11/10/2022
Urban Pubs & Bars has acquired three new venues in London, taking the business to 40 sites in total. Pub & Bar reports that Nick Pring and Malcom Heap led business has bought The Queen's Head in Shoreditch, Monarchy in Camden Town and The Horseshoe in Hampstead. The group are well known for creating a number of different styles of F&B formats, ranging from premium gastropubs and high-end restaurants to city bars and late-night venues.
The UK's Night-Time Economy (NTE) has been "under attack" as escalation of noise complaints becomes a "real issue", according to the Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA), reports Morning Advertiser. After becoming used to quieter evenings over the last three years following the pandemic and various lockdowns, with limited or no NTE engagement due to restrictions, the NTIA stated the amount noise complaints against the sector has "escalated exponentially".
Real estate adviser Altus Group has warned that 50 pubs a month are 'vanishing' from communities across England and Wales. During the three months to the end of September, analysis of Government property tax records revealed that 150 pubs were either demolished or converted into other uses such as homes and offices. Wales and the North-West lost the greatest number of pubs, reports The Caterer.
Shepherd Neame has announced a return to profit and significant revenue growth in its results for the 52 weeks ending 25 June 2022, advises Big Hospitality. The owner and operator of over 300 pubs across Kent and the South East reported profit before tax of £7.4m, up from a loss of £16.4m in 2021, while earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to £23.4m from £7.7m in 2021.
Potential blackouts this winter would put pubs and breweries in a position they "will not be able to recover from" as some operators feel the Government has imposed a "war of attrition" against the sector. Morning Advertiser reports that this comes as National Grid's Winter Outlook report, released on Thursday 6 October, claimed if the country's gas and electricity supply were simultaneously run low, the nation could potentially face planned blackouts in three hour intervals across rotational locations over the coming months.
European budget hotel operator B&B Hotels is hunting for sites and property partners as it plans to launch in the UK and open 100 hotels by 2035. The brand, which is majority-owned by private-equity firm Goldman Sachs, unveiled its UK ambitions at the Annual Hotel Conference in Manchester, reports Property Week. Kevin Murray, former head of acquisitions - North for Premier Inn hotel chain parent Whitbread Group, is driving the expansion as B&B's managing director development UK.
Tim Martin blames cheap supermarket beer for Wetherspoons' continued losses reports The Times.