Loungers creates 900 jobs as major expansion plans continue hospitality Cafe-bar and restaurant chain Loungers created more than 900 jobs in the year it quit the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, it has been revealed. The Bristol-headquartered business delisted in February last year after being acquired by Fortress Investment Group for £338m. The Cosy Club and Brightside owner was founded in 2002 by Alex Reilley, David Reid [...]
Pret A Manger ‘being punished for focusing on UK’ Retail Pret A Manger is being punished for focusing on the UK and this is a “disaster for domestic growth”, according to the chief executive of drinking chocolate chain Knoops. Writing on LinkedIn, William Gordon-Harris said “the sad fact is for UK domestic growth is that so many UK founded businesses focus their growth after launch [...]
Morrisons to cut hundreds of jobs and close cafes in huge shake-up Retail Supermarket giant Morrisons has put 365 jobs at risk after it revealed plans to close more than 50 of its cafes. The Yorkshire-headquartered chain said 52 of its cafes, 17 convenience stores and dozens of meat and fish counters at its shops are slated for closure. Morrisons said the closures are part of a “wide-ranging” [...]
Caffè Nero brews record sales success February 4, 2025 The group behind coffee house Caffè Nero has revealed a sharp increase in sales for the first half of its current financial year. The Nero Group has posted sales of £310m for the six months to the end of November 2024, a new record. The total represents an eight per cent like-for-like rise and 13.6 [...]
Buy something, or get out: How coffee shops are clamping down on WFH loiterers January 14, 2025 As RTO mandates rise, there’s another factor which may start driving digital nomads back to the office: coffee shops are throwing them out.
Pret grows globally as £1 in every £4 now spent outside the UK September 17, 2024 Pret a Manger may be a London lunchtime staple but it has made a firm push for international growth, with over a third of its stores and a quarter of its sales now in international markets. In its half-year results, the sandwich and coffee chain said its sales grew by 10 per cent year on [...]
London’s hospitality heroes need support to thrive July 18, 2024 By accident more than design, our pages over the past few weeks have featured more than a few hospitality businesses. Today is similar: the CEO of global giant Sofitel, and the man behind the effervescent Sushi Samba. No industry has had a rougher ride than hospitality over the past few years. The pandemic, of course, [...]