Tuesday 5/5/15
Telegraph.co.uk: Scottish drink-drive laws hit sales at Greene King: Tougher drink-drive limits in Scotland hit sales, as pub group awaits decision on acquisition of rival Spirit. Greene King has blamed tougher drink-drive laws in Scotland for weak sales growth this year. The pub group reported a 0.4pc rise in like-for-like sales in the 51 weeks to April 26, as total sales rose by 6.3pc. Without the impact of the Scottish regulations – which came into force last December – like-for-like sales rose 0.8pc. The company said in a trading statement that it had performed well over the busy Easter period, and recorded bumper revenues of £4m on Valentine’s Day. Rooney Anand, the chief executive of Greene King, said: “We once again traded well over key events, such as Valentine’s Day and Easter, as customers celebrated and enjoyed these occasions in our pubs.The second half of this financial year, however, has been tougher than the first half, with more difficult comparatives to last year and the additional impact of new drink driving legislation in Scotland.” Greene King, which currently owns around 1,900 pubs and makes Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale, is awaiting a decision from UK regulators on its offer to buy rival group Spirit last November. The Competition & Markets Authority is due to decide next week whether the deal, which would create the UK’s largest managed pubs operator, can go ahead. Mr Anand said the merger would “accelerate our retail expansion strategy and deliver significant synergy opportunities and scale benefits for both sets of shareholders”. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity said Greene King’s “lacklustre” trading statement served as a reminder of the importance of the deal, which could lead to cost savings of £30m. “The deal is more than purely defensive; we believe the combined entity will be a much stronger investment proposition with higher quality earnings, stronger free cash flow and better growth prospects. This goal is where investors need to remain focused,” said Nigel Parson, an analyst at Canaccord. Recent surveys of the Scottish economy suggest the reduction in the legal alcohol limit from to 50mg from 80mg in every 100ml of blood has had a significant impact. The Bank of Scotland’s latest PMI showed activity in Scotland’s manufacturing and services sectors contracted in March as bars, restaurants and pubs saw “a changing pattern of spending” because of the new law.
Propelinfonews.com: Rick Stein – red tape is stopping us buying fish locally: The chef and restaurant owner Rick Stein has hit out at the red tape around quotas that he says stop him sourcing local fish at one of his new restaurant in Cornwall. Stein opened his ninth venue five months ago, in Porthleven, which specialises in locally caught species. However, he says, the restaurant has faced constant challenges by all the barriers designed to protect fish quotas. Stein said he was bogged down with so much paperwork and lengthy waiting times that the restaurant has struggled to get any fish directly from the town’s harbour. He said: “In my day, you just went straight to the boats. I didn’t realise there was all this paperwork involved now. All I say is that we have to buy local fish. If you go round the restaurants tasting food, you’ll soon know the ones that use fresh fish.” To cope with the shortfall, Stein said, he resorted to buying fish from Newlyn, which is 14 miles away.
Propelinfonews.com: TLC Inns – fourth Grand Central opening has broken all records, in talks for fifth site: TLC Inns, the pub and restaurant operator led by Steve and Jo Haslam, has reported that its fourth Grand Central Bar & Grill opening, in Ipswich, has broken company records for an opening week, with sales topping £50,000 even with the team holding back so that capacity did not exceed 75%. Steve Haslam told Propel: “Both food and wet sales beat all previous opening weeks for pubs and Grand Centrals, with wet sales exceeding any wet sales ever achieved at any Grand Central site in any week. Dayparts, including breakfast, have been stronger than anticipated, with evenings being very buoyant with many guests being unable to get a table. Future bookings are flooding in, and corporate interest for larger parties is higher than we have ever experienced. We have maintained a good level of service but suffered major IT failure and the collapse of a chef during our peak on Saturday night, which lead to some negative feedback. However, the team were immense in recovering as quickly as possible from this. We have been very surprised by the level of cocktail sales, again breaking records, with nearly 500 sold. On the whole, we are really pleased with the positive feedback from our guests, who have been genuinely excited by our opening. We are now in early stage discussions to secure another site for Grand Central, and if successful this will be our highest profile site to date – discussions we hope will lead to a deal within the next couple of weeks, if terms can be agreed. We would anticipate further sites in this financial year, after our results, reported recently, showed solid growth. Ebitda is expected to grow with our new Grand Central to £1.5 million in the current financial year. This could possibly exceed £2m if we secure the sites we are targeting.”
