11/08/2026 10:36:00
Butcombe Group has seen a sales growth of 5.2% for the 26-week period from 1 February to 1 August 2026, Pub and Bar reports. The pub operator and brewer, led by CEO Jonathan Lawson and backed by Caledonia Private Capital, says its most recent results reveal "an exceptionally resilient period for the group" despite challenging trading conditions. Its group managed like-for-like growth of 5.2% is against a double digit growth from last year. Food is up 4.7%, drinks 5.7% and accommodation 5.2%. Weddings has been a big driver of growth for Butcombe, up 37% versus the same period last year. It's the UK managed pub division delivered 11.5 % like-for-like growth in the four weeks ending 1 August.
Heartwood Collection has begun planning for a possible estate of 1,000 bedrooms as the business closes in on its original 500 room target, writes The Morning Advertiser. Chief executive Richard Ferrier revealed the group currently operates 271 bedrooms, with another 113 acquired and at various stages of development. Heartwood is also under offer on sites containing a further 105 rooms, which would take the total to 489 bedrooms across 15 pubs. Once the sites currently under offer complete, Heartwood expects to operate 42 pubs, including 32 freehold sites, with around 90% of profits coming from freehold properties.
Time Out Group has confirmed that its first UK market will be located at 55 Regent Street in London, part of the Crown Estate's 10 Piccadilly development. The company first announced intentions to open at the site in 2024 and raised £8.4m through a share placing to launch both the London venue and a second New York premises. While talks about the opening continued throughout 2025, the group has now finalised a seven-figure investment to open the market in the first half of 2028. The site will span more than 26,400 sq ft across three floors and house around 15 restaurants, bars and food businesses, featuring a mix of "established favourites and emerging talent". Time Out has had its eye on launching a London food hall for several years. Plans for a 500-seat market in London Waterloo were scrapped after the pandemic hit in 2020 and a rumoured site in the city's Spitalfields area never got off the ground, The Caterer reports.
Almost one hundred years after it first opened its doors in 1929, Quaglino's, the glittering St James's institution that has drawn royalty, writers, film stars and London's café society for generations, will begin a spectacular new chapter under The Evolv Collection, following a significant restoration, a newly commissioned collection of art, and a menu that traces the remarkable journey of its founder. Now, under The Evolv Collection, Quaglino's is being returned to its full glory, not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as a living institution restored for the present. At its centre is a menu that follows Giovanni Quaglino's own journey, from Piedmont to Cannes, by way of The Savoy, bringing together Italian provenance, French classical technique and the best of British traditional dining, Food Service Equipment Journal confirms.
Independent pub company Yummy Collection has announced a rebrand as it celebrates its 20th anniversary, Restaurant online reports. The group, which operates a selection of pubs and restaurants in London including Faber, The Somers Town Coffee House, Above and The Victoria, has rebranded as Hoste. Inspired by old Germanic English, the new name is said to embody 'the group's 'dedicated approach to ensuring warm, welcoming hospitality.' The rebrand comes as the business prepares to open The Tallyman in Canary Wharf in September, with another opening planned in 2027 in the King's Cross Tribeca development.
No 10 urges council to 'work with' London pubs amid row over 'vertical drinking', reports Sky News. Downing Street said that busy pubs full of people "is not a public nuisance, it is British life", after Westminster City Council proposed curbing standing-up drinking in London.