that. We’re really trying to make the essentials available for people struggling to access supermarket delivery slots.
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NewsPrezzo offers staff ‘income streaming’
Prezzo has teamed up with Wagestream so its 3,000 employees can access their furlough pay early. Wagestream offers workers early access to their accrued pay when they need it, allowing them to withdraw a percentage of their earned wages for a flat £1.75 fee. Prezzo said offering staff the income streaming service would help them cope with additional pressures bought on by the coronavirus.
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NewsYumpingo makes its ‘Everywhere’ review platform free
Yumpingo is giving away its ‘Everywhere’ one-minute review platform for free to restaurants offering delivery and takeaway. It said it was the first of a new range of products it’s launching to help the industry “come back better”. “With such uncertainty as to when and how to get back to market, getting real time feedback from your customers to adapt and optimise your service model and menu has never been more important,” said Yumpingo founder and CEO Gary Goodman.
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NewsGovernment support not enough, says UK Hospitality
UK Hospitality has highlighted issues with the government support for operators during the coronavirus crisis, after surveying businesses on their experience of applying for loans, insurance claims, the speed of grant payments and workforce issues. It said around half (48%) of businesses had applied for loans, but 57% had their applications denied. Government-imposed State Aid rules made up 26% of those rejections, while 28% were denied with banks insisting businesses had to exhaust their own capital first.
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NewsGreggs to re-open 20 sites on 4 May
Greggs is planning to re-open 20 sites in Newcastle on 4 May, and hopes to have 700 sites open by 1 July. In a letter to staff, CEO Roger Whiteside said the business would carry out a “controlled trial” in 20 shops in the Newcastle area staffed by “retail volunteers” from the business. The trial re-opening will see stores offering a limited range and shorter opening hours. Greggs plans to open for two weeks before assessing how it went, but it plans for the shops to remain open.
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NewsWhat does the future look like?
Once the lockdown is lifted, and consumers re-emerge to eat and drink, they will find a different environment to the one they left behind. No-one knows when that will be, the government is understandably non-committal, but it’s likely to be many months not weeks, and it may not be until there is a vaccine available that all restrictions vanish.
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NewsAlmost one in four consumers planning to eat out less once lockdown is over
A quick poll carried out by MCA Insight has revealed that 23% of consumers plan to eat out less once the lockdown is over. It also said a combined 64% are either “worried” or “very worried” about going to crowded pubs and restaurants once the social distancing measures are lifted. Seven percent were ‘Not worried at all’ and 19% were ‘Not worried’.
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NewsPaul re-opens seven London sites
Paul has re-opened seven has re-opened seven sites and will open a further three next week. The outlets will open between 8am and 2pm for takeaway only and it has also teamed up with Deliveroo and Uber Eats for the first time. Social distancing measures will be in place for customers, and NHS workers, care workers, the elderly and disabled customers will be prioritised. All seating has been removed, payment will be card only and no re-useable cups will be used.
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NewsUK Hospitality calls for more support
UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has given evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Committee today to emphasise that existing government support will not be enough to support struggling hospitality operators through the coronavirus crisis. Nicholls highlighted several areas where support was not having the desired effect as many businesses are struggling to access the support on offer while the majority of operators are excluded from grants as they have a rateable value of over £51,000.
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NewsSteve Gotham: The V-words that will mean so much
Let me be clear from the outset, by ‘V-words’ I am not referring to a shape of the forthcoming recession. Instead, I am referring to three value-based derivatives: value for money, heightened values and value for time. The power of these three words is only going to become more influential by the time we eventually get to move on and begin restoring a new normality. I would suggest it is worth all industry stakeholders reflecting on how they can all be more strongly embraced.
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NewsHMRC opens JRS portal
HMRC has opened a portal for businesses to claim grants through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Businesses can claim 80% of a furloughed employee’s salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. The JRS was extended from the initial three month period last week and will now run until the end of June.
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NewsEditor’s Opinion: Hang tight and plan your return
The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc. It’s claimed hundreds of thousands of lives around the world and numbers continue to rise. As dreadful as that is, the long term socio-economic impact is more disturbing. The virus has created a level of disruption to health, society, and the economy that’s never happened before, outside of wartime. And while there is plenty of speculation on how life in general may get back to normal post-lockdown, with vaguely optimistic or pessimistic dates floating around, there is no clarity on how or when this might end.
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NewsTimeline: How the coronavirus crisis unfolded
Here are just some of the twists and turns over the last few weeks. If you want to read all the MCA coverage of the coronavirus crisis click here.
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NewsPret to re-open ten shops on Thursday
Pret will re-open ten shop kitchens located near hospitals on Thursday, for takeaway and delivery only, after requests from NHS workers and hospitals. It’s also reinstated the 50% discount for NHS workers until April. The move will also allow Pret to start up its supply chain and donate around 7,000 meals a week to homeless charities. The kitchens will be open between 8am and 2pm and delivery will be made via third party operators. Pret will also start selling basic groceries like milk, butter and tea.