Marston’s ditches brewing and switches to ‘pure play hospitality’ October 16, 2024 Pub group Marston’s has officially ditched brewing and announced a new strategy, which will see it focus entirely on pubs. In a vote of confidence for the UK’s hospitality sector, it will “embark on a new chapter” as a pure-play hospitality business, its chief executive Justin Platt said. “We are outlining a differentiated strategy for [...]
Pubs face ‘double whammy’ of tax hikes as hundreds call last orders for good September 23, 2024 Around 50 pubs per month ‘vanished’ from England and Wales in the first half of the year as hospitality struggled with costs and tax rates. The overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,096 at the end of the first half of 2024, down [...]
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts back in the red as cost increases bite September 9, 2024 Macdonald Hotels & Resorts slumped back into the red during its latest financial year as it battled a rise in its costs. The group, which is headquartered in East Kilbride, Scotland, has reported a pre-tax loss of £3.5m for the year to 28, September, 2023, after having posted a pre-tax profit of £44.5m in the [...]
Naked Wines boss ‘excited about the future’ as the company goes ‘back to basics’ August 30, 2024 Over the last year, Naked Wines has undergone a painful restructuring process, with measures to reduce costs, stock, and advertising spending in what it called a “pivot to profit.” In December 2023, the company warned that it might not be able to pay its debts if it didn’t manage to make a turnaround work. Now, [...]
London hotel occupancy rates return to pre-Covid levels but services inflation fears fueled August 29, 2024 London hotels enjoyed another strong month in July as occupancy rates finally ticked back up to peak occupancy levels seen in summer 2019, but it’s not all rosy for the industry. London occupancy reached 89.3 per cent, up on 84.6 per cent last year and back to peak occupancy levels seen in July 2019. Despite [...]
Outdoor pub smoking ban would cause ‘serious economic harm’ to UK hospitality August 29, 2024 A possible smoking ban in outdoor spaces of pubs, bars and restaurants in the UK is likely to do more harm than good, leading trade figures have warned. The ban would make it illegal to smoke in pubs, outdoor restaurants and open-air spaces in nightclubs, according to leaked documents seen by The Sun, in a [...]
Magners and Tennent’s owner C&C outperforms in tough alcohol market August 15, 2024 Drinks company C&C, the owner of brands such as Magners and Tennent’s, has said it’s on track to meet expectations this year despite well-documented troubles in the alcohol industry. The firm, which is headquartered in Dublin, said in an update ahead of its AGM that it remained “confident” of achieving its set goal and that [...]
Burger King UK’s revenue spikes after restaurants revamped and new sites opened August 12, 2024 Burger King has reported a rise in sales and revenue in 2023 after a boost from new restaurant openings. Revenue spiked by a huge 30 per cent, although like-for-like sales only rose by three percent. The rise in revenue was due to growth in the “existing estate and new restaurants”, as well as “good cost [...]
Just Eat: Shares spike, but is there trouble ahead? July 31, 2024 Just Eat beat market expectations in its first-half results and announced a share buyback of up to €150m (£126m). The market responded well: the takeaway giant’s share price rose by over eight per cent on Wednesday. True, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at the Amsterdam-headquartered company surged 42 per cent, but [...]
Just Eat: Brits lead the way for takeaway giant as revenue dips July 31, 2024 Brits willing to shell out cash on takeaways fuelled Just Eat in the first half of the year, but negative growth in north America and southern Europe led to a dip in revenue overall. Total revenue dropped by one per cent at the takeaway giant year on year in the first half of 2024, while [...]