21/07/2026 10:21:00
JW Lees has revealed its financial results for the year to 31 March 2026, showing a record financial performance, Pub and Bar reports. The William Lees-Jones-led business achieved record sales of £105.6m and a record profit before tax of £8.8m. The north west brewer and pub operator operates 138 pubs and has increased its' annual revenue by 5.7% (2025: £99.9m), with an EBITDA of £12.3m up 13.9% (2025: £10.8m). During the year, JW Lees says its core draught beer sales were up by 3.7%. The business invested more than £10m in its existing estate of pubs, inns and hotels during the year, with more than 20 major refurbishments, as well as the further growth of its Retail Operator format, which is now in place at eight of the company's pubs, as well as running 45 Managed sites and 85 Pub Partner sites.
BWH Hotels GB has signed three new independent hotels in Lyndhurst, London and Newark, adding 100 bedrooms to its portfolio, writes Hotel Owner. The expansion brings the total number of bedrooms added through new signings over the past 12 months to 291, after six hotels joined the group during this period. The latest properties to join the brand are the 36-room Forest Lodge Hotel in Lyndhurst, the 33-room Best Western Chiswick Rooms in West London and the 30-room Sure Hotel Newark. The additions bring the total portfolio for BWH Hotels GB to more than 230 independent properties, which includes WorldHotels and Best Western.
Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca has been acquired by Luke Johnson's investment vehicle Risk Capital Partners in a deal designed to support its growth, Restaurant online reports. Johnson, a serial investor whose private equity firm Risk Capital Partners has previously backed hospitality businesses including Bread Holdings - owner of Gail's, The Laine Pub Company, The Draft House and Small Batch Coffee, was named as the frontrunner for the business, which currently operates 14 sites across the UK. Speaking about the deal, Wahaca CEO Gemma Glasson says she is excited to be working with Luke and the Risk Capital Partners team. "He understands hospitality better than almost anyone in the UK and having that experience and drive behind us as we continue to grow is exactly what this business needs right now," she says.
Hospitality insolvencies have declined as a result of warm weather and the World Cup, analysts have suggested. Company Insolvency Statistics for June 2026, published by the Insolvency Service, revealed accommodation and food services insolvencies have continued its downward trend, falling 15% from 279 in May 2026 to 237 in June 2026. Insolvencies in the sector also dropped 23% compared to the same month in 2025 (307). However, the hospitality industry still ranked third out of the sectors that experienced the highest number of insolvencies in the 12 months to June 2026, after construction and wholesale and retail, writes The Caterer.
Lamington Group has revealed new details about Lost Gardens Cambridge, the first site for its new aparthotel brand that is due to open at Cambridge's Shire Hall in 2028, Boutique Hotelier reports. Lamington Group announced it had acquired the former headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council last summer and said it planned to convert the site into 'premium accommodation'. Now, new details have been revealed, including plans for 167 apartment-style rooms, a spa, gym and restaurant.
Andy Burnham has promised to back local businesses, including pubs, in his first speech as leader of the Labour party, writes The Caterer. The Makerfield MP was confirmed as party leader at a conference held in central London today (17 July) ahead of being named prime minister on Monday. Burnham pledged to "take power from Westminster and Whitehall" and direct it to neighbourhoods across the country. "We want to give your area more power to build council homes, more power to improve your high street, backing local businesses such as the pubs and shops that bring them to life," he said.