The first Labour-backed Budget of the new government is expected to have a significant impact on the balance sheet of popular pub group J D Wetherspoon, just as the company was on track to return to steady growth.
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Hallgarten & Novum Wines has announced a four-year sole-supply deal with The Jockey Club, the UK’s largest group in British horseracing. The deal makes Hallgarten the official wine supplier of the horseracing group.
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Data from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) can reveal that 63% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) saw taxation as their primary business challenge. The data, which was gathered following the Autumn Budget, represents an increase compared to Q3 of 2024 when 48% of business owners saw it as their primary challenge.
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Figures from CGA by NIQ and RSM’s Hospitality Business Tracker reveal that year-on-year sales dropped by 1.3% in January 2025 compared to the same month last year. This represents only the tracker’s second recorded month of negative trading since early 2022.
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This year marks five years of Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH). From the outset, we set out to build a thriving community of individuals and businesses committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
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Recent reports indicate the UK government could introduce an Australia-style youth mobility scheme for EU citizens as part of efforts to reset post-Brexit relations. The decision could have significant implications for the hospitality sector which has faced recruitment challenges since Brexit.
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The Megaro Hotel in King’s Cross is set to open a new signature restaurant in collaboration with the much-vaunted Adam Simmonds. The Michelin star-winning chef hopes to provide Scandina-vian-inspired fare underpinned by bold flavours and a unique mission. His menu will look to explore food’s intimate ties to our senses and memories to provide an unconventional but thought-provoking dining experience (or ‘voyage’). As chef patron at the hotel, he will also oversee the operation of its all-day eatery Spagnoletti. The adventurous restaurant opens its doors on 29 January.
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A third offering from East London Mexican food aficionados sees the group open its first central London venue in Marylebone. The team, led by Edson Diaz-Fuentes and Natalie Feary, will be serving regional Mexican delights with an emphasis on guisados, slow-cooked traditional dishes and antojitos mexicanos, including hand-pressed corn dishes like empenadas. Their commitment to authentic Mexican cuisine is highlighted by bringing what were, until recently, inaccessible ingredients to UK shores, like purple heirloom corn for their antojitos. Adding to the fold British produce such as West Country venison for traditional dishes, the restaurant hopes to show the dynamism and creativity inherent to Mexican cuisine. Santo Remedio Casona & Cantina in Marylebone is set over two floors with 85 covers and a ground floor bar which will be serving tequila and mezcal cocktails.
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Glasgow is to gain a new gastropub offering early this month with The Noble Public House. The 100-cover venue is spearheaded by Glaswegian hospitality group The Superlative Collection which hopes to blend classic pub vibes with a gloss of premium bar sophistication. Standing out in Glasgow’s dynamic food and drinks scene is no mean feat but the new venue’s unique approach to familiar Scottish food and drink may help it do just that. On the drinks front this includes signature cocktails in a partnership with The Macallan whisky and beers from local brewery Jump Ship. Food will include British pub staples with a Caledonian twist, while the venue will open from 9am to entice intrepid commuters from the nearby Glasgow Central station to its breakfast menu.
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New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) can reveal hospitality had another strong month in December 2024, with output for the food and drink sector growing 2%. This made it the largest contributor to growth for the wider consumer-facing services industry.
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The UK’s ‘licensed’ venues saw virtually no change in total numbers last year, with 4078 closures and 4085 openings, according to the Hospitality Market Monitor, from CGA by NIQ and Alix Partners. The total number of venues, including pubs, bars, restaurant, nightclubs and hotels, sat at 99,120 operating in December 2024.
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Few followers of Harpers newsfeed could have missed the massive drive by Hallgarten & Novum Wines to bring aboard new agencies and staff in the wake of its acquisition by Coterie Holdings in December 2023. In the past 12 months alone, some 30 producers, along with 300 wines, have been added to the portfolio, backed by 30 new faces that have joined the team. And the upshot is a strengthened import and distribution business that is a serious force to be reckoned with, anchored by the investment and stability that Coterie has been able to provide.
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New figures from CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker shows year-on-year growth of 3.2% for December 2024, reflecting a month of boosted sales for hospitality.
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The changes to employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will see more than 774,000 workers newly eligible for the contributions. This figure represents almost 63% of workers who were previously ineligible. UKHospitality predicts this could cost the hospitality sector up to £1bn.
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The introduction of 40% business rates relief for hospitality venues in Scotland with a rateable value of up to £51,000 will be a welcome introduction for many but could see more than 2,500 businesses ineligible for the scheme.
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Opening with former executive chef at The Ritz Spencer Metzger and Roxane Dupuy as executive sommelier, chef-proprietor Jason Atherton has tailored a dream team for this sister outpost to Dubai’s Row on 45, where Metzger’s input helped deliver two Michelin stars. With just 28 covers and a 15-course ‘best of British’ tasting menu on offer, to be complemented by the 4,000-odd bottles in the cellar, Atherton says Row on 5 is to be his legacy from a lifetime’s cheffing. Expect a frenzy on the one booking day a month.
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Tamarind Mayfair has celebrated 30 years as one of London’s top Indian restaurants by launching a standout, 50-cover year-round dining terrace with its own central bar. The new terrace gives extra oomph to the venue in terms of design and also the drinks menu, where a new list has been designed by cocktail maestro Carole Brown in collaboration with Boatyard Distillery. A truly well-thought-out extension to the Tamarind brand, which should bring in fans both old and new.
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The food and drinks sector was the largest contributor to the 0.1% growth seen in the overall services industry during November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The services industry itself was the largest contributor to growth in the British GDP during the month.
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February is to see the opening of a restaurant and bar at Hambledon, backed by a team studded with well-respected names. Head chef Nick Edgar, who won a Michelin star at Samling in the Lake District, will ply his trademark seasonal cuisine, rooted in kitchen garden and local produce. James Osborn, formerly MD at Squerryes Wine Estate in Kent, brings wine expertise, and Katherine Fromm, out of The Pig, Limewood and Portetta, comes aboard as head of hospitality. And, as you might expect from this Berry Bros & Rudd-owned estate, there’s a private St James Tasting Room available for bookings, overlooking Hambledon’s oldest vines.
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With one in three visits to UK pubs now alcohol-free, the onus is on hospitality to create a winning low & no menu. Jo Gilbert discovers more.
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