Wednesday 6/5/14
Propelinfonews.com: Zizzi signs for Intu Derby site: The Italian restaurant brand Zizzi has taken a 3,000 sq ft unit, due to open this summer, opposite Eat Central, Wagamama and TGI Friday’s, in Intu Derby. The announcement comes after the signing up of Byron and Joe’s Kitchen for units in the shopping centre. Marc Ward, group head of acquisitions at Azzurri Restaurants, said: “The addition of Zizzi will further enrich Intu Derby’s restaurant provision by providing a variety of restaurants for its 25 million annual customers to enjoy throughout the day and into the evening. As a gateway to the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales, which both attract high levels of tourism, Intu Derby is an essential shopping destination and Intu is focused on creating the perfect environment for customers to shop, eat and relax.”
Propelinfonews.com: Second Haycocks and Tailbar to open, this time in Leicester: Businessmen Martin Stevens and Sam Dale are to expand their Haycock and Tailbar brand into Leicester. Young’s in Belvoir Street, which was the oldest high street business in the city when it closed five years ago, is being turned into an outlet for the brand, which is already operating at a site in Northampton. Stevens and Dale also run two Hakamou Hawaiian-style bars. The new restaurant is being dubbed a “supper club” and will create 17 jobs when it opens in the summer. Young’s of Leicester shut its doors in December 2010, after going into voluntary liquidation.
Thedrinksreport.com: Research reveals green shoots in the on-trade: The London Wine Fair organisers have commissioned a second state of the nation report in the lead up to the 2015 show, following on from its 2014 study on Generation Y. ‘Carpe Vinum 2015 – The On-trade’, sponsored by Wines from Rioja, investigates the on-trade sector in the UK. The study, which was carried out by leading market researchers, Wine Intelligence, suggests that the UK on-trade is in recovery after seven years of economic recession and a slump in consumer spending.The on-trade has been diminished and is badly in need of innovation to draw back consumers lured away by cheap supermarket deals. The recession has been instrumental in changing the face of the on-trade, with more young people eating out more frequently and moving the restaurant sector towards informal, ‘no frills’ environments. Traditional on-trade formats are blending with brasserie-style restaurants serving more affordable and better quality food, resulting in a growth in food sales and more restaurants opening. Conversely, drink sales are declining and pubs are closing as consumers demand quality and value over choice.
Thursday 7/5/15
Propelinfonews.com: Tokyo Industries boss found guilty of putting lives at risk: Tokyo Industries managing director Aaron Mellor has been found guilty of putting the lives of staff and customers at risk in 2013 at the former Tokyo nightclub in Lincoln. Mellor, whose company is one of the UK’s most successful late-night operators with circa 25 sites, was found guilty by Lincoln Magistrates Court of 11 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He is set to appear at Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing on 22 May. Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue visited Tokyo in Silver Street in April 1, 2013 and discovered lives were being put in danger according to fire safety regulations. The offences included failing to take general fire precautions required to ensure the premises were safe, which could have resulted in one or more people being at serious risk of injury or death. Fire exits had been blocked by rubbish bags, chairs and tables, and in the basement area of the club, where there was a maximum capacity of 280 people, there were 460 on the night in question. The establishment had unclear fire exit signs and routes that were not correctly illuminated with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of the normal lighting failing. The premises also had emergency doors locked and could not be immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is legally responsible for making sure that premises have preventative and protective measures in place in case there is a fire. Keiron Davey, Technical Community Fire Prevention Manager, told Lincolnlite: “We offer advice and support to local businesses to make sure their premises are safe, however we will take action against those who are seriously breaching the regulations or have disregard for safety in the event of fire. Significant changes were made to this building to convert it into a nightclub which left it without a sufficient number of fire exits. In the event of a fire, people enjoying their night or serving drinks would have struggled to escape to safety. Considering fire safety isn’t an option, it is the law. It works exactly the same as health and safety legislation – if you ignore it there isn’t a warning and it will be treated as failing to comply.” The company still operates the premises on Silver Street, which have since been renamed.
Pubs more positive about future as events grow in importance
By Mike Berry, 07-May-2015
Publican’s Morning Advertiser readers are experiencing a more positive trading environment with more than half reporting a rise in turnover during the past year and almost six in 10 licensees planning to invest in their pub in the coming 12 months.
Friday 8/5/15
Propelinfonews.com: McManus Pub Company parent company reports losses: McManus Pub Company’s parent company McManus Holdings, which operates pubs in the Northampton area, has reported losses in the 15 months to 26 July 2014. Turnover was £7,885,000 for the 15 months, producing pre-tax loss of £1,998,000. The previous 12-month period saw a profit of £170,000. The company said that pro-rata sales were down 4.3%. There was a loss on revaluation an impairment of £1,582,000, and losses on fixed assets of £460,000. The net operating margin was 4.8% when these are excluded.