All MCA Insight articles in May 2020
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Black Sheep presses ahead with expansion
Black Sheep Coffee is pressing ahead with its ambitious expansion plans with a new opening in Battersea Power Station.
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News
Real Eating Co debuts in London
The Real Eating Company has secured its debut site in London, on the former Eat site on 82 Kings Road, Chelsea.
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Analysis & Insight
Bouncing back after lockdown 2.0
Looking outside now at these dreary November days, the summer already feels like a different time.
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News
Hospitality 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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Analysis & Insight
Danny Meyer: ‘We cannot do what we’ve done our entire lives’
American restaurateur Danny Meyer has spoken of “sparks of life” in New York, as shanty town shacks pop up to serve customers from the kerbside.
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News
The Breakfast Club founder: ‘I’m not good enough for us right now’
The Breakfast Club is recruiting a new managing director to take the business up to 30 sites.
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News
British Land counts cost of CVAs and administrations
The pandemic has wiped almost £1bn off commercial landlord British Land’s portfolio, with retail worst affected due to administrations and CVAs.
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News
St Austell adds to board of directors
St Austell Brewery has appointed Andrew Turner, who is managing director of beer & brands, to its Board of Directors.
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News
Brewdog ad caused ‘serious and widespread offence’
A Brewdog billboard ad which states “F**k You CO2” has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.
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News
HMRC asks operators to check EOHO claims
HMRC is beginning to write to selected Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO) claimants to ask them to check their claims under the scheme.
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Analysis & Insight
Majority maintain delivery for second lockdown
A majority of branded operators (64%) have remained open for takeaway and delivery for the second lockdown, research from Lumina Intelligence reveals.
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News
Rishi Sunak: Employers will contribute 10% to the JRS from September and 20% in October
Rishi Sunak will ask all businesses to contribute to the JRS from 1 August by covering NI and pension contributions, rising to 10% of wages in September and 20% of wages in October. The JRS will then be closed down at the end of October. He also announced some flexibility to the scheme so employees could start to return part-time from July. He made no specific provision for the hospitality industry, which largely remains closed before it is allowed to reopen on 4 July.
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News
Government to publish code of conduct on rent
The Government is working with businesses and trade bodies to produce a code of conduct on commercial rent payments.
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News
CDG in sales talks having received “strong expressions of interest”
Casual Dining Group is in preliminary sales talks with multiple parties having “received strong expressions of interest.”
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News
Majority of operators have no plans for temperature checks for customers - MCA Poll
Just one in five operators are planning to introduce temperature checks when customers arrive at their pub or restaurant, according to the latest weekly Hospitality Leaders Poll by MCA Insight/HIM. And the vast majority – 65% – have no plans to introduce temperature checks alongside other safety measures, with 41% ...
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News
Sector sees next wave of reopenings
McDonald’s, Greggs and Pret have all announced substantial reopenings this week as they continue to pursue a phased recovery of their large-scale estates. In casual dining, Nando’s, Pizza Express, Tonkotso and Thaikun have opened further sites.
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News
Camden Market to reopen with 80% F+B traders
Camden Market is set to reopen next week with 80% of its F+B traders.
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News
Papa John’s sees ‘best sales period in company’s history’
Papa John’s has seen “the best sales period in the company’s history” due to the unprecedented demand caused by the coronavirus crisis.
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News
Jeremy Roberts: We have to see lockdown through
“Lockdown shouldn’t have happened this way in the first place, but now that we’re here, we’ve got to see it through in some kind of order,” was the message from Jeremy Roberts to attendees at MCA’s The Conversation.
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Interviews
Alchemist CEO Simon Potts: ‘We’ll work to turn fear of going out into fear of missing out’
“Relaxed” isn’t an emotion easily associated with members of the hospitality industry of late, but Alchemist CEO Simon Potts seems to be the exception. In fact, with consumer behaviour throughout the pandemic largely dependent on their personal proximity to a relaxed state of mind, for Potts, a pragmatic and slow-paced reopening is the obvious route to a successful recovery.