18/04/2023 10:13:00
Brasserie Bar Co has a 'big pipeline' of sites coming up with three new freeholds acquired so far this financial year, executive chairman Mark Derry has said. The group, which operates the Brasserie Blanc restaurant and White Brasserie pub chains, achieved 'record-breaking' sales for the year to 26 June 2022 of £57.5m, as reported in its latest accounts at Companies House, with trading strong in the period since, advises Restaurant Online. Brasserie Bar Co is focused on expanding its White Brasserie division and is committed to buying only freehold sites from now on, in order to strengthen the asset base of the group and improve financial stability.
Over three quarters (77.3%) of consumers say that the cost-of-living crisis has cut down the number of times they go on a late night out, reports Pub & Bar. The latest version of the REKOM Night Index, the report for the late-night leisure industry led by the nightclub operator, gives a glimpse of people's attitudes towards spending money on a night out in the current economic climate. The poll has revealed lower consumer confidence levels for the sector, as a total night out spend increased once again, this time by 2% to £74.91 (October 2022: £73.36).
A 400-year-old inn in County Durham has been given a new lease of life after being transformed into a pub and restaurant, with help from a NatWest support package, reports Insider Media. The Fox and Tree in Dalton-le-Dale near Seaham has opened on the site of the former The Times Inn, which closed in 2019. After its closure, an unsuccessful grassroots campaign was launched by locals to take on the running of the venue, in a bid to keep it open. Ian Foxton and Paul Rowntree are behind the new venture after working for 22 years in the pub trade for businesses such as Mitchells and Butler and Stonegate Group.
Drinks sales in the on-trade were down by 3% in the seven days to Saturday 25 March, the latest Drinks Recovery Tracker from CGA by NIQ's Drinks Recovery Tracker has revealed. The data showed average sales by value in managed pubs, restaurants and bars over the last two weeks of March fluctuated from a low of 11% down compared with 2022 to 15% head. Morning Advertiser reports that stronger days included Sunday 19 March (up 15%) and Wednesday 29 March (up 12%), when the weather was particularly sunny. CGA managing director UK and Ireland Johnathan Jones said: "Small differences in temperature can make a big difference to sales at this time of year, and that's how it proved in the last two weeks of March."
The London Gin Club, owned and operated by Inception Group since 2021, is set to join the Mr Fogg's family in July, when it will become Mr Fogg's Hat Tavern & Gin Club. Pub & Bar reports that the venue, located at 22 Great Chapel Street, is now undergoing a major refurbishment and will become a two-floored space with a traditional Victorian tavern upstairs and the gin club downstairs with a selection of juniper-based spirits alongside immersive cocktail experiences.
Marks and Spencer has removed a T-shirt from sale after a London pub chain accused it of "ripping off" its trademark name, reports BBC News.