Friday Five: the week's top news
- Company insolvencies in hospitality could hit record highs this year, a legal expert has warned, as business continue to be battered by a ‘perfect storm’ of cost pressures. According to figures provided by law firm Higgs LLP, a total of 249 hospitality companies entered insolvency in February this year – up from 175 in February 2022. “Company insolvencies are at record levels across the board and unfortunately hospitality is high on the list,” says Lauren Hartigan-Pritchard, head of restructuring and insolvency at Higgs LLP. “The circumstances for the rise in insolvencies varies sector-by-sector as each industry has its own challenges. We are witnessing a perfect storm of events that is making life very difficult for many businesses right across the country.”
- The Restaurant Group (TRG) has come under renewed pressure from investors after Coltrane Asset Management, which has built a 3% stake in the business, called for change at the company. In the latest of a series of interventions made by investors against the beleaguered casual dining chain, Coltrane Asset Management called on TRG to be ‘open to all strategic options’. TRG has also faced further attacks from hedge fund Oasis Management Company this week. The activist investor has accused the group of withholding information from key shareholders ahead of next week’s annual general meeting.
- Chef Dmitri Magi is to leave his role as culinary director at Claridge’s hotel in London in order to pursue new opportunities in the industry. Claridge’s confirmed that Magi would leave the top-end Mayfair hotel at the end of July, almost exactly a year after taking on the culinary director role. “We can confirm that Dmitri Magi, Claridge’s culinary director will be leaving the hotel at the end of July 2023 to pursue new opportunities in the industry,” the hotel said in a statement. “We would like to thank Dmitri for all his hard work, creativity and dedication over the last four years and wish him all the best for the future.”
- High-profile Birmingham chef restaurateur Aktar Islam has revealed that his Michelin-starred Opheem generated just £320 in profit in the first quarter of 2023 despite having a solid customer base. The chef has admitted that lunches are slow at his Jewellery Quarter-based Indian restaurant but says the dining room is “consistently busy” in the evenings. Instead, he puts Opheem’s poor financial performance down to spiralling costs and a hostile tax environment for hospitality.
- The founders of Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Luca and a trio from events company Secret Cinema will partner with AngloThai chef John Chantarasak for a three-month pop-up at 180 The Strand next month. Billed as a restaurant and arts space with a sustainable ethos, Outcrop will be located in a verdant courtyard within the Brutalist creative hub that is also home to the two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi serving as ‘an inner-city oasis within London’s West End to connect guests with nature’. Chantarasak is best-known for his long-running AngloThai concept, which is inspired by his half British and half Thai heritage and celebrates the cooking techniques, flavours and culture of Thailand alongside seasonal British produce with UK-grown ingredients subbed in for Thai ones in some cases.
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