Coco di Mama boss: ‘Extreme’ tube strikes pressuring hospitality at crucial time September 11, 2025 Coco di Mama’s boss has said that the significant tube strikes this week have put pressure on the sector at a difficult time. The strikes, which began on September 7, have caused mass disruption in the City as Londoners attempt to find other ways to get to work or opt to stay at home. “It’s [...]
Raising Cane’s: Billionaire’s KFC rival and TikTok sensation to open in the UK September 4, 2025 Raising Cane’s, the US fast food giant which has become a sensation on TikTok, has confirmed plans to open its first UK location next year. The business is to launch its flagship site at 21-22 Coventry St in London’s West End towards the end of 2026. An exact opening date has yet to be announced. [...]
Gen Z prioritise fitness spending over pubs and restaurants September 3, 2025 Spending by Gen Z on fitness activities has jumped in the last year as Brits focus on fitness over pubs and restaurants, according to new data. With three quarters of Gen Z exercising at least twice per week, fitness spending has risen 17 per cent in the last year, according to a report by The [...]
Zoe Hamburger leaves McDonald’s UK&I as successor named September 2, 2025 After 18 months of maybe the UK’s best case of nominative determinism, Zoe Hamburger has stepped down from her senior role at the UK arm of McDonald’s. Hamburger joined the McDonald’s UK senior leadership team as chief restaurant officer in March 2024. In that role she was responsible for the operational restaurant business, including delivery, [...]
Hospitality bears brunt of job losses since October budget as costs rocket August 25, 2025 Over half of all job losses in the UK since last October’s budget have been in hospitality as the sector struggles under the weight of rising costs, according to new data. Of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, almost 89,000 have been lost in hospitality. The scale of job losses [...]
One in five hospitality firms have no cash reserves after tax raid August 20, 2025 A fifth of British hospitality businesses have no cash reserves left and nearly eight in 10 have raised prices as they battle to shoulder the succession of cost hikes placed on them at last year’s autumn Budget. Fresh data from four of the sector’s trade bodies showed that 69 per cent of members have less [...]
Dishoom warns that Brits’ low incomes pose risk for hospitality August 13, 2025 Dishoom has warned that the dual effects of still-low disposable income in the UK and tax rises in last autumn’s Budget present a short-term risk to British hospitality. The iconic restaurant business added that these factors may be exacerbated by “a possible slowdown in economic growth”. Confidence in the UK’s hospitality sector has been in [...]
Campanelle restaurant review: Beware! Dangerously good carbonara August 13, 2025 There are some truly perverse architectural sights in the City of London. Walk down Bishopsgate and teeny-tiny St Ethelburga’s church looks ridiculously quaint in front of the towering Gherkin – it’s one example of how in the Square Mile, history and modernity clash thrillingly. If this sort of architectural nerdery is for you, go to [...]
KFC and Pizza Hut help serve up huge profit for owner August 12, 2025 Huge dividends from KFC and Pizza Hut helped their owner Yum! Brands more than triple its profit last year, it has been revealed. The group’s European division has posted a pre-tax profit of $1.2bn (£892.7m) for 2024, up significantly from the $317.1m (£235.8m) it posted for 2023. The firm, Yum! Restaurant Holdings, is a holding [...]
Here’s why the Simmons bar was never going to last August 6, 2025 It should have worked. On every level. Millennial pink neon art, reliably late opening hours, chugging cheap cocktails to disco playlists. Who doesn’t like disco playlists? And yet, after taking the “tough decision” to close four bars, Simmons has gone into administration, owing millions to the bank and tax collectors. When Simmons launched in 2013, [...]