Mark Bentley’s Post

Urban Pubs and Bars, the London pub operator founded by Malc Heap and nick pring and backed by Davidson Kempner and Global Mutual, is poised for further expansion as it saw an “exceptional” Christmas period and reported record revenue of £52.2m. Like-for-like sales were up 19% in December 2023 with the continued strong performance reflecting London recovering to pre-pandemic levels, the company said. It comes as the business saw group Ebitda of £6.4m for the year ending 30 April 2023, an improvement of 11% versus the prior year. The group, which operates 42 pubs, bars and restaurants across London, revealed like-for-like sales were up 17% and turnover increased almost 60% to £52.2m (2022: £32.6m). The previous financial year had been a “transformational” period for the group having entered into the partnership with Davidson Kempner and Global Mutual, with significant new investment including the acquisition of 16 sites. The group has more than doubled in size in the last 24 months. Since the start of the current financial year, the business has opened three new sites – Victory at Waterloo station, Railway in Putney and The Junction in Islington, with trading exceeding expectations. The group – which includes flagship pubs Nest, Bishopsgate; The Wheatsheaf, Tooting; and The Gatehouse, Highgate – said it is encouraged by the news and predicts further growth despite economic forecasts, transport strikes and the general state of the UK economy. Managing director Chris Hill, who joined the business to lead the next stage of its exciting development, said: “We are delighted with the performance of the business. Our pubs, bars and restaurants, and the people who run them are some of the best in London. "While the economic conditions are unfavourable at present, presenting numerous challenges to the hospitality industry, Urban Pubs & Bars is trading strongly, and remains highly profitable and well-funded. We are confident that further opportunities to expand the business will arise and look forward to more openings and further growth this year.” 👉 Find out the latest hospitality news first by signing up to the Propel email newsletter for free, here: https://lnkd.in/g_vS_S7

Pub Chains. Like most 'chains' in Hospitality, once you get to a certain amount of 'units', it gets hard to control 'standards'. As an owner, having just a few places, you can probably get round them yourself and instill your own, exacting standards. When you have nearly 100 places, you can't do this and have to rely on 'other people'. If it's hard to get good 'other people', it's a problem. Also, if your offer was 'ahead of the game' decades ago, you find that smaller, more fleet-of-foot places, can soon catch up with you, or have a better, more fashionable offer, in 2024. Tastes change, quickly. Of course, there are VAST chains like Greene King and Wetherspoons that can ride the perfect storm of Brexit, ludicrously high power bills and lack of staff. They can cobble together finance packages of £squillions, as their THOUSANDS of places, in a vast property portfolio, allows them to do this. Quite often, like McDonald's, they're actually a Real Estate, not a Restaurant, proposition. However, amidst all these sort of 'good news' headlines, there are chains not doing as well, that won't be around much longer. Even consumate pros, like Jamie Oliver have demonstrated how hard it can be, to take your offer, to everywhere in the UK. You don't have to look very far, to see other 'chains', that were once omnipresent in the 'High Street', have completely disappeared. In spite of what people will tell you, and articles like this, allude to, it's NOT just a Glasgow problem. The unholy Trinity of: Expensive Power, No Staff and Pricy Product Raw Materials isn't something created just in Scotland. It's easy to blame Rates, Parking, Bin Collections, any number of local things but if you look at the ENTIRE Sector, all over the UK, it's only part of an increasingly complex balancing act. Pub and Restaurant Chains have ALWAYS come and gone, it's just that it's now a lot easier to aim REALLY high. Boom and Bust are a lot closer together.

