All MCA Insight articles in October 2019 – Page 2
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NewsForrester to depart TGI Fridays
Karen Forrester is to step down as chief executive of TGI Fridays UK on 13 December, after 12 years in the role.
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NewsChapel Down announces ‘exceptional’ 2019 harvest
Chapel Down has announced the completion of the 2019 harvest, its second largest by volume yielding equivalent to 92% of 2018’s record.
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NewsRestaurant Group announces board changes
The Restaurant Group has announced Alison Digges and Zoe Morgan will join as non-executive directors in January 2020.
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NewsChick-fil-A opens Scottish Highlands restaurant
Chick-fil-A, which is set to close its UK debut in Reading amid protests, has opened a second store in the UK, in the Scottish Highlands.
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NewsMy Cookie Dough adds three to portfolio
My Cookie Dough has added three more shopping centre kiosk sites to its estate in the past week.
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OpinionCaffe Nero: ‘We are the Waitrose of coffee’
With a new artisan fresh food range, Caffe Nero believes it has consolidated its premium edge over high street rivals. As the offering is rolled out and the store estate revamped, UK CEO Will Stratton-Morris explains why Caffe Nero is the Waitrose of the coffee house sector.
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NewsHow is McDonald’s getting it right?
McDonald’s released its Q3 results on Tuesday, revealing a 5.9% increase in sales for the three months to 30 September 2019. Total sales for the period were up 1% to $5.43bn, making it the 17th consecutive quarter of growth for the chain. A 1% nudge isn’t going to generate huge headlines, but it’s another move in the right direction. In a call to investors, McDonald’s president and CEO Steve Easterbrook said across “every country function and level we’re seeing improving discipline and robust levels of execution that are guided by our velocity growth plan.
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NewsChopstix Group adds Irish Yangtze to estate
Chopstix Group has opened a new Yangtze site, in Donegal, Ireland, taking the total estate for the brand to 11 restaurants.
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NewsUS activist investor takes major stake in Domino’s
Los Angeles-based investment firm Browning West has taken a stake in Domino’s Pizza Group worth c.£70m.
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NewsChucs to covert La Bottega Belgravia for fifth site
Chucs, the upscale café-restaurant operator from directors of Oakley Capital, is opening a fifth site, in Belgravia.
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NewsSacha Lord-backed bagel concept liquidated
Eat New York, the bagel shop concept backed by Manchester nighttime czar Sacha Lord, has been liquidated, MCA understands.
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NewsSouth American-inspired Tupi wound up
South American-inspired restaurant business Tupi has been liquidated, MCA understands.
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Analysis & InsightHedge funds’ involvement a ‘statement of support’ for Pizza Express
The latest development in Pizza Express’s debt dilemma sees big name credit funds enter the frame.
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NewsEmeny: ‘Deal gives us critical mass in the Cotswolds’
The acquisition of Cotswold Inns & Hotels is a great geographical fit for Fuller’s and gives it the critical mass it was looking for in the region, chief executive Simon Emeny has told MCA.
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NewsYo! to trial grab and go concept in Manchester
Yo! is to trial an express format restaurant designed for customers on the go, like a “Japanese version of Leon”, MCA’s sister title Big Hospitality reports.
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NewsBusaba unveils new brand identity
Busaba has unveiled a new brand identity to tie in with its 20th anniversary, as it looks to reenergise the business and stand out in the crowded casual dining market.
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NewsRosa’s to open site in Manchester
Rosa’s Thai Café is to open a further regional site, in Manchester’s Deansgate.
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NewsOakman Inns launches new trading division
Oakman Inns has formed a new trading division called Ashmore Inns, with several acquisitions already lined up.
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NewsAberdeen Standard calls for more cash for Just Eat
Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) – one of Just Eat’s biggest investors – has called for Prosus to raise its offer by at least 20% for it “to be deemed attractive”, The Times has reported.
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NewsWhat does it take for a restaurant to prosper in 2019?
”Diner forced to wait in restaurant shock!” Okay, I exaggerate to make a point, but in these continuing times of negative news feeds – Brexit shenanigans, slowing economic growth, weakening consumer confidence, restaurant CVAs, falling profits, chronic indebtedness, etc. – you could be forgiven for thinking we are locked into a vicious circle of decline. And yet, literally over the past two weeks, I have had three eating out experiences where all the tables were taken and the tills were thumping. What does this tell us and what insights can be gleaned?