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UKHospitality has said the suggestion from the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey that businesses should not raise prices above the rate of inflation, when they are facing energy, food and drink costs far above the current 10% inflation rate, is “impossible if we’re to have a viable sector left”. The trade body said sector businesses are already facing unprecedented cost pressures, with energy bills double what they were last year and food price input inflation of more than 20%. Businesses face another catastrophic hit this week when energy support is significantly reduced, which hospitality businesses expect to cause an 82% rise in bills. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls (pictured) said: “We fully support the objective of reducing inflation – it is in all of our interests. However, hospitality businesses are under immense pressure from ever-rising bills, particularly energy, and we have already seen thousands of good businesses go bust as a result. Interest rate rises are compounding the sector’s problems by increasing debt repayment costs for businesses and squeezing our customers’ disposable income. To suggest the sector should stomach these staggering cost increases ignores the real and stark situation facing venues across the country. It is simply impossible if we want to have a viable hospitality sector left in a year’s time. We all want prices to be as low as possible for consumers, and it is a minor miracle that many have held off increases for as long as they have. The reality is that without adequate government support, whether it is through energy, business rates or VAT, doing as the governor asks will just mean business failure and job losses, compounding the country’s economic woes.” JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin told The Guardian: “The two things that keep price rises low are competition and, by definition, low inflation. If input costs are high, which they are in the hospitality industry, it’s very difficult for pub companies to avoid price rises, and it might produce catastrophic results if Mr Bailey’s advice was taken too literally – although he’s right to say it.”

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin (pictured) has told Propel that almost half of the 39 sites it has on the market are under offer with particular interest from smaller pub companies. The company put 32 pubs up for sale in September last year followed by another seven two months later. Speaking following the company’s interim results, in which the business reported like-for-like sales in the seven weeks to 19 March 2023 were 9.1% above pre-pandemic levels, Martin said there had been “good interest” in the sites. “About a dozen and a half are under offer and we’ve especially had interest from smaller pubcos,” added Martin. “Most of the closed pubs are reverting to the landlord for redevelopment at the end of a lease such as in Shawlands in Glasgow and Lee Green and Orpington in London.” Martin said Wetherspoon expects to open about half a dozen pubs in the second half of the financial year with new site, The Stargazer at London’s O2, which opened last week, “having a fabulous start”. He added the business expects capital expenditure to be £75m for the financial year, of which £25m will be on new pubs and the rest on maintenance. Martin said the menu items that were driving the uptick in food sales, which were up 12% on pre-pandemic levels during the half-year, were the katsu curry and the return of steak and kidney pie. He added: “For the most part we match McDonald’s for price and quality on similar products.” Despite inflation being “ferocious” for the industry, the increase in the National Minimum Wage next month and energy support tailing off, Martin said he was hopeful the sector was now through the toughest period since the outbreak of covid three years ago. “Our trade has been slowly improving and we sincerely hope it’s the same for everyone else,” he said.

The Oakman Group has appointed Tarquin Williams (pictured) as its new chief financial officer. The former chief financial officer of The City Pub Group managed its listing on the AIM market through an initial public offering (IPO) and helped guide the company through the pandemic, reducing cash burn, strengthening the company’s balance sheet, and securing its refinancing options. Before that, he was a Fullers Inns retail board member, managing financial oversight of the entire retail operation. More recently, he has been acting as interim chief financial officer for Cirrus Inns, to oversee its merger with The Liberation Group, creating an estate of 79 managed pubs. Oakman chief execurtive, Peter Borg-Neal, said: “I am very pleased to announce that Tarquin has joined us as chief financial officer today. He inherits a post which is responsible for a turnover of approximately £72m from an operational estate of 40 pubs with a great reputation on so many fronts. Tarquin has an excellent track record in our sector, having cut his teeth with Fuller’s before leading the successful City Pub Group IPO. His appointment reflects our bold business ambition and I look forward to working with Tarquin in the coming years.” Williams added: “I am delighted to be joining Peter, Dermot and the team at the Oakman Group and look forward to continuing their great work in building a first-class estate of inns and restaurants across England. The group is well positioned to navigate the current challenges facing the hospitality industry and to take advantage of opportunities as the trading environment continues to improve.”

Roxy Leisure, the operator of the Roxy Lanes and Roxy Ball Room concepts, has lined up a further two sites for its openings pipeline, Propel has learned. The 14-strong business, which is planning to add six more sites in 2023 and the same number in 2024, is understood to have secured a site in Humberstone Gate, in Leicester, for a Roxy Ball Room opening. At the same time, the company, which already operates Roxy Ball Room sites in Liverpool’s Hanover Street and Cavern Quarter, is hoping to open a site under its Roxy Lanes format in the city’s School Lane.

