Monday 11/1/16
Property Week: Cushman & Wakefield has been instructed to sell the freehold interest in two Holiday Inn Express hotels for a total of £13.5m: Located in Kettering and Preston, the two hotels have 223 rooms between them and are being sold with vacant possession and franchise agreements from IHG. Holiday Inn Express Preston South comprises 103 bedrooms averaging 320 sq ft, three meeting rooms, a bar, restaurant and parking for 110 vehicles. Holiday Inn Express Kettering comprises 120 bedrooms averaging 250 sq ft, four meeting rooms, a hotel bar, restaurant and 99 on-site parking spaces. The hotel in Preston is on the market with a guide price of £5.5m while the Kettering hotel had a guide price of £8m. Richard Candey, senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “These two hotels present a great investment opportunity. Both boast strong trading performance and have continued growth prospects.’’
Propelinfonews.com: New £1m bar and grill restaurant concept set to open in Lincoln: A new £1m bar and grill restaurant concept is set to open in Burton Waters, Lincoln. Mike Baldry and Stephen Fox are launching Harbour Lights Bar and Grill on the site of the former Harbour City Chinese restaurant. A major refit is planned for the interior, and the new venue will be ready to serve its first diners by early summer. Customers will be able to enjoy steaks and grilled food along with seafood specialties. Baldry, who owns the Peugeot dealership in Lincoln High Street, told the Lincolnshire Echo: “From buying the restaurant, and also the refit, we will have probably spent a million. It is having a complete and utter refit. It was a great little restaurant but it was getting a bit tired.” Fox added: “We are really looking forward to this new venture and are hoping it will bring lots more excitement into the area.”
Propelinfonews.com: Cairn Hotel Group buys boutique hotel out of administration: A 39-bedroom boutique hotel set within 26 acres of gardens in Buckinghamshire has been purchased out of administration. International agent Savills has sold the long leasehold interest in Stoke Place Hotel, Stoke Poges, to a subsidiary of Cairn Hotel Group for an undisclosed sum. The sale was completed on behalf of MB Callaghan and RM Wilkinson, the joint administrators of Stoke Place Hotel Ltd. The hotel is set within 26 acres of gardens designed by the celebrated 18th century landscape architect Capability Brown. It comprises a grade II-listed manor house, two cottages and a separate terrace of bedrooms as well as a drawing room, restaurant, bar, wine cellar and events facilities. There are a number of high profile tourist and leisure destinations, including Windsor Castle, Ascot Racecourse and Legoland, situated close by. Gary Witham, hotels director at Savills, said: “This country house hotel was once a renowned wedding and events venue and is well-suited to both leisure and corporate guests. Cairn Hotel Group also owns the nearby Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross as part of its extensive portfolio and has the capability and expertise to put Stoke Place back on the map.”
Tuesday 12/1/16
Bighospitality.co.uk: How to safeguard your hospitality business against flooding
By Sandra Jones, 11-Jan-2016
http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Business/How-to-safeguard-your-hospitality-business-against-flooding
Propelinfonews.com: Flying Kiwi Inns reports pre-tax profit reduces by more than 50%: Norfolk operator Flying Kiwi Inns, led by chef Chris Coubrough, has reported its pre-tax profit fell by more than 50% for the year ending 31 March 2015. The company, which operates three sites, saw a pre-tax profit of £206,129, compared to £478,236 the previous year, according to accounts filed with Companies House. Turnover remained almost the same at £3,027,454, compared to £3,027,521 the year before. The company stated: “The group has spent money in the year improving the offering to the customer, in particular on the restaurant facilities. The rewards for this investment are being felt in the 2015/16 year. The company will also continue to implement efficiency improvements, which commenced in the current year, in line with its policy for maximising profits generated from the sales made. The group is not currently planning on investing in further outlets however, should an opportunity arise where we feel that an addition would significantly improve the profitability of the group then the possibility would be carefully considered.”
Propelinfonews.com: Batemans acquires Rotherham pub/restaurant: Batemans, the family brewer based in Lincolnshire, has acquired the Fairways pub/restaurant in Rotherham for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £1.1m. Agent Fleurets acted for the owners Yorkstone Property, which had owned and operated the former Spirit managed house in Bawtry Road since 2008. Batemans Brewery retail director Linda Green said: “The purchase marks a great step forward in terms of our strategic review and we look forward to introducing our beers to this part of South Yorkshire.” Nick Thomas, from Fleurets’ Leeds office, added: “The Fairways is a good example of a wet-led community pub/restaurant with the added benefit of seven letting bedrooms, which Batemans were able to readily appreciate. Management operated on a simple wet:dry format with the added benefit of letting income, the Fairways will readily transfer to Batemans intended style of operation and further cements their expanding presence in this part of Yorkshire.”
Propelinfonews.com: Cambridge pub and restaurant operator to relaunch gastro-pub: Cambridge pub and restaurant operator Camscuisine is to relaunch a gastro-pub The Crown and Punchbowl in Horningsea in mid-February after a substantial refurbishment. “Firstly we will be restoring the exterior and opening the front door as an entrance,” a spokesman said. “There will be outside seating to the front of the building and a complete refurbishment of the pub and restaurant as well as the five guest rooms upstairs. We are also adding a conservatory over the present outside seating area to the rear. We aim to make the place more convivial and to welcome people in for just a drink – the bar area will be bigger, more appealing and will serve real ales straight from the cask.” Four further rooms will be added in a year’s time.
