25/02/2025 10:59:00
Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group has acquired its 20th hotel brand as it reported stronger profits and outlined plans for further expansion, reports This is Money. The FTSE 100-listed group said it had snapped up 'lean luxury' specialist Ruby Hotels for an initial £87.6million. Ruby Hotels was founded in 2013 and currently has 20 hotels, including three in London. The brand says that by 'streamlining things behind the scenes and being smart with every detail, we can offer unforgettable, city-centre locations at a fraction of the normal cost'.
Following eight months of construction to create a state-of-the-art café, restaurant and bar, Hall & Woodhouse (H&W) is opening in Crowthorne, advises CLH News. The independent family-owned brewer and pub company has invested over £5million to build an innovative two-storey restaurant for up to 150 seated covers in the Berkshire village. H&W Crowthorne is the gateway building to the residential estate, Buckler's Park, near to Buckler's Forest, a 102-hectare Forestry Commission site. The opening has generated 30 jobs for the local community.
Following nearly nine years of trading, crazy golf brand Swingers will close its original City of London location on Saturday 22 March 2025. The closure comes as part of the planned redevelopment of the site, with the landlord set to demolish the entire block, Swingers told Pub & Bar. Launched in 2016, Swingers City was the company's first permanent site following the success of the Swingers' pop-up in Shoreditch. Swingers City was the blueprint for the crazy golf brand, which has been followed across its other locations in London's West End, New York City, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Dubai and Boston, the latter set to open later this year.
Leading smokehouse operator Hickory's is set to mark its 15th anniversary with a £1m relaunch of its original site amid strong plans for expansion, reports the Morning Advertiser. The company, which started in Chester a decade and a half ago, re-launched its very first site last week (Wednesday 19 February) following a major overhaul which has seen its kitchen refurbished and extended, and a further 60 covers added with an outdoor expansion. The upgrades and expansion to the site will see the company also increasing staffing and it has even more ambitious plans for the year ahead with the aim to open 10 new Hickory sites a year for the next couple of years.
Firmdale, the London boutique hotel chain which counts Halle Berry, Daniel Craig and John Travolta among its guests, has revealed that it has sold a 20% stake in the business to Swedish pharmaceuticals tycoon Lennart Perlhagen. It is the first time that a significant stake in Firmdale has been sold to an external investor since it was founded in 1985 by husband and wife team Tim and Kit Kemp. Firmdale's portfolio of eight properties in the capital include the Ham Yard, with a helter skelter-shaped orange squeezer in its bar, and the Charlotte Street Hotel, advises Evening Standard.
New research has revealed encouraging data for pub and bar operators, showing a clear increase in both footfall and spend across the on-trade, reports Pub & Bar. The latest Oxford Market Watch Snapshot shows footfall levels holding steady and dwell time increasing by 2.3%, reflecting a growing preference for longer, more immersive hospitality experiences. Consumer spending also continues to rise, with card transactions up 2.6% in pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants, according to Barclays data. Oxford's own Market Watch reports a 4.3% rise in average spend per head on drinks and a 3.1% increase on food. The standout story in terms of products is still the continued rise of stout, which has seen a 16.4% increase in sales.
A former pub landlord says he has visited more than 5,000 watering holes across the nation - in an effort to boost the British pub industry, writes the BBC.