PizzaExpress, the Paula MacKenzie-led business, has appointed Jo Vaughton as its new marketing director, Propel has learned. Vaughton joins PizzaExpress after a brief stint as head of brand marketing at payment service provider Mollie. She spent more than three and a half years as director of brand marketing EMEA at Celebrity Cruises, and the same length of time as head of PR and social UK & Ireland at Royal Caribbean International.

Graphite Capital-backed steakhouse concept Hawksmoor has lined up its second site in the US, in Chicago. The company, which made its US debut, in New York, in 2021, plans to restore a designated landmark in Chicago, The LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse, a 16,500 square-foot, three-storey space at 500 N LaSalle Street, with an opening planned for next year. Hawksmoor co-founder Will Beckett said: “Chicago is the historical powerhouse of American beef, and when we found out about an actual powerhouse building, it felt like fate. So, after years of dreaming, we’ve set our eyes on coming to Chicago next year. And we’ve found ourselves a home we cannot wait to settle into. The LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse is a beautiful, designated landmark, initially opened in 1887, in the heyday of Chicago’s cable car system. We intend to do it justice by restoring the original features to their former glory and, at the same time, breathe new life into the space.” In December, Beckett told Propel that trading for the 11-strong business had been “really good” in 2022. Beckett said he was optimistic about what 2023 would bring for Hawksmoor, “although we’ll see how the socio-economic situation plays out” and was excited about the company’s opening in Dublin, which is scheduled for May. He also said the company was “entirely committed to opening a second US site to build on the success of New York”.

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has written an open letter to energy regulator Ofgem, demanding urgent action to tackle energy suppliers “who are crippling fragile pub businesses across the whole of the UK”. Earlier this year, a survey of BII members revealed 50% were forced into signing contracts at the peak of energy prices between July and December 2022. With meaningful energy support from government falling away for the vast majority of pubs from the end of the month, they are now facing a cliff edge of energy costs, alongside the surge in inflationary pressures in every area of their businesses, the BII warned. Without the ability to renegotiate contracts with suppliers that were “signed in an unfair and uncompetitive market”, many are facing bankruptcy, the trade body said. Adrianne Mead, licensee of the Royal Oak in Isleworth, is facing energy bills of more than £100,000 a year after being forced to take a 12-month contract in September 2022. Meade said: “If we were to get a contract with our supplier now as a new customer, we would only be paying £3,000 a month. These huge costs, delivered as part of a contract we had to sign in an unfair and uncompetitive market are now threatening the survival of our business.” BII chief executive Steve Alton said: “Ofgem’s review of the numerous bad supplier practices including failure to pass on the government support, as well as rocketing standing charges, has already taken too long, and any further delays will now result in unnecessary business failures. It must use all of its powers urgently to encourage suppliers to recontract with those businesses who had no option but to sign deals at the peak of energy prices, or face being cut off.”

Italian gelato brand Amorino has brought in the former head of franchise and operations at Little Dessert Shop to lead its UK expansion plans. Amorino is escalating its franchise growth both here and abroad, in partnership with food franchise company Seeds Consulting, and is looking to expand from 20 to 30 UK sites by the end of 2023, and 50 by 2025. It has now appointed Roman Aslamzada as franchise director, who joins after seven years with West Midlands dessert franchise Little Dessert Shop. During his time with the business, which was founded in 2015, Little Dessert Shop has grown to circa 40 stores around the UK. Before coming to the UK, Aslamzada moved “from country to country” with his family, “seeking opportunity” as he lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia. While in Pakistan, he organised a football tournament at the age of 12, which turned over 138,000 PKR (£1,380) in the space of two weeks. He said: “Moving to the UK and initially working as a waiter at the Little Dessert Shop, I was quickly promoted to assistant manager and then store manager. Shortly after I was approached by the director with another promotion, that being area manager, and I managed 14 stores. My loyalty and commitment to Little Dessert Shop was recognised, fuelling the promotion to head of franchise and business operations. I am ready to utilise and diversify the skills I have grown over the years to expand Amorino in a unique style, tapping in to new demographics and assisting it to reach new heights.” Amorino, which has more than 200 stores in 18 different countries, including 100 in France, is set to open its next UK store in April, in Windsor. “We hope to echo the successes seen in France by opening more stores in the UK,” the company added.