Great to see the huge enthusiasm for the future of our 𝐩𝐮𝐛 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 at the recent Propel Excellence in Pub & Bar Retailing Conference 2024 and that ongoing diversity will be at the heart of it ❤️ This includes the diversity of the continually evolving customer base: 💬 "I think pubs will be thriving as they’ll have a far more diverse set of customers in the pubs ... I’m excited about that and think it’s great for the sector." 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧-𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐫 from 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 💬 "The future is positive ... There will be more ageless and classless pubs, that’s where I see the big change being, and I think we’re seeing that already.” 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧 from 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. Plus the ongoing diversity of pub operators, offers and experiences: 💬 "I hope there isn’t too much more consolidation as part of the joy of the British pub industry is it is still relatively fragmented and there are an awful lot of good independent pubs and smaller medium sized businesses that manage to thrive. Although the pub will have to continue modernising, the traditional aspects where there’s great company and great refreshment must stay at the heart forever." 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 At Keane we LOVE working in the pub sector creating concepts, brands and experiences (including for Greene King and City Pub Group) that we hope have played a small part in some of this evolution in recent years. And long may it continue... power to the pub! 🍺✊ #pubs #hospitality #diversity #trends #greatbritishpub

The first few months of 2024 have shown a promising slowdown in business closures, with rampant cost inflation finally taking a back seat. Though we've bid farewell to one in 40 of our beloved pubs, restaurants, bars, and hotels over the past year, the pace at which we're losing them has notably decreased. With 368 sites closing in Q1 alone, it's a tough scene, but the resilience of this sector shines through: https://bit.ly/4b9di5C #Hospitality #HBDPartners #HospitalityHope #UKBusinessResilience

What can pub co’s take from the latest Licensee Index to improve the pubco-tenant relationship? Senior Director of Pubs & Restaurants, Neil Morgan. CBII has shared his key takeaways via The Morning Advertiser, noting an open dialogue between large pub companies and their tied tenants is essential to achieving greater transparency and fairness in the industry. To read the full article, click below. #ukhospitality #pubindustry #opinion KAM Research and Insights BII UKHospitality

Many are now coming back from a well-deserved break! Independent pubs join CityStack in wishing you a very happy new year. May this year be full of good news to be celebrated at your favourite pub. As we enter the most dreaded period for the hospitality industry, we'd like to share a rallying call from our group of 50+ independent pubs, to show support by visiting these much-loved establishments, and help them stay afloat. After the festivities, many of you might be thinking of taking a break from drinking, embracing dry January. As a result, the first quarter of the year is often the most testing time for many independent pubs as they face a massive decrease in footfall due to dry January, poor weather and customers reassessing their leisure budget, all the while having to keep their businesses open while paying the same overheads. Sadly, some do not manage to stay afloat with so many obstacles to overcome. This is the exact reason why we, at CityStack, decided to tackle this challenge and encourage Londoners to visit them during this difficult period by offering free food and drink. Our £25 stack of beer mats lets you get £100 worth of food and drink at independent pubs. Each pack includes a special beer mat to show at any ten of our 50+ independent pubs. Have it stamped to get £10 off your bill. Collect 10 stamps, save £100 (more info on citystack.co)! If you’re seeking resolutions ideas for 2024, we couldn’t recommend enough supporting independent businesses by actively visiting them. Starting Dry January? Our pubs offer many choices which don’t involve alcohol. If you can, please try to visit a few pubs during this very quiet period, to help them survive and thrive. 🙏 Thank you very much for your support. #supportindependentpubs #independentpub #london #londonpubs #dryjanuary #supportpubs #discountatpubs #cheappub #visitpubs #supportyourlocal #ldn #happynewyear #notdryjanuary #beermats #giftidea #bestpubs #bestlondonpubs #independentpubs

