‘Rachel Reeves, you must do better’: Chancellor urged to act before hospitality’s collapse February 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to take urgent action to prevent the collapse of thousands of hospitality businesses across the UK. In an open letter Sacha Lord, who was until recently Andy Burnham’s night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said he no longer considers Labour to be the party of “business and growth”. [...]
OYO: Billionaire’s hotel empire to make £50m UK investment February 3, 2025 OYO, the hotel chain founded by Indian billionaire Ritesh Agarwai, has revealed plans to invest £50m in the UK over the next three years and support 1,000 jobs. The news comes after the group, which first entered the UK market in 2018, announced its ambition towards the end of 2024 to open 40 new hotels [...]
Pubs pin hopes on Christmas trading period amid post-Budget woes December 9, 2024 The UK’s hospitality industry is gearing up for a bumper festive season, the first in four years not to be affected by pandemic restrictions or transport strikes. The preparations come ahead of what is seen as one of the busiest times of year for pub operators across the country, a number of whom hope to [...]
Budget tax grab will put hospitality jobs at risk, trade groups warn October 28, 2024 UK business leaders have threatened to scale back on jobs growth and investment if business rates relief is not extended in the upcoming Budget.
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 [...]