Compass shares jump as it shrugs off inflation concerns with profit upgrade May 11, 2026 Shares in Compass Group jumped on Monday morning as shrugged off concerns over inflation eating into its margins after upgrading its profit forecasts. The FTSE 100 catering giant, which has served meals everywhere from prisons to oil rigs, upped its profit growth estimate from 10 per cent to “above” 11 per cent for the year [...]
Evolv: Revenue at Quaglinos, Coq d’Argent, Madison and Bluebird owner soars May 8, 2026 The group behind restaurants including Quaglinos, Coq d’Argent, Madison and Bluebird has seen its earnings surge despite the challenges facing the hospitality sector. Evolv – formerly D&D London – saw revenue increase 20 per cent from £126.3m to £151.6m year-on-year, with Ebitda rising from £2.6m to £14.6m. Evolv reported a modest loss of £6.8m for [...]
No, a pint does not cost £10 in London (see for yourself) May 7, 2026 Headlines appeared over the weekend that a London pint now costs £10. This leaves a bitter taste. Granted, look hard enough and you’ll find a private members’ club here, a chichi restaurant there, that has found customers with deep enough pockets to pay a fortune for supermarket lager. But this has always been true – [...]
Wetherspoon issues profit warning over ‘substantial’ cost hikes May 6, 2026 JD Wetherspoon has warned it could miss profit targets over “substantial increases in costs,” as pubs brace for soaring energy and shipping prices due to the Iran war. The UK’s best-known pub chain confirmed on Tuesday that the much-feared knock-on effects from the blockage to the Strait of Hormuz have begun to hit hospitality firms. [...]
Tax hikes call time on two pubs a day crushing 2,400 jobs May 5, 2026 The government’s bitter round of tax hikes imposed on the hospitality industry is said to have forced the closure of two pubs a day in the first three months of the year in yet another blow to the already bruised sector. Figures from the Beer Bar and Pub Association (BBPA) showed 161 pubs across Britain [...]
London hotel occupancy slides as Iran war wreaks travel havoc May 4, 2026 International travel chaos caused by the Iran war is beginning to hit London’s hotels, fresh data has found. The occupancy of London’s hotels fell year on year in March, according to audit firm RSM.Hotel experts attribute the decline to a fall in tourism. Luxury London hotels enjoy a huge amount of custom from Middle Eastern [...]
‘Politically toxic’ holiday tax could turn voters against Labour, hospitality leaders warn May 4, 2026 The “politically toxic” holiday tax could turn hordes of voters against Labour if it is pushed through, hospitality leaders have warned the government. The proposed tax could threaten the fragile majorities of a host of Labour big beasts including health secretary Wes Streeting and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, trade body UK Hospitality (UKH) has claimed. [...]
Greene King selling 150 pubs over ‘unprecedented costs’, boss says May 4, 2026 Greene King’s decision to put 150 pubs up for sale was a reaction to the “unprecedented” costs facing hospitality, its boss has said. The pub chain, one of the UK’s largest, revealed plans to put as many as 150 pubs on the chopping block in March and chief executive Nick Mackenzie told City AM this [...]
Whitbread to cut nearly 4,000 jobs in £2bn cost saving plan April 30, 2026 Whitbread is to slash nearly 4,000 jobs as part of plans to offload restaurants and sell off the freehold rights to its hotels, in a bid to raise £2bn. Shares in the company slipped on Thursday after it announced the plans to raise £1.5bn by selling off the freehold rights to a raft of its [...]
Special relationship: Americans snub champagne in favour of English fizz April 29, 2026 Americans are flocking to English wine and snubbing champagne, the boss of England’s biggest winemaker has said. Kent-based Chapel Down said consumers across the Atlantic are fuelling record demand for English sparkling wine, as the AIM-listed firm bets big on the US market. Chief executive James Pennefather told City AM: “Americans are really embracing Chapel [...]