All MCA Insight articles in October 2019
View all stories from this issue.
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NewsRevolution reveals drop in profits as it builds for the future
Revolution Bars has revealed a fall in profits for the 52 weeks ended 29 June 2019, after exceptional items of £7.1m and bar opening costs of £1.5 million delivered a pre-tax loss of £5.6m. Like for like sales were also down 3.5%, but the business said they had improved over the period, from a 4% drop in H1, to a 2.9% drop in H2 and down 1.8% in Q4.
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NewsMore growth for Greggs
Greggs has revealed 7.4% increase in like for like sales for the 13 weeks to September 28, 2019. Total sales were up 13.9% and the business opened a net total of 56 shops. Greggs said the business “continued to trade very strongly in the third quarter. As expected, the rate of year-on-year sales growth moderated as we came up against stronger comparative sales from the previous year, but sales were still up strongly, driven predominantly by growth in customer numbers.”
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NewsErpingham House hits 50% of £250k crowdfund
Erpingham House, the UK’s biggest vegan restaurant, has secured 50% of its crowdfunding target ahead of its public launch later this week.
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NewsBrewDog Dalston goes fully vegan
BrewDog’s Dalston bar is going fully vegan as part of a partnership with Biff’s Jack Shack.
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NewsPizza Hut Delivery launches two versions of new fast casual concept
Pizza Hut Delivery has begun a national rollout of its ‘fast casual’ stores with the launch of two different formats.
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NewsPret rolls out coffee cup recycling scheme to majority of shops
Pret has expanded its coffee cup recycling scheme to more than 350 UK shops – almost 90% of its estate – following successful trials in London, Leeds and Glasgow.
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NewsTim Hortons enters delivery with Just Eat
Canadian coffee import Tim Hortons has become the latest high street name to enter the delivery space.
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NewsBolton Inns takes on third Star site as it looks to reach 15
West Midlands pub operator Bolton Inns has taken on its third site with Star Pubs & Bars as it looks to expand its footprint with five additional pubs in the next two to three years.
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NewsOssett Brewery appoints new MD for brewing arm
Ossett Brewery has appointed Alex Minett as managing director of its brewing company, as it gears up for the next stage of growth.
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OpinionGeneration Next: Berto Pasta
The team behind boundary-stretching pizza concept Zia Lucia have now set their sights on pasta with the launch of Berto. Founders Claudio Vescovo and Gianluca D’Angelo discuss how they are innovating with pasta just as they have with pizza.
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NewsBurger King ‘milkshake’ tweet branded irresponsible
The ASA has said a tweet by Burger King was irresponsible and warned it must ensure its ”future marketing communications did not condone or encourage anti-social behaviour.” On 18 May 2019 Burger King sent a tweet which read: “Dear people of Scotland. We’re selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun. Love BK. #justsaying”.
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NewsContinued focus on Revolution as improvements start to pay off
Revolution Bar Group is to focus its site investment programme on Revolution in a bid to “revitalise” the brand, with 12 of its 15 upcoming refurbishment projects to be carried out at these sites, chief executive Rob Pitcher told MCA.
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NewsSales soar at Deliveroo but profits fall again
Deliveroo’s profits have taken another hit following another year of heavy investment and expansion. After revealing pre-tax losses of £199m in 2017, the online delivery outfit said pre-tax losses had fallen further to £232m for the year to 31 December 2018. The business said it had “continued to invest heavily” in its service in order to fund further expansion in terms of restaurant numbers in existing markets, including the UK where it plans to launch in another 50 towns and cities in 2019.
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NewsHas the chancellor got the balance right with the NLW?
There was bad news for hospitality at the Conservative party conference this week. The industry is under pressure from many angles, but on Tuesday chancellor Sajid Javid announced plans to take one of the more acute pressure points, the National Living Wage, and increase it from its current rate of £8.21 to £10.50 inside five years. That’s a potential 28% hike by 2024, or an average 5.6% hit on the bottom line every year.
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NewsPrezzo made £29.7m loss in 2018 after CVA
Prezzo made an operating loss of £29.7m in 2018 following the CVA that saw it close nearly 100 restaurants.
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NewsPizza Hut: ‘A lot of people have tried to imitate us, but I think we do it best’
As a subsidiary of the five billion-dollar corporate behemoth Yum! Brands, misty-eyed sentimentality might not be an emotion readily associated with a Pizza Hut refurbishment.
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NewsSeafood Pub Company sees losses increase
Seafood Pub Company has reported a group loss after tax of £2.73m for the full-year to 31 December 2018, compared to a loss of £1.15m the previous year, after higher administrative expenses and cost of sales impacted profits.
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Analysis & InsightFood to go continues to buck the trend
The food to go sector has continued to outperform the wider eating out market, with total visits up 6.4% year-on-year to 4.4 billion, according to MCA’s Food to Go Tracker Q2 2019.
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NewsGail’s looking to double estate in three years
Gail’s, the Luke Johnson-backed bakery chain, is looking to double the size of its business to around 100 sites over the next three years.
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NewsLow 2 No Bev event launched
A new trade show designed to support the growth of the low and no beverage sector has been launched by William Reed, publisher of MCA.