Casual Dining

Hospitable Cities: Spotlight on Leeds

Hospitable Cities: Spotlight on Leeds

By Emma Eversham

While it doesn’t have the same historical and cultural pull of yesterday’s hospitable city Edinburgh, the North Eastern city of Leeds is nevertheless fast becoming a hospitality hotspot with a growing eating-out market.

The Coffer Peach Tracker analyses the monthly performance of 27 operating restaurant and pub groups

Summer sales up for London’s restaurants and pubs

By Luke Nicholls

A recent survey of BigHospitality readers revealed that 65 per cent of restaurant and pub owners saw increased bookings and sales as a result of the heatwave in July, and the latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker reflect these benefits. 

Hospitable city: Edinburgh now boasts five Michelin-starred restaurants, along with a diverse hospitality offering

Hospitable cities: Spotlight on Edinburgh

By Luke Nicholls

What better time to write about the Scottish capital than when the world’s biggest arts festival is in full swing? The Edinburgh Fringe brings in thousands of performers and tourists and its cosmopolitan and bohemian nature encapsulates the city’s year-round...

Craft beer sales have risen by 84 per cent for draught and 40 per cent for packaged in the past year

Brewing up a storm: Craft beer sales continue to climb

By Luke Nicholls

While many drinks categories in the UK on-trade are declining in sales, craft beer is bucking the trend, with a sales growth of 79 per cent in the past year equating to 74 million pints being sold in pubs and bars across the country.

Camra's 'List Your Local’ campaign aims to get 300 UK pubs listed as community assets

Assets of Community Value: 100 pubs given greater protection

By Luke Nicholls

With the Great British Beer Festival kicking off tomorrow (13 August), Community Pubs Minister Brandon Lewis is set to announce that 100 pubs in England have now been listed as Assets of Community Value (ACV), giving them greater protection against being...

Exploitation? The hotel, catering and leisure industry employs around half a million people on zero-hours contracts

Zero-hours contracts: Are they needed in hospitality?

By Luke Nicholls

The term ‘zero-hours contract’ generates more light than heat and is vague and unhelpful, according to the British Hospitality Association (BHA), which claims variable hours of work in hotels, restaurants and pubs across the UK has been central to job...

The Swift offers American craft beer, beer-based cocktails and a range of burgers, hot dogs and pizzas

Fuller’s unveils new 'American diner' bar concept

By Luke Nicholls

London-based brewer and pub operator Fuller’s is today opening the doors of a new ‘raw and exciting’ concept in Putney with an American diner theme, which could be rolled out to other venues if successful.

The Pit will become Arc Inspirations' 10th bar when it opens in Leeds at the end of the month

Arc Inspirations to open two more bars in 2014

By Peter Ruddick

Leeds-based bar operator Arc Inspirations is to open its 10th venue later this month in Leeds and is planning to add two further sites to its portfolio next year.

The competition is designed to inspire a new generation of young people to make a professional career out of front-of-house hospitality

Gold Service Scholarship returns for 2014

By Luke Nicholls

The Gold Service Scholarship, which launched last year in a bid to inspire more young people to take up a career in front-of-house hospitality, is back for 2014, with a number of industry greats on the lookout for the next star of service. 

Businesses are looking to alternative finance options to fund their growth aspirations and the UK market is changing to meet this need

Finding finance in hospitality: New alternatives

By Luke Nicholls

So, you’ve been turned away from the bank, run out of deep-pocketed friends and family and aren’t keen on giving away an equity stake in your company. Is all hope of securing finance to develop or expand your business lost? No. There are still plenty...

Searcys, which currently operates 16 up-market bars and restaurants, hopes to expand to 25 sites in the next two years

Searcys eyes growth and Champagne brasserie concept

By John Harrington

Searcys, the up-market bar and restaurant operator and caterer, hopes to expand from 16 to 25 sites in the next two years, with a Champagne brasserie concept one vehicle for growth, chief executive Doug Tetley has told BigHospitality's sister publication...

