09/03/2021
Business rates holiday and VAT cut extended as Chancellor unveils Budget
Big Hospitality reports that Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that both the business rates holiday and VAT cut for hospitality businesses will be extended into the next financial year.
Pubs to receive grants of up to £18k
Pubs will be able to access Government grants of up to £18,000 to help them survive until restrictions are eased, advised the Morning Advertiser.
The Zetter Group sold to Orca Holding for undisclosed sum
According to The Caterer, the owners of the Zetter Group in London have sold the company they founded 18 years ago to global hospitality investor Orca Holding for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes the Zetter hotel and two Zetter Townhouses, all in Clerkenwell and Marylebone. Orca Holding intends to retain and grow the Zetter brands and is looking to open more sites across the UK and European cities such as Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam.
Budweiser to expand Wales and Lancashire breweries
The world's biggest brewer has announced a £115 million investment in its two main UK breweries in south Wales and Lancashire as it plans for a post-coronavirus recovery. Budweiser Brewing Group said the investment would increase capacity by 3.6 million hectolitres -- the equivalent of 630 million pints -- and create 55 jobs - according to reports in The Times.
Wetherspoon to open 394 pubs in April
The Evening Standard has reported that JD Wetherspoon is to open beer gardens, roof top gardens and patios at 394 of its pubs in England from Monday 12 April.
Communities can bid for £250k to save local pub
Brits will be able to use a £150m fund to help them take ownership of pubs and other community venues at risk of closure, the Morning Advertiser has advised.
New burger restaurant Fat Hippo set to open in Liverpool
The Liverpool Echo has reported that the burger brand Fat Hippo has secured a site in Liverpool's Bold St in a unit previously occupied by a travel agent. This would be their 8th site after an opening in Leeds last week. The other outlets ate in Newcastle, Durham, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester. currently has eight other restaurants in the north and is now coming to Liverpool.
And Finally...
England's pubs have been deluged by people eager to book space from when beer gardens reopen on 12 April, industry group UK Hospitality has told the BBC. From that date, pubs are expected to be able to serve customers sitting outdoors. Demand is reported to be so high that one Leeds pub reported that it had taken in 700 bookings in just five hours last week. Pubs in most of the UK have been closed to sit-in customers during the latest lockdown, creating pent-up demand.