03/09/2024 10:14:00
Smoking in pub gardens could be banned under plans being considered by ministers, reports the Telegraph. Leaked documents seen by The Sun suggest the Government is also looking at extending the ban on indoor smoking to areas outside football stadiums, outdoor restaurants, shisha bars and open-air spaces at nightclubs. All four nations of the UK will be affected although the measures will first be subject to a public consultation. The proposals, which did not appear in the Labour manifesto, would significantly toughen up the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which made no mention of banning smoking outdoors.
Lamington Group, the family-owned development company behind room2 Hometels, has been granted planning permission to build the UK's 'first net zero tower' which will open as room2 Manchester. The developer first unveiled the plans last year, which will see 12-16 Piccadilly transformed into a 34-storey, 251-bedroom hotel, as well as the sensitive conversion of an adjacent Grade-II listed building. The site will also comprise a 130-cover rooftop restaurant and a net zero lifestyle museum. Construction is expected to commence in early 2025, with the development set to open its doors in late 2027, says Boutique Hotelier.
London craft brewery Fourpure is to close its Bermondsey taproom and move production up to Yorkshire after 11 years, reports The Caterer. The brand, which is part of the wider In Good Company Brewing portfolio, has been based in the railway arches of the Bermondsey Beer Mile since 2013. It invested £2.5m in to its facility in 2018 and a further £2.5m to boost its kegging and canning line in 2021. Production of Fourpure's beers will move to its sister Magic Rock brewery in Huddersfield but reports suggest the brand is looking for a new home in London.
All-day restaurant group Bill's is returning to the expansion trail with two new sites set to launch in the coming months and further openings planned in the new year. The Richard Caring-owned group will open new outposts in Milton Keynes and Street, Somerset before Christmas, and is in the process of securing a pipeline of properties for 25 and beyond. It comes as Bill's reports a 'strong trading performance' in the first half of 2024 with like-for-like sales up 3.4%. This follows 'record sales' in 2023 where EBTDA rose 45% on the year before reports the Restaurant.
London-based multiple operator Urban Pubs & Bars has bought 11 former Antic sites out of administration says the Morning Advertiser. The deal includes eight trading leasehold businesses and three vacant freehold sites from the administrators of Elflock Limited, Babel Silk Limited, Brocade Limited and De Gremio Limited. Urban, which was founded in 2014 by ex-Realpubs founders Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap, will assume control of the sites with immediate effect and as part of the transfer, 150 employees will join Urban Pubs & Bars. Sites within the acquisition included the East Dulwich Tavern in East Dulwich, the Antelope in Tooting and the Sun in Camberwell. The latest additions to the group followed two other recent acquisitions - the Herne Tavern in East Dulwich, south-east London and the Gun in Spitalfields, east London. Urban now has 52 trading sites.
Big Mamma will open its first UK restaurant outside of the capital in Birmingham later this year having taken on the former Vinoteca site. La Bellezza will be a 150-cover trattoria that will also feature a 'whimsical' 25-cover terrace and will be located in the city's Chamberlain Square. It marks the group's first regional restaurant in the UK, joining its five London venues Gloria, Jacuzzi, Circolo Popolare, Avo Mario, and Carlotta. Restaurant Online reports that Big Mamma is also expected to open a further regional site in Manchester next year, as well as another London restaurant in Canary Wharf.
The recently announced Oasis reunion tour could add £1bn boost to economy, reports MCA Insight. Sacha Lord the Nighttime economy adviser for Greater Manchester, estimated the tour would benefit the city's economy by more than £15m...