19/07/2022
The Restaurant Group (TRG), has acquired the 16-strong Barburrito chain for £7m with plans to double the estate over the next four years. TRG said that the price paid represented a multiple of 4.4x Ebitda, and that Barburritos like for like sales were up 20% on 2019. The 16 existing sites are expected to contribute Ebitda of circa £1.6m to TRG over the next 12 months.
JDW reported the recovery in sales has been slower than expected. Younger people are going out more. The return to pubs for older customers has been muted. Volumes are not back up to 2019 levels. Total sales are down around 6.8%. Sourcing & retaining labour are amongst the most important issues facing hospitality. JDW shares fell by 8.3% on the news.
Governor of the Bank of England has repeated his view that inflation will fall sharply next year and should be back to its 2% target in two years' time. However a report from CGA and Prestige predicts there is little chance that inflation will fall below 7% before Q2 2023 and high levels of inflation are around for the long haul.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has called on government to continue sector de-regulation following the announcement that it will extend the off-sales easement a further year. The regulatory easement, extended last year, was due to expire in September, but has now been extended by a further year.
Inflation in the food service sector topped 10% for the fourth successive month in May, the CGA, Nielsen IQ and Prestige Foodservice Price Index revealed.
London's hotel industry reported its highest monthly room rates on record in June, according to STR. Average daily rate stood at £209, while revpar was £173.60. Occupancy for the month was 83.1%.
A UKHospitality and CGA report has revealed staff shortages have resulted in a revenue decline of 16%, with one in seven hospitality jobs currently unfilled. 45% of businesses have reduced trading hours and a 33% have had to close for at least a day, despite an 11% increase in average pay levels over the last year.
Starbucks is exploring a potential sale of its UK operations as it faces rising costs and competition from rivals such as Pret A Manger, Tim Hortons and Costa along with thousands of independent operators, the Sunday Times reported. Its UK business oversees over 1,000 coffee shops and employs 4,000 people.