Hugh Osmond-backed restaurant group snaps up pubs to launch new brand Hospitality The restaurant group backed by British businessman Hugh Osmond has bought four pubs for more than £11m as it launches a new brand. London-listed Various Eateries has bought the four sites – in the Cotswolds, Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire – from Grosvenor Pubs and Inns for £11.5m. The group said “premium” pubs with rooms remain [...]
Ministry of Sound says clubbing is back as it reopens The Box Life&Style Famous London super club Ministry of Sound turns 35 this year, celebrating the occasion with the completion of a five year, multi-million pound renovation. The final piece of the puzzle: the main arena, known to generations of clubbers simply as “The Box”. Self-described as “one of the most revered club spaces in the world” there’s [...]
Losses widen at owner of scandal-hit The Groucho Club Business Losses have widened at the owner of The Groucho Club in London despite its turnover rising during its latest financial year. The Groucho Club is one of London’s most famous private members’ clubs and has been going since 1985. The Soho venue was founded a a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs and has [...]
Bleak ‘hospitality zones’ will make London nightlife even worse July 31, 2025 Proposed ‘hospitality zones’ for alfresco dining are little more than top-down attempts at vibrancy which will move nightlife away from where it’s already thriving into sterile Boxpark clones, says Tom Jones It is a Saturday night. Your exhaustion from a week of open-plan purgatory – the train delays, the Slack pings, the passive-aggressive tone of [...]
I’ve dealt with gangsters and petrol bombs, but Nimbys are a bigger threat to nightlife June 11, 2025 As founder of the world’s biggest nightclub and a festival for 80,000 punters, Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord has dealt with guns and petrol bombs. But he says the biggest threat he’s encountered is Nimbys trying to shut down festivals like Brockwell Live What qualifies me to write about Nimbys being nightlife’s biggest [...]
Is Sadiq Khan finally getting something right on London’s nightlife? March 20, 2025 It has taken eight years – and the appointment of one disastrous night czar – but Sadiq Khan is finally listening to industry when it comes to the future of London’s after hours leisure economy, writes James Ford As a former aide to the previous Mayor of London, it is very rare that I find [...]
Tired of London: Why is the capital losing hope? February 12, 2025 City dwellers tend to be more optimistic about their neighbourhood than those who live in town but, worryingly, London is bucking the trend. We all have a stake in our capital’s success. So what’s going wrong? Asks Simon Clarke “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. Samuel Johnson’s famous aphorism [...]
Roundhead Reeves is effectively banning nightclubs through tax January 15, 2025 There has been an alarming decline in people going to nightclubs and Rachel Reeves growth-killing, fun-banning Budget is partly to blame. Fortunately there are some simple solutions to bringing back the big night out, says James Price The philosopher Ted Mosby, in his magnum opus How I Met Your Mother, once opined that: “Nothing good [...]
Sixes Social Cricket hits record turnover as first franchises open in UK September 3, 2024 The company behind the party bar chain Sixes Social Cricket has seen its turnover jump following the launch of its franchise arm, newly-filed documents have revealed. The Aberdeen-headquartered firm, which was founded in 2020, saw its turnover increase to £7.5m in the 12 months ending August 31, 2023, up from £4.5m in the year before. [...]
Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bar owner XP Factory toasts good start to year May 8, 2024 Novelty bar and experience provider XP factory has continued its impressive performance in 2024 with double digit growth across both its brands, Boom and Escape Hunt.