24/09/2024 10:37:00
Rachel Reeves is considering increasing alcohol duties in next month's Budget. The Chancellor has not ruled out putting up tax on beer, wine and spirits as part of efforts to plug what Labour claims is a £22 billion hole in the public finances. But the drinks industry has warned the move would be counter-productive, leading to lower revenues and having a "catastrophic" impact on pubs. It comes amid fears the Government is considering more "sin taxes" on unhealthy products, including fast food, sugary treats, tobacco and vapes. Pubs and drinks producers fear that Ms Reeves will use warnings about the dire state of the public finances to justify an increase in alcohol duties reports the Telegraph.
RedCat Pub Company, founded and chaired by Rooney Anand, is rolling out an £8m capital investment programme across its estate during the upcoming six to 12 months, says the Morning Advertiser. The pub group, which also operates the 35-site strong Coaching Inn Group plus RedCat pubs and RedCat L&T, is set to invest in 18 RedCat pubs and six Coaching Inn Group venues across the UK. RedCat said the programme will deliver a focused approach, centring around what the business believes are cornerstones of a great and sustainable hospitality business. The business has already completed five projects as part of this programme: the Bull in Barton Mills, the Wig & Mitre in Lincoln, as well as the Crown Inn, the Curzon Arms and the Langton Arms in the Leicestershire area.
The UK arm of Karen's Diner, the Australia-founded restaurant group known for its great burgers, rude service and staff with attitude, has gone into liquidation amid 'mounting financial pressure' advises Restaurant Online. Karen's Diner UK originally went viral back in 2022 thanks to videos on social media of performative staff being purposely rude to guests. The group had big expansion plans and opened sites in a number of UK cities including Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield. By June 2024, it was reported that Karen's Diner had closed all sites except for one in London. The Karen's Diner concept started originally in Australia, but Viral Ventures Australia also collapsed into liquidation in summer 2023, owing reportedly $4.3 million to creditors.
Managed pubs outperformed the sector as a whole in August, with year-on-year growth of 2.9% reports Pub & Bar. New data has revealed that managed pubs performed the most successfully in the on-trade during August, rounding off a modest summer for the hospitality sector. Britain's leading hospitality groups achieved a year-on-year sales growth of 1.3% in August 2024, according to the latest edition of the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker. In positive news for the trade, the findings show that groups have now achieved like-for-like increases in every month of 2024 except April. However, it is a second successive month of below-inflation growth, with the tracker topping 4% only once since the start of the year. Total sales growth in August, including new venues opened during the last 12 months, stood at 3.7%.
Classic British Hotels, a collection of independent luxury properties, has added Gisborough Hall in North York to its portfolio says Boutique Hotel News. The luxury country house hotel, located close to Whitby and Saltburn-by-the-Sea, offers 71 rooms, the Chaloner's Restaurant and De Brus Bar & Frill, and the Revival Zone spa. Classic British Hotels represents a collection of more than 90 hotels, resorts, and small independent groups across the UK.
Freespirit, the growing operator with a pub portfolio in the south of England, has taken on its sixth pub, located in the village of Ashby St. Ledgers, just outside of Daventry. The Olde Coach House Inn, a Mark Higgs-led business is set to open its latest site this autumn, says Pub & Bar. The pub is a 16-bed property, featuring an extensive dining area, traditional bar space and a large beer garden. The team plans to start work on a fresh redesign to get the site open before December.
Michelin-starred chef opens London restaurant staffed by homeless people. Adam Simmonds hopes 'Home Kitchen' will offer jobs, change public perceptions and answer an industry need, says the Guardian. The restaurant employs 16 people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and is a response to two problems. Michael Brown, a co-founder, says one is staff shortages in the industry and the other is the "very flawed public perceptions of what it is to be homeless".