Friday five: the week's top restaurant stories
- The average price for a portion of fish and chips has risen by more than 50% in the last five years, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Figures first reported by the BBC show that the price of a typical portion of fish and chips was £9.88 in July 2024, up from £6.48 in July 2019, reflecting an increase of 52%. Soaring energy bills, tariffs on Russian seafood imports, and extreme weather hammering potato harvests were cited by business owners as reasons for the rise in prices.
- Leaked Government documents reveal plans to extend the indoor smoking ban to a number of open-air spaces including restaurant terraces and pub gardens. The Sun reports that the measures are being proposed as part of a tougher version of the previous Conservative government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill and would also see areas outside nightclubs and shisha bars affected. Vapers could also be targeted as part of the ban. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, says a ban on smoking in outdoor spaces comes with the prospect of ‘serious economic harm’ to hospitality venues. According to The Sun, a public consultation will be launched over the outdoor smoking ban, but is unlikely to change the Government’s position.
- Pizza Express saw revenue climb to £454.6m in 2023, up from £422.1m in 2022, driven by strong like-for-like sales of 8.3% in its UK & Ireland business. According to the group's latest accounts on Companies House, adjusted EBITDA for PizzaExpress UK & Ireland was £50.8m for the 52 weeks to 31 December 2023, compared to £57.2m the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the group, meanwhile, which includes operations in Hong Kong and the UAE, was £52.3 (2022: £59.3m). Group operating profit, excluding adjusting items, was £34.5m, compared to £42.6m. However, total loss after tax for the period was £7.5m, compared to a profit of £9.7m the previous year.
- All-day restaurant group Bill's is returning to the expansion trail with two new sites set to launch in the coming months and further openings planned in the new year. The Richard Caring-owned group will open new outposts in Milton Keynes and Street, Somerset, before Christmas, and is in the process of securing a pipeline of properties for 2025 and beyond. Savills has been appointed by Bill’s Restaurants to advise on its expansion plans.
- Famed retail and leisure agent David Coffer has died at the age of 76. In a statement, Coffer's family said he had fought 'an inimitably strong battle with illness'. He passed away on 24 August. “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend David Coffer, after an inimitably strong battle with illness,” the statement read. “A man of profound insight and intellect, lionlike determination and courage, and unrivalled kindness; he could not fail to have an impact on anyone who met him. A supernova, his brightness will shine for decades on the many people whose life he influenced. We have received so many kind messages and would like to thank all well-wishers for their support as we come to terms with our loss.”
For more of this week's headlines, click here.
