24/06/2025 09:29:00
Sadiq Khan has announced a £300,000 Summer Streets Fund aimed at boosting the capital's hospitality, culture, and nightlife, reports Hospitality and Catering News. The fund will support the creation of new al fresco dining and drinking spots across the city, directly benefiting restaurants, cafes, pubs, small nightlife venues, live music venues, and LGBTQ+ spaces. The first areas to receive funding include Brixton, Leyton, Shoreditch, and Westminster which all submitted successful applications and will be part of the initial wave. The funding will help make selected streets car-free or extend car-free hours, create additional dining areas, and enable markets, outdoor games, and events, transforming public spaces into vibrant community hubs.
The expansion and development programme of Heartwood Inns continues as it opens the doors to its sixth pub with rooms. The Ragged Robin in Godalming continues Heartwood's plans to grow its offering to more than 400 rooms by 2027. Formerly known as The Manor Inn, the pub traded under the Beefeater and Premier Inn brands, but has now been renamed The Ragged Robin as a nod to the varied flora and fauna that can be found in the meadows surrounding the pub. Located on the outskirts of the historic market town of Godalming, Surrey, and backing on to the River Wey, The Ragged Robin has undergone a sympathetic multi-million pound refurbishment, says Pub & Bar.
Accommodation and food services insolvencies were down 12% year-on-year in April, falling from 313 to 275, according to Government data analysed by RSM UK. Amid a boost to trade caused by sunny weather over the month, insolvencies in the sector fell, also dropping 2.5% month-on-month. Additionally, the Government's company insolvency statistics show that hospitality insolvencies are down 12% in the 12 months to April 2025, falling from 3,824 in the 12 months to April 2024, to 3,369. The CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker for April showed that managed pubs enjoyed like-for-life sales growth of 9.1% over the month as the warm weather encouraged consumers into beer gardens, reports Restaurant Online.
US fast food chain Dave's Hot Chicken is kicking off its UK national expansion plans with the launch of two new sites, writes The Grocer. The fried chicken brand will be rolling out new shops in Birmingham and Manchester this summer. Last year, Dave's Hot Chicken signed an agreement with hospitality investment firm Azzurri Group, the company behind food-to-go chains including Ask Italian and Zizzi and unveiled plans to launch 60 locations across the UK this year. Opening next month, the Birmingham site on 56 New Street features 120 covers and a space-themed interior with graffiti art. Meanwhile, a 139-cover venue will open in Manchester's Printworks on 8 August. The two new stores follow the launch of the restaurant's flagship site in London on Shaftesbury Avenue in December 2024.
A licensee has called for more pub companies to introduce a turnover-based rent model. Ted Docherty, originally from South Africa, has just opened the Little Angel in Remenham, Berkshire, his third pub with Henley-based pub operator Brakspear. Docherty told The Morning Advertiser he felt turnover-based models work for both operator and pub company. He praised Brakspear for offering this type of agreement on some pubs with both the Little Angel and another of his pubs the Crown in Playhatch operating under the model. His third pub the White Hart in Nettlebed operates under a standard agreement. This comes as award-winning operator Tanya Williams, who recently left her St Austell pub, the Polgooth Inn in Cornwall, after 25 years in the industry told the MA "archaic" tenancy models needed "addressing."
Almost half of UK adults (48%) are enjoying alcohol-free beer, wine and spirits meaning 'moderation' is 'mainstream' and no longer a 'niche' category, reports the Spirits Business.