M&B profit fed by food sales September 23, 2010 PUBS and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday reported a surge in food sales in recent weeks and said it was looking to make acquisitions as it re-shapes itself into a food-led business. M&B, which has over 2,000 pubs and restaurants and whose brands include Harvester, All Bar One and Toby Carvery, reported a 4.4 [...]
Carlyle snaps up testing group Velosi for £87.8m December 9, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group is buying UK testing and inspection company Velosi for about £87.8m, paving the way for Velosi to expand into new markets. Carlyle’s testing and inspection company Applus+ has made the 165p per share offer for Velosi, which supplies quality control services to oil and gas companies. The price per share [...]
Carlyle snaps up testing group Velosi for £87.8m December 9, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group is buying UK testing and inspection company Velosi for about £87.8m, paving the way for Velosi to expand into new markets. Carlyle’s testing and inspection company Applus+ has made the 165p per share offer for Velosi, which supplies quality control services to oil and gas companies. The price per share [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 8, 2010 JD WETHERSPOON UBS rates the pub chain a “buy” but has reduced its target price to 500p from 525p. The broker points to a one-off increase in spending on staff and repairs that are depressing margins, but adds that earlier opening hours will increase group margins above the firm’s historic 10 per cent trend as [...]
Shaftesbury shops provide profit jump November 30, 2010 WEST END property company Shaftesbury posted double-digit growth in its asset value for the full-year yesterday, and said it expected strong demand for its shops, pubs and restaurants to continue. Shaftesbury also said it was hunting for a new chief executive, after current boss Jonathan Lane announced his intention to retire in 2011 after 24 [...]
Shaftesbury shops provide profit jump November 30, 2010 WEST END property company Shaftesbury posted double-digit growth in its asset value for the full-year yesterday, and said it expected strong demand for its shops, pubs and restaurants to continue. Shaftesbury also said it was hunting for a new chief executive, after current boss Jonathan Lane announced his intention to retire in 2011 after 24 [...]
Beer sales drop by 9.7pc October 26, 2010 The amount of beer drunk in Britain fell by 9.7 per cent in the last three months, dashing hopes of a comeback by the brewing industry. Sales of beer in supermarkets and off-licences were down by 12 per cent in the third quarter, while sales in pubs dropped by 7.8 per cent. The latest figures [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 15, 2010 GOT A ‘TACHE? GET A FREE BURGER London’s favourite burger restaurant Byron – the newest branch just opened at One New Change by St Pauls – is getting firmly stuck into Movember, the men’s health drive. It’s offering a free burger to anyone who can show that their ‘tache is part of the campaign against [...]
Mitchells & Butlers sees food sales soar September 23, 2010 Britain’s biggest pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers reported a 4.4 per cent increase in sales at outlets open for more than a year driven by a surge in demand for food. The company, which is re-shaping itself into a food-led business, said sales of food increased 7.1 per cent in the nine weeks [...]
FOCUS ON: WOOLWICH, SE18 October 7, 2010 THE ACADEMY, WOOLWICH Price: Apartments in Kitchener House start at £260,000 for a two-bed. This conversion of the 18th century former Royal Military Academy has created a whole range of different-sized apartments ideal for the first-time buyer. Unusually for new-builds, the flats retain the original building’s period features. It is hoped the development will eventually [...]