About us

Propel is the leading provider of UK hospitality news and face-to-face learning conferences and events.

Its expert journalists deliver exclusive breaking news and industry insights seven days a week to an audience of operators and suppliers.

If you want to join more than 21,000 readers of the Propel newsletter you can sign up for free.

Propel organises the hospitality sector’s premier conference and learning face-to-face events, which include the Propel Multi-Club conferences, Talent and Training conference, Restaurant Marketer and Innovator, Leadership Dinners, Social Media for Profit and international study tours.

Propel is free to receive. But for those wanting even deeper in-depth analysis and an expert understanding of market trends, Propel offers a Premium subscription service.

Premium Subscription

Newsletter first

Premium subscribers receive their newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers.

Databases updated monthly

  • The Propel Multi-Site Database details the latest news on more than 2,982 multi-site operators.
  • The Turnover & Profits Blue Book provides an overview of 700-plus companies’ financial figures for the past five years, ranking them by turnover and profit conversion.
  • The New Openings Database focuses on each month’s newly announced openings and upcoming launches.
  • The Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage Database details full profiles of more than 730 of the UK’s food and beverage operators.
  • The UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database profiles the top food and beverage franchisees in the UK.
  • The UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database provides a guide to the several hundred companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK. It is updated every two months.

Video content
Premium subscribers receive the video presentations from Propel conferences, which represents approximately 100 inspirational videos a year.

Premium Opinion every Friday
These include the thoughts of Propel Group Editor, Mark Wingett, and a host of industry leaders from across the sector.

Sign up for Premium

Our Team

Paul Charity started his career in the sector by co-founding the Bulldog Hotel Group (now the Coaching Inn Group) but his love and passion for journalism led him to return and eventually take on the role of Group Editor of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser and M&C Report, where he built them into market leaders. Paul is the co-founder and managing director of Propel Hospitality, publishing the industry’s leading daily news wire – Propel Morning Briefing – and Propel Quarterly, an editorially led business magazine for senior executives within the pub, bar, late night, restaurant and foodservice sector and a portfolio of events.

Jo Charity has a wealth of experience in sales and events, having worked on the Publican’s Morning Advertiser and Big Hospitality where she held the role of key accounts manager giving her experience in recruitment advertising and sponsorship sales. Co-founding Propel, Jo launched the Propel Quarterly publication along with the best attended conference series for multiple operators –  Multi Club.

Kai Kirkman joined Propel in 2021 after many years working in the housing sector. In his current role as administration manager, he looks after and co-ordinates all event bookings and associated administration and maintains Propel’s Premium subscription service.

Paul Bishop worked for Trinity Mirror, the largest publisher in the UK, before joining Propel. He is in day-to-day control of editorial content and output at Propel, overseeing the daily newsletter and breaking news stories. Paul is also responsible for collating, writing and editing the Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage database, which is part of Propel’s Premium offer.

Tim Street joined Propel as chief sub and deputy editor in September 2021 following two decades working in the regional media for Trinity Mirror and its successor, Reach Plc. His roles there included reporter, deputy editor, sub editor, sports editor, regional head of sport and digital sport writer for newspaper titles and websites in various regions around the M25 and across the south east. Tim is also responsible for collating, writing and editing the Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisor and Franchisee Databases, two of six database in Propel’s portfolio.

Mark Wingett is an award-winning journalist. He started out as a writer on the retail sector before spending two years as news editor across leading hospitality titles and newswires – M&C Report, Hotel Report and Leisure Report. He then spent tthree years as head of media relations with leading property advisory firm Christie & Co. After leaving Christie & Co, he spent six years as editor of the hospitality sector title MCA, and for the past five years has been group editor of leading sector newswire Propel.

Phil Pemberton is Propel’s director of communication and Premium Services. Pemberton was part of the team that launched Restaurant magazine and was subsequently Deputy Editor of The Drinks Business before working in a senior role at a marketing agency. He went on to lead the communication and membership team at Equity, the actors’ trade union, and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), part of the Royal College of Physicians. He was instrumental in securing the government’s £1.57 billion arts funding package during the Covid pandemic while at Equity and successfully lobbied for the inclusion of occupational health provision in the most recent budget as part of his role at FOM

Paul Lawrence is a graphic designer with over 42 years experience in print and design. He has worked as a freelance graphic designer for various publishers and event companies working on designs of magazines, supplements, events and marketing material, brochures, web banners and HTML files, updating web sites and assisting in branding and design concepts. Paul was an artdesk manager at William Reed Business Media and worked at the company for 25 years.

Jonathan Taylor is a specialist in design, publishing and web development. He has created and maintains everything digital and print for Propel. His CV includes spells working for Johnson Press and William Reed Business Media in senior roles.