- Carluccio's has denied it is planning a restructure of its restaurant business following reports it has become the latest casual dining chain to call in advisors. A spokesperson for the 102-strong group, which was acquired by Dubai-based Landmark for £90m in 2010, said there were "currently no plans" for closures across the business.
- Nuno Mendes has closed his London restaurant Taberna do Mercado in Old Spitalfields Market after three years. The chef has moved the Portuguese restaurant out of its 40-cover site in to a unit in the nearby The Kitchen's street food space he helped curate in 2017. He retains ownership of the original site, which will become a wine bar and bottle shop serving the market.
- Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Bray returned to profit last year following its temporary migration to Australia in 2015. The restaurant lost £361,582 in 2016 after the chef moved his entire team to Melbourne for nine months during a £2.5m revamp of the UK site. Recent filings show the restaurant is back in the black with turnover of £6.35m in the year to 28 May 2017, with profits of almost £400,000.
- Thirty five of the UK's top 100 restaurant groups are now loss-making, according to research by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. The figure is up from 20 groups last year, which the report said was due to a combination of higher staff costs, business rates and falling consumer confidence. "The last year has pushed a number of major groups to breaking point," said Peter Kubrik, partner at UHY Hacker Young.
- Gordon Ramsay Group (GRG) CEO Stuart Gillies is no longer listed as a director of the company, fuelling speculation that he has left the business. Rumours of Gillies' departure have been circulating for several months, though GRG has kept silent on the reports. Managing director Andrew Wenlock, who is tipped as his successor, was appointed a director on 30 January.
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