Latest / Hospitality News Briefing / Tuesday 6 October: Piper backs Reeve the Baker buyout as Professionals at Play warns of leisure shakeout
Transcript
- Good morning. This is the Hospitality News Briefing, from Ops Club. Episode thirteen, Tuesday the sixth of October. Here is what the UK trade press reported this morning, collated for operators. Bakery group Reeve the Baker plans to triple its estate under new backing, while Roxy Lanes owner Matt Jones flags a shakeout in competitive socialising. First, the numbers. Professionals at Play, the operator behind Roxy Lanes and King Pins, grew revenue nineteen per cent to forty eight point one million pounds last year. This was achieved while absorbing significant increases in labour costs. CEO Matt Jones believes the competitive socialising sector is currently undergoing a correction, which will favour well-funded brands over gimmicky offers. The group is now looking for acquisitions to act as a consolidator in the tougher market, as Propel Hospitality Info reports. Also in the numbers, Langton Capital reports that Village Hotel Club has halved its annual losses. Revenue at the thirty four site group hit two hundred and ninety million pounds, with operating profit more than doubling to fifty point four eight million pounds, reducing pre-tax losses to three point three million pounds for the year. Propel reports that Edyn Group reached a record seventy six point eight million pounds turnover despite the cost of living squeeze, though it saw wider pre-tax losses of three point two five million pounds as it invests in reaching major European cities. Market Taverns also saw growth, with revenue rising to fourteen point three million pounds. New CEO Miles Slade is now scouting for expansion opportunities, according to Propel. On to who is buying what. Piper, the investor behind Loungers and Flat Iron, has supported a management buyout of the seventy four year old bakery business Reeve the Baker. The deal installs Loungers CEO Nick Collins as chair and aims to triple the current fourteen site estate across southern market towns. The business reported a pre-tax profit of one point eight million pounds on twelve million pounds turnover for the year to September twenty twenty six. Propel also reports that Trust Inns has bought six Midlands pubs from Everards, and Hall and Woodhouse has added the twenty eight bedroom Luttrell Arms in Dunster to its estate in an off-market deal. Finally, Langton Capital reports that Tesco has been linked to a potential acquisition of Majestic Wine, with a formal sale process reportedly starting several weeks ago. Looking at new openings, Australian brand Yo-Chi is positioning its frozen yogurt shops as non-alcoholic pubs. As Propel reports, the brand is targeting the late-night market by treating its large-format sites as community hubs with DJs and security. Co-owner Oliver Allis argues that providing social spaces for young people that do not revolve around alcohol is the future of hospitality. Elsewhere in openings, The Caterer reports that Minor Hotels will take over management of Dukes London and launch a new restaurant concept under The Wolseley Hospitality Group banner. Propel reports that Signorelli bakery is lining up sites in Kings Cross and Stratford, with plans to eventually reach twenty to thirty locations. In the transport sector, Heidi Bakery has opened its ninth site with a kiosk on the Victoria station concourse. A few moves to note. Lane7 has named Gavin Hughes as CEO to lead an expansion to eighty sites. Following a record year with turnover exceeding sixty five million pounds, Hughes moves up from managing director, while founder Tim Wilks takes a strategic board role. The group expects revenues to reach seventy five million pounds by next year, according to Propel. Also from Propel, Tortilla has recruited Gabby Tomlinson, formerly of Hawksmoor and Lane7, as its new marketing director, and former Itsu chief Ganan Kanagathurai has joined Indian kitchen concept Amma and Atta as an advisor. Turning to trends and market data, The Morning Advertiser reports that weight-loss drug use could see one in ten adults cut their pub spend by twenty thirty one. Research shows six point one per cent of U K adults are currently on these medications. These consumers eat out less often and show a ten per cent lower preference for beer, instead favouring smaller plates and high-quality non-alcoholic drinks. The report warns that pubs must adapt portion sizes rather than just offering low-calorie options. On energy, The Morning Advertiser reports that costs have eased as Gulf flows resume, with wholesale electricity prices falling eight per cent over the last fortnight. However, European gas stores are at their lowest levels for this time of year in fifteen years, meaning a cold snap could quickly reverse these drops. Other data from Langton Capital shows wholesale inflation expectations for the coming year have risen to three point three per cent. Meanwhile, The Caterer reports on a U K Hospitality finding that the sector tax burden now hits eighty two per cent of pre-tax profits, leading to calls for Budget reform. In other news, Lucky Voice has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. Propel reports this is likely to lead to a pre-pack sale this week, following attempts to raise funds for its software licensing arm. The business currently operates seven sites. Also in the news, Rick Stein has warned in The Times that soaring taxation and overheads would stop him from opening a business today, and chef Tommy Banks is urging the government to introduce a thirteen per cent V A T rate for small hospitality firms to protect them from closure, as reported by The Caterer. Three things to think about before you get on with the day. With six per cent of adults already on weight-loss drugs and beer share falling among them, how quickly can you pivot your drinks list to high-margin, sophisticated non-alcoholic options? If business taxes are now eating eighty two per cent of pre-tax profits across the sector, have you modelled exactly what a further rise in National Insurance would do to your site-level viability? Energy wholesale prices have dipped eight per cent this fortnight, but gas storage is at a fifteen year low - are you fixing now while the strait is open, or gambling on a mild winter? 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 Hospitality Info, Langton Capital, The Caterer and The Morning Advertiser - 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.