Propelinfonews.com: Huntingdon operator plans upmarket restaurant, coffee shop and wine bar after acquiring masonic lodge: Huntingdon businessman Raj Subhan, who has operated the Darjeeling restaurant in the town for 12 years, has bought the former masonic lodge in Huntingdon to convert into an upmarket restaurant, coffee shop and wine bar. Neighbours had feared Subhan would use the building as a nightclub after he applied to extend opening times to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Subhan, a former deputy town mayor, said: “Following discussions with the council’s planning officers we have compromised on our original opening requirements for Friday and Saturday and are now happy to operate until midnight on these evenings. The Darjeeling has operated across the road for over 12 years and we have never had any problems with our customers causing disruption to local residents.”
Wednesday 13/1/16
Propelinfonews.com: Batemans completes extensive investment programme, reveals third acquisition: Batemans, the family brewer based in Lincolnshire, has completed an extensive investment programme in 2015, renovating several sites and working closely with its licensees to ensure they are comprehensively trained with the skills they need to make their pubs a success. Alongside the acquisition of The Olive Bar & Grill, Doncaster, and The Game Bird in Beverley, Batemans also purchased The Ladybower Inn as part of its strategy to buy larger pubs with good food, drink and accommodation income streams. This site will run under a Pub Operators Agreement (POA) style contract (a cross between a managed and tenanted pub, which sees the operator take a percentage of turnover). Located in the Peak District, The Ladybower enjoys high tourist footfall thanks to its scenic surroundings, and Batemans anticipates an annual barrelage of up to 400. Stuart Bateman, managing director of Batemans, said: “We have a much defined strategy in place for Batemans, to secure its future and ongoing success and key to this is investment – both into our people, and our estate. We are searching for talent: be they tenants, POA operators; managers; assistant managers and trainees. We want to have the best people working in our sites, and want the pubs they run to be of the highest standard. This investment programme will continue this year, as we look to acquire other sites and increase the number running under POA agreements and management.”
Propleinfonews.com: Leicester comedy club, bar and music venue expanding offering with new restaurant: Leicester comedy club, bar and music venue The Cookie is opening a new on-site restaurant tomorrow (Thursday, 14 January). The High Street venue, which began life as a coffee shop and has hosted music acts including George Ezra and comedians such as Russell Kane, is launching The Kitchen, which will serve a range of dishes for breakfast, lunch and early dinner – available until 7pm. Last year it added gin and cocktail bar The Attic upstairs and it is now expanding its offering further. Owner Tinny Hopkins told Leicester Market: “The Cookie has grown from a coffee shop into one of the city’s best loved venues over the last ten years. Not just hosting some of the biggest acts in the venue downstairs but also as a regular haunt to enjoy after work drinks and catching up with friends. It was important to us to nurture these new business developments within our venue and it’s fantastic to see the individual ventures doing so well.”
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Independents face tough year against large chains
By Daniel Woolfson, 12-Jan-2016
Independent food operators worried about competing with larger groups need to “fight back” by demonstrating their individuality in 2016, an industry expert has advised.
Thursday 14/1/16
Insidermedia.com: Norfolk to get new Travelodge hotels: Hotel group Travelodge is set to invest £140m to open 19 new hotels this year, including two in Norfolk. This expansion is expected to create 450 jobs and increase the company’s network to 542 hotels. Travelodge said the new hotels “continue the company’s drive to build a greater network for corporate customers”. In addition to the 2016 openings, the company has identified 250 further locations for Travelodge development in the UK. Chief executive Peter Gowers said: “The value hotel market continues to go from strength to strength, boosted by ever more cost-conscious businesses and the growth in independent leisure travel. “To meet the growing demand Travelodge is continuing to invest in upgrading and expanding our network. These 19 new hotels, many with our new bar café restaurants, mark another important step in our drive to deliver greater quality for our customers.” The new Norfolk hotels will be located in King’s Lynn and Thetford.
Peterboroughtoday.co.uk: £1m restaurant could create 40 jobs in Peterborough city centre: A £1million French bistro in Peterborough city centre – creating around 40 jobs – has moved a step closer. Agents acting for leading restaurant chain Côte Brasserie – lured by the growing appeal of Cathedral Square – have submitted a planning application for the change of use of the vacant, former Santander Bank premises in Church Street with a view to opening later this year, possibly the summer.A drinks licence for the premises has already been granted by the city council. The proposals involve seating for more than 140 diners on the ground and first floors, with an awning at the front of the building and seating for about a dozen diners outside. The existing shopfront including access ramp will be retained and painted, although the windows will be replaced with bi-folding doors that can be fully opened to allow the café activity to spill out onto the pavement and “increase the interaction between the building and the public realm”. A spokeswoman for the company said it was hoped the planning application would be determined next month “ and if all goes well we would then look to open sometime in the summer. “ The cost of refurbishment across three floors of the building would be in the region of £1 million, she added, creating roughly 40 jobs in the local area across the front and back of house roles. “We’ve been looking for a spot in Peterborough for some time and are very excited to have secured this site just near the stunning cathedral.
Friday 15/1/16
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Country’s biggest LVA shuts down and launches new Norfolk support fund
By Mike Berry, 14-Jan-2016
The Licensed Trade Charity has launched a new pub support fund in Norfolk following the demise of the Norwich and Norfolk Licensed Victualler’s Association (N&NLVA). Read More