3/11/2025 10:46:00 AM
The Government is unlikely to extend or make permanent the relaxed licensing laws that have allowed pubs, bars, and restaurants to serve alcohol in outdoor areas since the pandemic, reports CLH News. The temporary measures, which expire on 31 March 2025, enabled venues to sell alcohol for takeaway, delivery, and consumption in pavement areas without needing to apply for a formal licence variation. Instead, the Government is expected to amend licensing guidance, advising local authorities to accept minor variations when adding off-sales to a premises licence permanently. This decision follows a Home Office consultation on Alcohol in Licensed Pavement Areas, which ran from May to July 2023 and is due to publish its findings imminently.
Bistrot Pierre has been sold in a pre-pack administration with the closure of eight restaurants. The future of the French restaurant group has been secured following a sale of substantial part of the business to Cherry Equity Partners, a recently established investment platform led by Hush Collection CEO Ed Sandring. Under the transaction, 10 Bistrot Pierre sites around the country will continue to trade safeguarding 394 jobs However, a further eight sites will close, resulting in 158 redundancies advises Restaurant Online.
Shareholders in PizzaExpress are preparing to inject tens of millions of pounds into its parent company to help secure a refinancing of its debt amid tough trading in Britain's casual dining sector. Sky News reports that Bain Capital, through its buyout arm, is expected to provide around £30m to parent company Wheel Topco as part of the refinancing. City sources told Sky the deal has yet to be finalised, but Bain Capital Special Situations, the largest shareholder in Wheel Topco, is expected to contribute significantly to the company's balance sheet restructuring.
Manchester City football club has announced a collaboration with Radisson Hotel Group for a new 400-bed hotel at its Etihad Stadium, as part of a £300 million overhaul of the venue. Set to launch in late 2026, The Medlock hotel will operate all year round and offer guests a choice of suites, deluxe and standard rooms, in addition to a luxury penthouse suite. The 'upper-upscale hotel' will join the Radisson Blu family and be operated by Valor Hospitality advises Boutique Hotelier.
Canary Wharf has welcomed a new indoor golf experience, as immersive brand Pitch opens its fourth venue says Pub & Bar. Pitch Wharf, located on Churchill Place and laid out across two levels, features 11 golf simulator bays featuring with Trackman technology. After opening its first two venues in London, Pitch launched its first overseas location in Dublin last year and says it will continue to expand with venues in Manchester and Birmingham in 2025.
Inception Group is to close its Bunga Bunga bar and restaurant in Covent Garden for several months for a major refurbishment reports The Caterer. The immersive Italian venue will shut its doors on 5 April before relaunching with a complete overhaul of its design, narrative and space. Bunga Bunga opened in 2016 and is known for its metre-long pizzas, karaoke brunches and live shows. It will reopen with more of the interactive elements that Inception Group, which is also behind immersive 1940s-inspired bar Cahoots, is known for.
London will be hardest hit by the reduction in Government support for business rates from 1 April while the north-east will fare the best in England, writes the Morning Advertiser...