Great bit of reading to start my day today... Scottish independent restaurant and bar operator Buzzworks Holdings has said it has experienced a strong start to 2024 as it plans to double the size of the business and create 800 jobs. Like-for-like sales were up 5.3% for the five weeks to 31 December 2023, which came on top of strong growth last year. It comes as the 19-strong business reported turnover increased 19% to a record £29,499,697 for the year ending 30 April 2023 compared with £25,196,374 the year before. Negotiations are also underway on three new venues. Underlying Ebitda before site opening costs and non-recurring items was £2.94m compared with £3.95m in 2022, which was supported by the reduced VAT rate on food sales and the payment holiday on business rates. The business made a pre-tax loss of £629,811 compared with a profit of £1,979,645 the year before as cots increased by more than £5m. As part of its growth strategy, Buzzworks continued to invest in new and existing venues. This totalled £4.7m in the year including the opening of Scotts in Greenock as well as further expansion into the east coast with Thirty Knots in South Queensferry followed by the opening of Herringbone Abbeyhill in Edinburgh. The company also invested in the refurbishment of its current portfolio including Lido Troon, Scotts Largs and Herringbone venues in Goldenacre and North Berwick. Managing director Kenny Blair said: “We have stuck to our plans for expansion, investment in our portfolio and development of our people and despite challenging conditions, we’ve had a successful year. Our formula of investing in great properties in towns and suburbs across the country, introducing our unique blend of food, drink, style and service, is one that is working for us. Hospitality is an integral part of life throughout the country and without it, our towns and cities would be pretty miserable places to live. We want to continue to invest but we’re not immune to external factors coming our way that will impact the pace for growth. Our industry is experiencing pressures from increased property costs, increased rate of pay from national living wage and general overhead inflation including energy costs. We’re trying to navigate this and won’t compromise on our high standards. The goal is for Scotland to be a place where hospitality businesses thrive rather than survive – communities where jobs and careers are created for local people in venues that can be enjoyed by all. This is what will drive us forward and we are confident the good momentum we are seeing will put us in the best possible position to fulfil our ambitious growth plan.” Congrats everyone at Buzzworks Kenny Blair Vivien Bryan

[South Coast NSW – Perfect First Business. South Coast Cafe with Loads of Potential] An incredible opportunity exists to step into this awesome café in one of the most desirable locations that the South Coast of NSW has to offer. The new owner will be able to walk into a café with $1M+ in consistent annual revenue and a very appealing profit available to an owner/operator of $180k. This established café is currently run under management, and would ideally suit a hands-on owner/operator who is looking for a great first business, or a family with teenage children looking for a lifestyle or sea change. This is a unique opportunity that has loads of opportunities and options available to grow and expand. There is a fantastic lease in place until 2037, with plenty of seating inside and covered seating outside. The venue has plenty of space, which could also provide an avenue to explore sub-leasing for a florist or maybe offering other potential income stream items for sale. The café is a destination for the locals as well as benefiting from a large number of commuters and visitors to the area. This café boasts a strong online presence and following, with very favorable reviews. The opportunity here is to capitalize on the location and solid customer base and with an enthusiastic approach, expand the menu and the operating hours and days and seek out further market opportunities, including delivery as well as exploring catering. Possibility of obtaining a liquor license. Expand the menu offering to provide a further point of difference in the area, you could also look at other income stream options and saleable products. Asking Price $265,000 plus SAV | For more details type "details" in the comments below or visit our website https://lnkd.in/gBMZnNif #businessowner #smallbusinessowner #businessowners #smallbusinessowners #savvybusinessowner #businessownership #businessownerlife #cafe #cafestagram #cafes #cafetime #cafelover #cafehopper #cafesofinsta #hospitality #hospitalityindustry #hospitalitymanagement #hospitalitylife #hospitalityjobs #hospitalitymarketing #brokers

The first few months of 2024 have shown a promising slowdown in business closures, with rampant cost inflation finally taking a back seat. Though we've bid farewell to one in 40 of our beloved pubs, restaurants, bars, and hotels over the past year, the pace at which we're losing them has notably decreased. With 368 sites closing in Q1 alone, it's a tough scene, but the resilience of this sector shines through: https://bit.ly/4b9di5C #Hospitality #HBDPartners #HospitalityHope #UKBusinessResilience

Great piece in the Financial Times about the slow and steady recovery of the British pub 🍺 There's an interesting idea here that the pub is not a fixed thing - it changes and adapts to suit the needs of the time it’s in. The increase of pubs selling food has meant this is what consumers expect from their boozers now, and so many groups are changing their venues to align with this. Particularly heartening is companies like Heineken "reopening 62 [pubs] that closed in recent years and investing £40m on this and other refurbishments, such as improving gardens and expanding kitchens." And who can argue with more pubs? Just in time for summer as well ☀️ https://lnkd.in/erHJEpz4