British takeaways call for rent holidays as coronavirus puts businesses ‘on the brink’ March 22, 2020 British restaurants and takeaways have urged retail landlords to grant rent holidays as they battle to survive during the coronavirus outbreak. The British Takeaway Campaign (BTC), which represents restaurants, takeaways and small businesses in the supply chain, called for an immediate three-month freeze on rent ahead of quarterly payments due next week. The group warned [...]
Wagamama owner Restaurant Group warns of huge coronavirus sales hit March 18, 2020 The owner of restaurant chain Wagamama today warned the coronavirus crisis will almost halve its sales over the first six months of 2020. Restaurant Group told investors to prepare for a 45 per cent plummet in sales for the first half of the year due to UK measures to contain Covid-19. The government has warned [...]
Coronavirus: Supermarkets rebound but leisure stocks suffer March 13, 2020 Supermarket stocks made gains this morning after being dragged down by a mass FTSE 100 sell off sparked by mounting coronavirus fears. Sainsbury’s share price jumped 8.02 per cent to 188.97p, Tesco was up 10.46 per cent at 233.3p and Morrisons climbed 7.98 per cent to 178p. Grocers are positioned well to ride out the [...]
City Moves for 9 March — Who’s switching jobs at Quintet, Leo Burnett and R3? March 9, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Quintet, Leo Burnett and R3 Quintet Quintet Private Bank has announced the promotion of Rachel Macfarlane to group head of legal, with immediate effect. Macfarlane joined Brown Shipley in 2018 with responsibility for legal, corporate secretarial and corporate governance work. Prior to that, she served as legal manager at Santander UK [...]
The Restaurant Group scraps dividend and eyes 90 site closures February 26, 2020 The Restaurant Group has suspended its dividend as it announced plans to ramp up Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito site closures to focus on its Asian-fusion chain Wagamama. The figures Restaurant Group’s shares dipped 3.1 per cent in early trading as it announced it will scrap its dividend to focus on a new strategic plan. [...]
Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group to outline site closure plans February 24, 2020 The Restaurant Group – which owns Chiquito, Frankie & Benny’s and Wagamama – is set to announce site closures as it publishes its full-year results this week. Chief executive Andy Hornby – who joined the casual dining company in August – is expected to announce which underperforming sites will be closed. Out-of-town retail park locations, [...]
The rise of the vegans: Where to get your plant-based meat this January January 14, 2020 Whether you’re flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan or something in between, you’ll want to sample these meatless marvels. Now available everywhere. Greggs Vegan Steak Bake The rampant veganisation of Greggs continues apace with the lauch of a plant-based alternative to its most popular menu item. The vegan steak bake employs Quorn chunks in a rich onion gravy, [...]
The Restaurant Group shares fall as Wagamama reports slowing growth November 25, 2019 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group suffered a share price drop this morning after the Asian fusion chain reported slowing sales growth in the second quarter. Like-for-like sales growth was 6.3 per cent in the UK, less than half the 12.9 per cent growth reported in the first quarter of the year. Read more: The Restaurant [...]
Sushi stalwart Itsu posts loss as it eyes expansion in the US September 29, 2019 Sushi chain Itsu fell to a pre-tax loss of £6m last year as stronger sales were offset by expansion in the US. The British food chain, which was founded by Pret a Manger tycoon Julian Metcalfe, pulled in revenue of £116m, up nine per cent on the previous year. Read more: Restaurant insolvencies jump by [...]
Restaurant insolvencies jump by a fifth as casual dining sector squeeze continues September 16, 2019 The number of restaurants collapsing into insolvency has risen by 20 per cent in the last year amid tough competition on the UK high street. Roughly 1,410 restaurants went insolvent in the year to the end of June, up by a fifth on the previous 12 months, according to figures compiled by accountancy firm UHY [...]