Latest / Hospitality News Briefing / Friday 23 October: Summer sales jump fails to fix profit squeeze as operators face 82% tax rate
Transcript
- Good morning. This is the Hospitality News Briefing, from Ops Club. Episode twenty six, Friday the twenty third of October. Here is what the UK trade press reported this morning, collated for operators. A jump in summer sales has failed to fix the profit squeeze facing operators who now face an effective tax rate of eighty two per cent. Trade bodies are warning that rising costs are swallowing up revenue gains while the government prepares a crackdown on unfair dismissal for new parents. First, we look at the latest trading figures. Propel reports that Vapiano U K is hunting for new sites in London and major cities after earnings climbed sixteen per cent. Like for like sales grew fifteen per cent this year. Adjusted ee bit dah reached five hundred and fifty nine thousand pounds for the year to December twenty twenty five. The group now views the U K as its global flagship market. Also in Propel, luxury hotel group Selene Holdings narrowed its losses to ten million pounds. Revenue rose to one hundred and thirty six point two million pounds for twenty twenty five. The Connaught saw operating profits double to twelve point eight million pounds. However, The Berkeley saw profits fall to three point nine million pounds due to nearby construction works. Still with the numbers, Propel reports that a Norfolk McDonald's franchisee has hit turnover of ninety eight point four million pounds. The business returned to a one point one million pound pre-tax profit across twenty two locations. Balfour Hospitality is planning to pivot away from what it calls challenging pubs. The group will sell its City site and focus on its winery after pub losses hit ninety seven thousand pounds. Finally, Langton Capital notes that I H G saw global Rev P A R growth of five point three per cent in the third quarter. Performance was strongest in the Americas while sales in China dipped three point three per cent. On to who is buying and selling. The Caterer reports that the Crerar Hotels portfolio has hit the market for ninety million pounds. Blantyre Capital is selling the ten luxury properties in Scotland and the Lake District less than four years after buying them. They're available as a whole or as individual assets. Meanwhile, Parkdean Resorts has committed seventy million pounds to upgrades by twenty twenty seven. According to Hospitality and Catering News, this includes six million pounds for Thorness Bay and five million pounds for Skipsea Sands to add new sports bars. Next, a look at new openings and closures. Propel reports that Honest Burgers has shut its only Smash and Grab site in Liverpool Street following the end of the lease. MeatLiquor founder Scott Collins is bringing the Pablo's breakfast bao concept to Covent Garden by January. Restaurant Online reports that the Three Sheets duo will open Berryman's in Dalston next month. It will be a small, standing-only martini and oyster bar. We have a run of new sites from Propel. Itsu has secured a flagship site at St Pancras International opposite the Eurostar entrance. Professionals at Play will debut their gaming pub concept, Love Jackie, in Leeds on the fifth of November. Prezzo has confirmed new openings for Norwich Riverside and Leeds White Rose before the end of the year. Noodle Inn has signed for sites in Birmingham and Angel. Cantonese roast meat specialist Three Uncles has opened its eighth site on York Way in King's Cross. Also, Nonna Italian bakery opens its second site today on Drury Lane. Finally, Swedish indoor golf brand Ruff has signed a ten-site franchise deal to debut in Aberdeen. A few people moves to note. Laura Mills has joined The Wolseley Hospitality Group as Managing Director. She joins from The Ivy Collection, as reported by Hospitality and Catering News. The same publication notes that Roberta Possenti has been named European Senior Vice President for Preferred Hotels and Resorts. Langton Capital reports that Paul Cummins has been appointed executive chairman at Safestay, replacing Larry Lipman. Also, the Beautiful Pubs Collective has hired Ben Scandrett as hospitality and experience manager, according to Propel. Turning to the wider market, The Morning Advertiser reports that summer revenue gains were wiped out by rising costs. Seventy four per cent of operators reported higher electricity bills. A joint survey found that eighty per cent of firms believe the current climate is stifling investment. Food inflation is now seen as the biggest non-tax threat by eighty eight per cent of businesses. Propel notes that London pub rates have jumped twenty four per cent in the new valuation list. Looking ahead to Christmas, festive spend is forecast to hit thirteen point three billion pounds. However, The Morning Advertiser notes that forty four per cent of consumers plan to visit fewer venues. Finally, Langton Capital notes O N S data showing hospitality wages fell one point four per cent in August, while senior manager pay rose six point seven per cent. In other industry news, the Department for Business reports that new parents will receive stricter protection against dismissal. City A M reports that the Chancellor has promised an eight hundred million pound red tape cut for small firms. They'll be exempt from filing full profit and loss accounts at Companies House until April twenty twenty eight. The Caterer reports that U K Hospitality has warned of an effective tax rate of eighty two per cent for the sector. Chief executive Allen Simpson says the industry is being hammered compared to the forty per cent rate for banks. Finally, Restaurant Online reports that Bread Ahead has secured a lease extension at Borough Market until twenty twenty eight. Three things to think about before you get on with the day. With London pub rateable values jumping by twenty four per cent, have you calculated the exact impact on your cash flow once the forty per cent retail and hospitality relief ends? The government is tightening dismissal rules for new parents from twenty twenty seven. Do your current H R processes document all reasonable alternatives to dismissal to protect you at tribunal? If forty four per cent of consumers plan to visit fewer venues this Christmas, what specific memorable experience are you adding to your fourth quarter calendar to ensure you are the one they keep? The full rundown is at ops dash club dot com, where every story links back to the publication that reported it. Today's pulled from Propel, Langton Capital, The Caterer, Hospitality and Catering News, Restaurant Online, The Morning Advertiser, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and City AM - a signpost to their reporting, not a replacement for it. Scripted and read by AI and published without a human check, so check the original before you act on anything. For longer conversations with the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast. That is your briefing. Have a great day.