26/09/2017
American Embassy to become second Rosewood Hotel
The American Embassy is a Grade II listed building located in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair. Later in the year the American Embassy will be transferred to a new location in Battersea after which a £1b transformation will take place. The Rosewood already operates a five-red-AA star, 306 bedroomed hotel in Holborn and as announced by The Caterer will launch their second 137 bedroom site at the American Embassy.
Shepherd Neame announces increased turnover in annual results
As reported by Pub and Bar magazine, Shepherd Neame has announced its annual results for the year ending 24th June 2017. The brewer reported a 11.7% increase in turnover, taking £139.9m to £156.2m. The managed house estate saw an 8.1% growth in like-for-like sales, whilst tenanted like-for-like sales increased by 1.6%. Shepherd Neame disposed of 15 pubs, with proceeds of £5.9m, allowing the brewer to invest £24.8m to acquire 14 additional pubs.
New Soho Restaurant from Yosma and Frescobaldi team
Neil Gerrard at The Caterer has reported that a new bar and restaurant in Soho is set to open. Hovarda is an Aegean concept and will launch in November at 36-40 Rupert Street, in the former Sports Bar and Grill. The property has a 70 cover restaurant on the ground floor as well as a 74 cover cocktail bar upstairs.
Greene King set to open eight new Farmhouse Inns
The Morning Advertiser has announced that Greene King are set to open eight new Farmhouse Inn sites in the coming three months. The Farmhouse Inns estate will grow to 61 sites, and the new openings will create more than 600 new jobs. The locations are: Newcastle, Nottingham, Liverpool, Lincoln, Peterborough, Edinburgh, Worcester and Quedgeley (near Gloucester).
Record revenue for healthy fast-food chain Leon
The healthy fast-food chain Leon has announced record results for 2016 according to The Caterer. With sales increasing by 58% for the year end 25th December 2016, the chain's revenue surpassed £50m for the first time. Furthermore, there was a 7.6% uplift in like-for-like sales as well as an increase in EBITDA from £0.7m to £3.4m. Throughout the year Leon had 10 new openings, for which 8 are company owned.
And Finally...
Paul Charity at Propel Info has reported that the click-and-deliver service UberEats will not be affected by the revocation of Uber's license. A spokesman commented to The Evening Standard: "The licence is granted by Transport for London and only applies to private-hire operations meaning it has no impact on UberEats."