All Opinion articles – Page 55
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Opinion
Big shoes to fill
I like to think that if Andrew Page, the retiring chief executive of The Restaurant Group, was a footballer, say for his beloved Fulham, he would be cast in what pundits like to call the “Claude Makelele-role”. Tidy, unfussy but essential in making the rest of the team tick. Sure there have been more high-profile chief executives, but for getting the job done at a consistent and high quality level, Page’s work over the last 12 years at the Frankie & Benny’s operator will take some beating. These are big shoes to fill indeed
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OpinionCosta grows presence in the north
Costa has agreed tenancy agreements for six properties in prominent out of town locations across the North of England
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OpinionRise of the hybrids
There’s a shift away from comforting ‘crisis’ foods that prevailed since the recession began. And you can watch this evolution beginning to become mass market entry points for more unusual cuisine and ethnic influences reaching and mixing across menus. But Mike Palmer, the founder of food and drink consultancy Lostincatering.com, asks when will large-scale operators pick it up?
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OpinionGrocer margins
With a combination of smart management and Richard Caring’s backing, Bill’s has made the jump from fledging concept to major national player in record time. Joe Lutrario reports.
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OpinionWord on the street
Bar and club operator and now street-food kingpin Jonathan Downey discusses how the mobile vendors have become a match for ‘traditional’ restaurants
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OpinionTurning over a new leaf
Consumers in the USA are starting to take their eating habits much more seriously, and vegetables have benefited from this change in mindset. Darren Tristano senior managing director at US consultancy firm Technomic examines the growth of the green stuff on menus
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OpinionHopes and fears
M&C Report speaks to operators from across the pub, bar and restaurant sector to ask their views on the biggest challenges and opportunities for 2014
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OpinionWrong legislation, wrong time
With the Government now set to announce its response to the consultation into the proposed statutory code for tenanted pub companies in 2014, John Harrington examines the concerns of pub companies and asks what the industry can expect
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OpinionThe only way is up
Peter Marks, chief executive director of the Luminar Group, tells Dominic Walsh how the nightclub operator is remodelling its estate through a programme of investment, after it was rescued from administration in 2011
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OpinionTaking M&B back to the top of its game
A year into his role as chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers, AlistairDarby has got under the skin of the UK’s largest managed eating and drinking-out operator and started to lay the foundations to put it back to its position as the leader of the sector’s pack
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OpinionThe positive pull of leisure
Despite the backdrop of economic doom and gloom the leisure property market is bucking the trend and providing canny investors with impressive returns, argues Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure
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OpinionNow the fun begins…
Rewind 12 months ago and 2013 was being labelled as empty and difficult compared to the Olympic-driven 12 months previous. What rubbish. Without trying to sound too much like a BBC4 documentary presenter, sector commentators may look back in years to come and describe 2013 as one of the most important years in the evolution of the UK’s eating and drinking out sector and a launch pad for a new era of sustained growth and investment
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Opinion
Pubco action will be 'proportionate and targeted'
Writing for M&C Report’s sister title Publican’s Morning Advertiser, consumer affairs minister Jo Swinson explains the Government’s decision to delay its response to the consultation into a statutory code for the pubco/tenant relationship until the New Year
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Opinion
The little chain with Bigg ambitions
Led by Richard Bigg – a man who excels in creating authentic Spanish eating and drinking experiences – highly regarded Camino is on the cusp of an ambitious programme for growth
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OpinionThe odd couple
Hawksmoor founders Will Beckett and Huw Gott’s unconventional approach has resulted in one of the industry’s big success stories – but things weren’t always so rosy
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OpinionI predict a…
Stefan Chomka looks ahead to what 2014 has in store, with 10 predictions, some “dead-certs” like Alan Yau’s opening of ‘Asian gastropub’ Duck & Rice rekindling publicans’ desires to return to the heady days of the mid 1990s where a Thai restaurant was the pub accessory du jour; and some more avant-garde, including the possible opening of bread and butter concept called B&B
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Opinion
A surprise and a space race
After a long interview process, which allowed him to get to know Mitchells & Butlers’ (M&B) people, and business fundamentals, and also hear a candid assessment from the board on what they thought needed to be done to transform the company, Alistair Darby admits that there was only one surprise awaiting him when he took up his new role as chief executive last October
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OpinionA sales opportunity, just for starters
While US consumers most often order starters for consumption prior to a meal, a good proportion of them are purchased as main dishes, sides or snacks, says Darren Tristano, senior managing director of Technomic, the Chicago-based foodservice consultancy and research firm
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OpinionGrowing from solid foundations
Earlier this month, Punch Taverns was named Business Enabler of the Year at the National Business Awards its Foundation Tenancy (PFT) lease agreement. Giles Kendall, operations director for Punch and project leader, talks about the develop of the agreement, the challenges the company faced incorporating it and how it has fundamentally changed the way Punch works with its licensees
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OpinionSpirit of evolution
Chris Welham was faced with a “blank sheet of paper” when he took charge of Spirit Pub Company’s leased estate 18 months ago. With the decline in net income across the division now halted, Welham is busy evolving the estate, with new agreements and support packages aimed at leveraging the benefits of the group’s managed arm. John Harrington caught up with him