Paul Deeming: Pearls of Wisdom

Paul Deeming: Pearls of Wisdom

By Emma Eversham

Paul Deeming co-founded Ignite Group, the company behind London nightclub Boujis and restaurant group Bumpkin, in 1998 and remains part-owner. He is also acting chief financial officer of restaurant group Hakkasan where he is helping to spearhead its...

Circo rebrands restaurant 1770 to widen appeal

Circo rebrands restaurant 1770 to widen appeal

By Emma Eversham

Liverpool's live circus performance venue Circo has re-branded its restaurant area as 1770 to give its food operation its own identity and attract a wider customer base.

Sealing the deal: Private equity funding remains a great way to finance your hospitality business if you are looking to expand

Finding finance in hospitality: Private equity

By Peter Ruddick

From Piper Private Equity’s backing of Be At One and more recently Loungers to Graphite Capital’s management buy-out of Hawksmoor, there are private equity (PE) deals to be done in the hospitality industry but are they right for your business?

Breaking the banks: The bank manager that was once your best friend is now much more reluctant to deploy capital

Finding finance in hospitality: The banks

By Luke Nicholls

Most hospitality business owners will agree that bank lending isn’t the same as it used to be. Pre-recession, a budding entrepreneur with a bold idea for a new concept would often be given a blank cheque from the bank manager to support their ambitions....

Leading pub trade bodies, including the BBPA and BISL, have called on Blackpool Borough Council to rethink its plans to introduce an Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO) on the sale of alcohol in the seaside town

Blackpool EMRO: Industry urges council to abandon plans

By Peter Ruddick

The pub industry's leading trade bodies have called on Blackpool Borough Council to rethink its plans for an Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO) and have said the town's licensed operators can instead work together to cut drink-related crime.

Finding finance in hospitality: Where to start

Finding finance in hospitality: Where to start

By Emma Eversham

In the first of our five-part series on finding funding within the hospitality industry we ask experts in the field what the market's like and what operators can do to enable them to successfully set up or grow their restaurant, hotel or pub business.

Luca Mathiszig-Lee is now bar manager at The 3 Crowns pub in Old Street

Luca Mathiszig-Lee: Career Profile

By Luke Nicholls

With recent stats showing that almost half of young people in the UK would not consider a job hospitality, Luca Mathiszig-Lee is a prime example of the opportunities that a career in the industry can offer. The 23-year-old has just helped to open The...

The sweltering temperatures have lifted sales at a clutch of big brewery chains

Warming up: Pub sales boosted by heatwave

By Luke Nicholls

The recent heatwave has brought some much needed good news for Britain’s pubs groups, with Marston’s, Fuller’s, Mitchells & Butlers and JD Wetherspoon all reporting a boost in summer sales after poor weather at the start of the year had initially...

Oceana Bristol will be the first to adopt the Pryzm branding when it re-opens at the beginning of September

Luminar to rebrand Oceana nightclubs as ‘Pryzm’

By Luke Nicholls

Nightclub giant Luminar is undergoing a major rebranding and refurbishment of its 10 Oceana venues across the UK, which will see them renamed Pryzm to reflect the multi-characteristics of the new format. 

Lee Cash and Hamish Stoddart founded Peach Pub Company in 2003

Peach remains confident after 'difficult' year

By Luke Nicholls

Independent pub operator Peach Pub Company has admitted that 2012 was a ‘difficult’ period for the business as pre-tax profits dropped by 39.7 per cent to £375,128.

Most popular News

Spotlight

Jason Atherton on opening five London restaurants in as many months Jason Atherton: “I’ve opened 37 restaurants, but this is the scariest one” What is with the UK’s current obsession with smash burgers? What is with the UK’s current obsession with smash burgers? What are the key UK restaurant openings of 2024 10 key restaurants opening before the end of the year The UK’s fried chicken market explained Pecking order: the UK’s fried chicken market explained

Follow us

Latest Videos

Hospitality Guides

View more

Featured Suppliers

All