Amorino and Little Dessert Shop both feature in the Propel UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, which is an exhaustive guide to the companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK and is available exclusively to Premium subscribers. The database is updated every two months and the latest edition features 185 companies. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Group has said it expects to report net revenue of approximately €1,685m for the year ending 28 February 2023, an increase of 18% on the previous year, with volumes expected to be up 4%. The group added it expects to report an operating profit of €84m compared with €48m the year before. The company stated: “This outcome reflects a number of factors, including the previously noted softer than expected Christmas trading and the impact of the various strikes in the UK. In February, the group commenced a significant technology project in our British operations, a key step in the digital transformation and optimisation of the business. The implementation phase of the project is taking longer than originally envisaged, with some consequent impact on service and profitability, however, encouragingly service levels have largely returned to normal levels. Despite a challenging trading backdrop, we are pleased with the performance of our core brands, Bulmers and Tennent’s, which are both continuing to grow category share. C&C’s balance sheet strength and robust cash generating capabilities are reflected in a significant reduction in net debt to approximately €150m and a leverage multiple of 1.3 times, compared with €271m and 3.4 times at the end of FY2022. Given the strength of the balance sheet and cash flow generation, C&C intends to recommence dividend payments following the announcement of its FY2023 results and will evaluate the potential for further capital returns to shareholders in due course.”

North east operator Howard Eggleston is planning to reopen his Chester steakhouse under a different concept and is also eyeing a second site in the city, Propel has learned. It was reported this week the Tomahawk Steakhouse in Newgate Street had put a notice in its window saying it was closed “for the foreseeable future” just six months after opening. However, it is being converted to its Rio Brazilian Steakhouse format and will reopen under the new branding in May. This type of conversion project is not new to the business, having converted the upper floor of its Tomahawk in Newcastle Quayside into a Rio, which has gone on to become the number one turnover site in the Rio business. “While Chester came with its challenges, we had a fantastic welcome to the city,” Eggleston told Propel. “After listening to customer feedback, we do think the 120-cover site was likely too large for a Tomahawk, which is partly the reason as to why we made the decision to convert to Rio. The Tomahawk team has been to various locations around Chester looking for new sites with around 80 covers, so we hope to have both concepts in the city by the end of the year. Rio Warrington hitting number one on TripAdvisor for the whole of the Cheshire region has given us confidence that this is the right decision at this time.” The group currently operates 12 Tomahawk Steakhouses and five Rio Brazilian sites and is aiming to open four new steakhouses this year, with sites in Sunderland, Harrogate and Morpeth among the pipeline. Morpeth’s Tomahawk is set to open at the end of April, followed by more Rio sites as the business moves to “level it up” with the number of Tomahawk locations. Rio will also be coming to Sheffield soon, followed by a third Newcastle location, at Eldon Square, by the end of the year.

Ten Entertainment Group chief executive Graham Blackwell has told Propel its record-breaking performance is being driven by volume, with its bowling prices actually cheaper than before the pandemic. Speaking following the company’s full-year results, where the company saw revenue rise to £126.7m, Blackwell said the average price per person for a game of bowling was now £5.13 including VAT, compared with £5.21 in 2019. He said the group was only just starting to sweat its assets, with between six and eight refurbishments of its 49-strong estate planned in 2023. “We knew coming out of covid that there would be pent-up demand, so to increase like-for-like sales by 5.5% on that has been amazing,” said Blackwell. “However, we are rarely full, even at peak times, so we are exploring how we can maximise every footage of our venues. We’ve got 49 sites, but only 15 have karaoke rooms, only 12 have Houdini’s escape rooms and just four have soft play centres. We’ve seen footfall growth of 41% on 2019, so it’s about encouraging customers to increase their dwell time by giving them the opportunity of other activities beside bowling. As I’ve said before, we’re much more than that – we are family entertainment centres. We are two years into our refurbishment programme, which is producing a return on investment of 30%. We’ve had a slight impact on margins due to food costs mainly, but we won’t put up prices, and in fact, the average bowling price is now cheaper than 2019.” The group invested £13m in its sites in 2022, and Blackwell said he was hopeful of increasing that spend this year. Four centres are due to open in 2023 and the pipeline for 2024 is “strong”. Blackwell added the company paid out £2m in staff bonuses in 2022 as they are “one of the key reasons for our success”. Looking ahead at the macroeconomic climate, he added: “Inflation is painful for everyone, but it hits some people harder than others. We see our venues as being a place where people can get a bit of respite from some of the pressures that life can bring and at an affordable price.”

