Monday 7/11/16
Morningadvertiser.co.uk – Business rates revaluation ‘a fine for being good at your job’
By Helen Gilbert, 07-Nov-2016
An outraged Hertfordshire licensee has branded the business rates revaluation a ‘fine for being good at your job’. Read More
Propelinfonews.com – New cupcake and champagne bar concept to open in Norwich: A new cupcake and champagne bar concept is set to open in Norwich. Tracey Watt and Pepe Ong, who have both been in the catering industry for more than 25 years, will launch Cupcakes & Bubbles on Tuesday (8 November) in Timber Hill. It will serve a range of home-baked rustic treats and tipples, including cupcakes – in flavours such as Eton mess and lemon and vanilla – as well as brownies, champagne and prosecco. Watt told the Eastern Daily Press: “Our cafe is housed in a grade II-listed building that retains its original features and provides the perfect atmosphere for guests to relax and unwind.”
Tuesday 8/11/16
Bighospitality.co.uk – UK curry ‘at risk’: Enam Ali MBE hits back at PM immigration ‘backtrack’
By Hannah Thompson, 07-Nov-2016
Enam Ali, the founder of the British Curry Awards, has called out Prime Minister Theresa May for what he calls a ‘backtrack’ on immigration laws, which he claims will now put the UK’s curry industry at risk.
Propelinfonews.com – Social entrepreneur to launch live music venue in Nottingham offering opportunities for trainee chefs: Social entrepreneur Robert Howie-Smith has had plans approved for a new live music venue in Nottingham’s Creative Quarter, which will include opportunities for trainee chefs and kitchen staff. The entrepreneur runs the Howie Smith Project – a charity that takes derelict spaces and redevelops them for the artistic community to use. The 150-capacity Hub@The Corner, on the corner of Stoney Street and Warser Gate, will host stand-up comedy, literary and spoken word events, live music, live art and small-scale performance theatre. During the day, the space will also provide an opportunity for trainee chefs and part-time kitchen employees to practise and develop their skills, The Business Desk reports. It will also serve as a mid-size conference space for meetings, workshops, rehearsals and presentations, and as a co-working space and hub for creative professionals. The Project runs venues such as City Arts, The Nottingham Writers Studio, and Oriel Chambers Courtyard in Nottingham as well as Sixty-Eight Humberstone Gate in Leicester.
Wednesday 9/11/16
Propelinfonews.com – Lincolnshire-based pub operators acquire Caistor restaurant: Lincolnshire-based pub operators Megan Frances and Martin Goodhand have expanded their portfolio after acquiring a restaurant in Caistor. The pair, who run the Royal Oak in Holton-le-Clay, have reopened The Settlement and Parkers Restaurant in Market Place, creating 25 jobs. The venue, which was previously run by Fine Leisure, had been closed since September. Frances said she wanted to ensure the restaurant was family-oriented and promised big plans for the future. She told the Grimsby Telegraph: “It’s a listed building with a lot of character so we want to keep certain things the same. We used to love coming here ourselves and we knew the previous people (who managed it). It all came about by chance.”
Thursday 10/11/16
Propelinfonews.com – Lincolnshire bakery chain Cooplands enters administration: Cooplands, the high-street bakery that has 24 outlets throughout Lincolnshire, has entered administration. It’s not the first time Cooplands has collapsed and its parent company, Alison’s Coffee Shops, has been operating under a company voluntary arrangement since April. The Doncaster-based business, which was founded in 1932, first went into administration in 2015 when it was taken over by business restructuring specialist Resolve, which acquired Cooplands’ 41 stores and its van delivery service. Meanwhile, in Lincoln at the end of September, Cooplands closed two of its stores without notice, making staff redundant with immediate effect. The Cooplands bakeries in Bailgate and the Carlton Centre were shut overnight, with the company claiming in a letter to staff that the decision was made because of rising operational costs. The company has fallen into difficulties again, and on 3 November it appointed Opus Restructuring of London as administrators, reports The Business Desk.
Golfclunmanagement.net – Council rejects proposal to convert entire golf course into housing estate: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has surprisingly rejected a proposal to convert Plough Hill Golf Centre in Warwickshire into a housing estate. The decision comes amid growing calls to convert golf courses into housing to meet the UK’s shortage, but also shows local opposition to the potential loss of green space. Plough Hill LLP, which is made up of three companies, had hoped to demolish the golf club and build 300 new homes in its place, and the local press had predicted that the council would give it the go ahead. The application stated ‘residential development of up to 300 houses, open space relocation of existing nursery access and associated works with demolition of existing buildings.’ However, members of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s planning applications committee ignored recommendations to approve the proposal and have rejected the application. One said he did so because the new homes would lead to traffic and parking problems. The golf club is made up of a nine-hole course and a driving range. Dozens of local residents had written to their local council to express their opposition to the loss of the golf club. Earlier this year housing magazine Property Week called for golf clubs to be concreted over so that homes could be built on them, and in 2014 the then business secretary, Vince Cable, said if he were in a middle income family in Surrey struggling to find a suitable home he would “ask myself is a golf course sacred or are there better uses of the land?”
Insidermedia.com – Administrators seal pre-pack deal for golf club: A golf and country club set within 240 acres of land in Hertfordshire has been acquired out of administration in a pre-pack deal. Kirstie Provan and Gary Shankland of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators of Roebix Ltd, trading as Great Hadham Golf & Country Club, on 27 October 2016. Founded in 1992, Great Hadham has an 18-hole championship course and a nine-hole academy course. In addition to its golfing facilities, it also boasts an on-site gym, bar and function rooms for events including parties and weddings. The appointment of administrators was made by the directors as a result of “significant cash flow pressures” which resulted in the failure of the previous company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which had been in place since 2014. Prior to making the appointment, the directors sought additional investment from new lenders but were unable to procure enough funding. The business and assets were marketed for sale by the joint administrators, who were assisted by specialist broker HMH Golf & Leisure. Immediately following the appointment, the business and certain assets of the company were sold as a pre-pack to Great Hadham Country Club Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The business has continued to trade and no redundancies were made as part of the administration process.
Friday 11/11/16
Propelinfonews.com – Cooplands Bakery bought out of administration: Alison’s Coffee Shops, which traded as Cooplands Bakery throughout Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, has been bought out of administration. The business and certain assets of Alison’s Coffee Shops, including 29 retail units, were acquired by Cooplands Retail. The 150 staff employed by Alison’s Coffee Shops have been retained by Cooplands Retail and the business continues to trade as Cooplands from all 29 outlets. A Cooplands Retail spokesman told Insider Media: “We are pleased to be continuing the hard work that had gone on over the preceding two years to return Cooplands to its former glories. An entirely new product range is on sale and an increasing percentage of product is made in-house at the original bakery of Cooplands in Doncaster. Customers are returning and sales are increasing once more. We are fiercely proud of Coopland’s Yorkshire roots and we believe we offer a genuine and valued alternative to the large national bakery chains and supermarkets.” Stephen Parker, partner at Opus Restructuring, which was appointed as administrator, added: “It would have been a tragedy if such a well-known local business as Cooplands had failed after being a fixture in its region since it was originally established in 1885. We are pleased to see it survive and continue to serve its loyal customer base.