21/05/2024 09:35:00
Liberation Group is set to launch a new pub estate division at the end of May - Butcombe Boutique Inns (BBI). The group said BBI aims to become the leading operator of premium rooms in the south of England, advises Morning Advertiser. BBI will provide guests with a "unique, personalised and home-from-home stay in some of the most desirable locations in the UK." It will launch with the George Inn, Norton St Philip, and the Swan Inn, Rowberrow, with the offer set to initially roll out across eight Butcomble Pub & Inns, which the group said are located in "some of the most stunning locations in the UK," including the Castle Inn, Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast to the High Corner Inn in the New Forest. It said it expects the new division to encompass 25 sites to eventually be part of the BBI brand.
Government proposals to allow vacant commercial properties to be brought into use via auction will 'create opportunities for hospitality businesses to move into high streets', a trade body has said. UKHospitality says the plan, which was first broached back in 2022 and will come into effect in September this year, will 'enable the sector to generate local investment and create places where people want to live', reports the Restaurant. "The Government is right to identify hospitality as the bellwether of local economies," says Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality. "When hospitality thrives, the high street comes alive. When the sector faces challenges, like it does now, we see more and more empty plots available." Under the new powers, announced by the Government on 15 May, high street sites that have been empty for over a year will come under the control of local leaders who can then rent them out to business in the area via an auction.
As it continues its growth through a string of freehold acquisitions, hospitality group Heartwood Collection has acquired another pub in The Manor Inn, Godalming, from Whitbread Plc, reports Pub & Bar. The acquisition will see the former Beefeater, 16-bedroom site renamed as The Ragged Robin in a nod to the location and will undergo a multi-million pound refurbishment to create a further three bedrooms, 150 internal covers and 100 external covers.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are set to be the first coastal region to introduce a tourist tax which could generate more than £12 million over five years. Caterer Licensee Hotelier News advises that after a successful consultation, the Accommodation BID (Business Improvement District) will begin a visitor charge of around £2 per night, which is said to bring the area in line with tourist levies in Europe and the USA, with money being invested into the area. The funds will also help sustain and develop large-scale events such as the Air Festival, Arts by the Sea, Poole Christmas Maritime and Christmas Tree Wonderland. Manchester was the first UK city to charge a £1 tourist tax to visitors staying in the city-centre hotels or rental apartments. An estimated £2.8m has been raised from visitors to Manchester so far and was introduced in April 2023 to pay for measures aimed at attracting more visitors.
Parts of the HSBC tower in London's Canary Wharf could reportedly be converted into a hotel once the global bank exits its headquarters in 2027. The Caterer says that sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that landlord Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has met with around 20 architectural practices to shortlist the proposals for the 42-storey building, which could see it turned into a hotel or flats. The tower is wholly owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and has been occupied by HSBC since 2002. No final decisions have been made as to the future of the building, the sources added.
One the UK's most renowned Michelin-starred chefs is set to open his second pub in June this year. Pub & Bar reports that Chef Adam Handling MBE will launch The Tartan Fox in Cornwall on 4 June 2024, located in the countryside between Newquay and Truro. The Tartan Fox marks Handling's second pub opening, following the launch of award-winning The Loch & the Tyne in Old Windsor in 2021, which scooped the Berkshire Pub & Bar of the Year in the 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards. In keeping with the Adam Handling Group's ethos, The Tartan Fox feature the same approach to zero-waste, modern British food, underpinned by the philosophy of 'sustainable, local luxury'.
Operators warned to prepare for higher prices and potential shortages says Morning Advertiser. Wet and wild weather in recent months could result in sharp price rises across key food and drink lines, operators have been warned.