Ten Entertainment Group features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £126.7m is the 54th highest in the database. Its pre-tax profit of £26.1m is the 17th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Indoor family activity brand Oxygen has built its portfolio to ten leisure parks by acquiring single-site Essex trampoline operator, Jump Evolution. The acquisition of the 27,500 square-foot venue in Romford further builds Oxygen’s presence within Greater London, and it becomes Oxygen’s fourth largest site by revenue. It is also the second acquisition by Oxygen in the last six months, following the brand’s purchase of RedKangaroo in November. At the same time, Oxygen has spent more than £1.23m on introducing its new “lounge” concept to its Croydon location, with the site due to reopen before Easter. First introduced at Oxygen’s Wilmslow and Acton leisure parks, the concept features best-in-class food and beverage, enhanced technology and dedicated suites for children’s parties. Oxygen has also invested in its team, introducing a new training programme for staff. Stephen Wilson, managing director at Oxygen, said: “The acquisition of Jump Evolution is another key moment in Oxygen’s growth. The park is an established and high-performing location with a great team in place. This comes at an exciting time for the group as we are soon to roll out our next evolution of our customer experience. As consumers face ever more pressures on their time and money, we believe it is imperative to exceed their expectations. As we have seen from the two sites to have received our new proposition so far, doing so creates greater loyalty, frequency of visit, dwell time and, ultimately, customer experience.” Russell Tiller, managing director of Jump Evolution, added: “Having taken the business this far, becoming part of Oxygen, who share our approach and commitment to the experience, opens up even more opportunities that will take us to the next level. We can’t wait to see their plans for Jump Evolution come to fruition.” Oxygen was acquired by Literacy Capital in July 2021. Its parks are home to trampolines, climbing walls, soft play areas, inflatable assault courses, dodgeball and other family-friendly activities.

GSG Hospitality founder Matt Farrell (pictured) has told Propel the business is set to expand Bold Street Coffee into a bakery offering and is planning a roll-out of its food hall concept, Duke Street Market. GSG has just opened Scandinavian-influenced restaurant Nord in Liverpool’s The Plaza building – building on its four Bold Street Coffees; two Salt Dogs Slims; and single Manolo, 81, El Bandito and Duke Street Market sites – spread across Liverpool and Manchester. Farrell told Propel last year that GSG’s expansion plans would focus on Bold Street Coffee, but a new element is now being added to the concept. Farrell, while confirming that Nord would be a single-site concept, said: “We’re definitely looking at bringing Bold Street Coffee into new cities – it seems to be a good market, and I can foresee adding more in the next 12 months. We also want to expand it into Bold Street Bakery and open a production unit. But it’s a two-step process and we can’t lose sight of what it is. I can see our food hall market elsewhere too, and we have our eyes on a couple of sites. Another Manolo-type offering, in Manchester, could be in the pipeline too.” Farrell, who is also looking to extend GSG’s lab products and retail range, also said while the group remains “proudly independent”, it may look at investment “at the right time”. He said: “Nothing is off the cards. Our online sales have gone live, and we’re still looking to expand our footprint in Liverpool, Manchester and beyond. We’re cautiously optimistic, but I think we’re going to see a lot of changes this year. Sales are steadier and we’re trading up from what we expected. Hopefully on a business perspective, we can put a really difficult time in the rear-view mirror. It’s very hard to plan ahead, but we can look to the future a little more than these last three or four years.” Meanwhile, GSG’s original Slims site in Liverpool, and Peppercat sports bar, are unlikely to reopen.

The Tomahawk Steakhouse Group has closed its Chester site after just six months. North east operator Howard Eggleston only launched the Tomahawk Steakhouse in Newgate Street in September, on the site formerly occupied by Brazilian restaurant Picanha by Fazenda. But a notice in its window said the branch is closed “for the foreseeable future”, reports Cheshire Live. The Chester site is also no longer listed among the Tomahawk venues on its website, although the social media pages remain active. Eggleston told Propel earlier this month that he remains hopeful of opening up to four new steakhouses this year, with sites in Sunderland, Harrogate and Morpeth among the pipeline. Eggleston – who now operates 12 Tomahawk Steakhouses and five Rio Brazilian sites – is also hoping to launch a new coffee house concept, Rio Cantina, in Middlesbrough later this year, with the potential for a roll-out if it proves successful. In December, the group reported turnover of just under £40m for 2022, with Eggleston forecasting it to rise to £50m in 2023.

Greggs is set to double its Primark cafe portfolio by the summer with three more openings after launching its third site within the retailer’s stores. Greggs launched the partnership, which included the introduction of a range of Greggs-branded clothes within Primark stores, last year with the launch of its biggest ever cafe, a 130-seater venue in the Birmingham High Street Primark. This was followed by a second opening, on the top floor of the department store’s London flagship Oxford Street East store, in October. A third location has now opened, in Newcastle, which will be followed by further cafes in Primarks in Bristol (May), Liverpool and Leeds (both June), reports The Sun. Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, said: “We’re thrilled with the success of our partnership with Primark to date – ranging from three iconic fashion collections to now three brilliant ‘Tasty by Greggs’ cafes. We’re constantly on the lookout for new ways to inspire and excite our customers and we’re looking forward to extending our partnership to new locations later this year.”