All articles by Shwetali Sapte – Page 52
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NewsWendy’s appoints operations director
Adie Twining, previously of McDonald’s and Ben’s Cookies, will serve as director for UK & EU operations as the QSR chain continues to grow
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InterviewsSir Tim Martin: ‘Difficult conditions will always create opportunities’
Writing for The Times, the Wetherspoon founder and chairman said the main challenge this year is still tax equality with supermarkets
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Analysis & InsightHealth and treatonomics emerge as mega-trends
Health-led trends continue to expand their influence on menus, albeit customers continue to prioritise treats and experiences, according to Lumina Intelligence
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NewsState of Play delivers strong growth
The experiential operator of Hijingo, Bounce, and Flight Club North America achieved a 33% jump in group revenue to £47m, with the UK contributing £15m
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InterviewsB Bagel looks to reach the 20-site mark
The bagel concept is planning to open three or four sites per year, with a focus on high footfall, high street locations, founder Yoav Baumgarten tells MCA
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NewsEataly sees losses widen
The Italian food hall operator, which runs a single site in London’s Bishopsgate, surpassed £26m in turnover but suffered from a rise in energy costs
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NewsGravity reports loss as it continues to scale
Openings in Liverpool One, Warrington, and Westfield Stratford offered additional revenue for the leisure and activity park operator, albeit it reported a loss of £13.4m
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NewsNTIA calls out ‘devastating’ rail strike impact
The government’s inability to resolve the crisis continues to paralyse the UK economy, the Night Time Industries Association has said as the RMT stages strikes this week
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NewsLuke Johnson: ‘This period is one of the toughest I can remember’
The Gail’s chairman and sector investor told The Telegraph that tax rises and wage pressures are a bigger concern than skyrocketing coffee costs
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NewsHeart with Smart looks to secure future
The Pizza Hut Restaurants operator is in advanced talks with potential buyers, with the aim of selecting a preferred bidder this month
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Analysis & InsightFestive season offers welcome boost for bars
Britain’s leading hospitality groups saw year-on-year sales growth of 2.7% in the week leading up to Christmas, with bars seeing an uplift of 20.5% following a year of decline
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NewsBeds & Bars ‘well positioned’ to capitalise on opportunities
Turnover rost to £72.8m in FY24, with larger units in key locations such as London, Edinburgh, and European capitals continuing to perform well
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NewsOpenings of the week
MCA rounds up this week’s biggest openings stories, featuring Afrikana, Berenjak, and more
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Analysis & InsightMCA introduces: Dave’s Hot Chicken
Dave’s launched in London on 7 December and “has massively exceeded expectations” ever since, fuelled by social media fame and a reputation for incredible chicken - with a serious kick. MCA visits the brand’s debut site on Shaftesbury Avenue
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NewsCommunity ownership fund scrapped
The 2021 scheme allowed communities the opportunity to save pubs on the brink of closure and has been scrapped a few months earlier than planned
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NewsHospitality staff consider legal action due to ‘cover charges’
Restaurants including The Ivy and The Wolseley add a mandatory cover charge to diners’ bills on top of a service charge, with only the latter passed on to workers, The Guardian reports
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NewsUKHospitality: ‘NICs will make generating growth even more difficult’
The planned changes to employer contributions will impact jobs, investment, and business viability, contributing to lacklustre growth figures, according to the trade body
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NewsPaul O’Leary joins The Revel Collective board
O’Leary, who also sits on the board of Boden, has been appointed non-executive director at the Revolution and Peach Pubs operator
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Analysis & InsightChristmas Day bookings up 75%
Pubs, bars, and clubs saw a 273% increase while restaurants saw a 115% uplift, albeit New Year’s Eve bookings dipped 64% compared to last year, according to Dojo
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NewsBBPA calls on government to review packaging reforms
Packaging materials that are less recyclable will incur higher fees from 2026, in a move that has the potential to “diminish growth and risk jobs”