Marco Pierre White to launch new franchise brand in new year
Nick Taplin, of Black and White Franchising, also said he would consider standalone venues but currently has a “very healthy” pipeline of hotels that will take the portfolio to 20 by the middle of next year.
He said he was keen to find sites in London and was close to securing two central London locations but said outlets would be considered across the country and was keen to move into Northern Ireland.
He said: “There’s real momentum at the moment and the next year is shaping up to be a really good year. We are on track to get to 20 by mid-2015 and you could be seeing another brand. I can’t say much at the moment but we will be looking at something in the new year.”
The rollout of White’s brand’s began with the hotels under the Sanguine Hospitality brand, of which Taplin is managing director, but has now expanded to work with other hoteliers.
Taplin said: “The reason this is such a successful model is that hotels have a ready-made customer base for the restaurants but they those guests are being lost to surrounding restaurants. Having Marco’s named attached to the restaurant is keeping those diners in the hotel and is bringing in people from the surrounding areas.
“We still have so much untapped potential in hotels so that will continue to be our focus for the moment. But that’s not to say we wouldn’t consider a standalone site. The benefit of a hotel is that the infrastructure – the kitchen capable of servicing the restaurant – is all there. But in the right site we would consider a standalone.”
Taplin said he expected the business, currently at 15 sites, to grow to 50 over the next four years. The most recent deals were at the Holiday Inn, Kenilworth, Warwickshire and Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth, Leicestershire.
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