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OpinionPeter Martin: Happy face, or serious face?
It’s one of those bittersweet moments for hospitality, and business leaders could be forgiven for feeling just a little nervous about how to react for fear of being misread.
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Opinion
From roadmaps to tightropes: UK hospitality’s rally to revival relies on relationships
The light at the end of the tunnel is finally getting brighter for some in the hospitality sector. A roadmap is now in place, and while there may be some traffic delays, it is at least looking like the worst of the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror.
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Opinion
Nick Mackenzie: We are burning through £7m a week
Lockdown is costing Greene King every pub on average of £4,500 every week, which equates to £7m a week for its managed pub estate, CEO Nick Mackenzie has said.
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Opinion
Dominic Walsh: Getting M&B across the line
It seems pertinent to ask how it is that three of the biggest shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers could get their three-card trick past the Takeover Panel.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: Garden party politics
Pub and restaurant leaders might be unhappy, if not in downright despair, about Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown, but the signs are he is not in the mood to change gear or direction.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: It’s déjà vu all over again
What hospitality most wants from Government now is to be allowed to open, to start trading and be able to play a part in the country’s economic recovery – and as soon as possible.
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Opinion
Peel Hunt: JDW may be hit by post pandemic trends
JD Wetherspoon (JDW), and other low-ticket operators, are more likely to be hit post-Covid working patterns, as well as any further downturn in the economy, according to analysts Peel Hunt.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: Testing, testing
Regular workplace Covid testing now looks certain to be a key feature in getting Britain back to work when lockdown eventually ends.
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Opinion
David Read: Is globalisation unravelling?
A few days ago, I was in a hospitality sector zoom conference, when the keynote speaker said: “I genuinely believe we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of globalisation”.
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Opinion
Dominic Walsh: ‘A tale of two leaders’
Having himself been struck down by coronavirus, Dominic Walsh compares and contrasts the approach to support being demonstrated by two very different hospitality leaders.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: ‘No way back from the digital world’
You don’t need to be clairvoyant to spot the major trends that are going to reshape our business landscape. Most are already out there in clear sight.
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Opinion
Shelley Sandzer: The phoenixes are rising
Our sector is full of creative people, innovators and entrepreneurs. We already knew that pre-pandemic, but the successive lockdowns have brought out the best in a sector hit the hardest of all in the UK.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: Saving private enterprise
Did health secretary Matt Hancock really suggest in cabinet the idea of a moratorium on all international travel for a month to stop new Covid variants coming into the country?
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Opinion
Peter Martin: Breathing life back into London
London’s economy received a small vote of confidence this month with the news that ExCel, the giant exhibition complex in Docklands, not only wants to reopen for business but to grow in size with new space and facilities.
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Opinion
Alex Reilley: Give job-creators of the future one last shot of support
If the pandemic had hit 12 years ago when we were a business with nine sites I very much doubt we’d have survived. In the last 12 years we’ve opened a further 161 sites and in the process created over 4,500 jobs.
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Opinion
Peter Martin: The case for positive pragmatism
Bill Gates is worth listening to. You don’t have to agree with the Microsoft and Gates Foundation co-founder, but he is often right – whether it’s about business or politics.
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Opinion
A new year should mean new support for hospitality
The new year has brought with it the same old problems for a hospitality sector battling with the pandemic. More support is needed before time runs out.
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Opinion
Dominic Walsh: Is closure more costly then tier 2?
The massive impact of Covid-19 on the pub industry was brought home to me a couple of weeks ago when I took my two lads to the Wetherspoon pub next to Oxted station. Once every few weeks on a Sunday morning - lockdowns permitting - I take them for a haircut and a breakfast at the Wetherspoon. There aren’t too many places you can feed two teenagers and their dad a big fry up (plus add-ons) and drinks for £17.
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Opinion
Mark out of Ten - Burger Queen’s Gambit takes the Crown
I have been struck dumb of late and I have no caps left to doff at the superbness of the global Burger King brand’s marketing and digital teams. Over the past few years, the hits just keep on coming.
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Opinion
Kate Nicholls: It is Time to Recover and Renew
Imagine if we lived in ‘normal’ times, right now you might be looking forward to a trip to the theatre to see a star-studded pantomime or to the cinema to see the latest festive blockbuster. Perhaps you’d venture into a pub or restaurant or even book an overnight stay in town. Cultural experiences like these are closely associated with Christmas for millions of people.
