22/09/2026 12:22:00
Home Grown Hotels, operator of the luxury hotel brand THE PIG, has acquired the Grade II listed Tunbridge Wells Hotel, BE News reports. The 20-bedroom hotel, which was sold off a guide price of £2.695m, occupies a prominent position in the heart of The Pantiles, Royal Tunbridge Wells' historic leisure destination. The 18th-century property, which includes a bar, restaurant, function room and outdoor dining areas, is expected to undergo a comprehensive refurbishment programme over the coming months. Simon Bland, Senior Associate at leisure property specialists Fleurets, acted for the vendor on the sale.
The mammoth buyout, first reported by The Sun, would throw a vital lifeline to Stonegate as it battles a crippling £3billion debt mountain. Stonegate operates around 4,500 pubs across the country but has been desperately trying to offload a premium "platinum" group of 1,000 venues to raise cash. Heineken already runs around 2,350 watering holes in Britain under its Star Pubs & Bars banner and brews beloved lagers including Birra Moretti, Amstel and Cruzcampo.
The Government's plans to introduce an unlimited, uncapped and expansive holiday tax will price working families out of a British holiday, UKHospitality said. The scope of the holiday tax is so wide that independent economic analysis that said it will cost 33,000 jobs, increase tax for holidaymakers by £1.6 billion and reduce GDP by £2.2 billion is now the bare minimum impact to be expected. It comes in a week where the Chancellor has spoken about creating 'growth Britain' and cutting red tape, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced a new scheme to help people into work, and the Prime Minister acknowledged at PMQs that more support is needed for hospitality.
David Page, chairman of 28 strong Restaurant chains Wildwood and Dim T, has told Propel that the group is continuing to pursue several acquisition targets but stressed timing - not pricing - is the biggest barrier to getting transactions over the line. Page said deal multiples are really quite low but if you run a profitable business and you're quite happy where you are, you don't actually have to sell. With low multiples, cautious sellers and a Budget looming, Page sees the next month as a potential inflection point for UK hospitality dealmaking. He said: "It sharpens people's minds. Uncertainty over potential tax changes is likely to push some owners to act sooner rather than later. They've no idea if they're going to get 10% less because of the tax rate going up. There'll be a lot of deals being done before the Budget.
Canalside Ventures, which trades as the Giggling Squid Thai restaurant group, has acquired Thai Express UK from administration, The Caterer reports. Thai Express appointed Andrew Andronikou and Robert Ferne of BTG Begbies Traynor as administrators on 7 September. BTG Begbies Traynor recommended a sale as the best route to deliver the highest value and best return for stakeholders at the quick service restaurant (QSR) chain. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will see the nine Thai Express UK locations (Birmingham, Bristol, Croydon, Edinburgh, Guildford, Leicester, Nottingham and Wembley) and all staff transfer to the new group.
Brewdog had more than £500m of debts across its PLC, retail and international business when it was acquired by US drinks firm Tilray in a £33m rescue deal earlier this year The Caterer reports. A report from administrators AlixPartners published this week revealed BrewDog's retail arm owed £2.4m to HMRC for unpaid VAT, which will likely remain unpaid due to insufficient funds available to permit a distribution to preferential creditors also confirms The Caterer. Staff were owed £489,000 for wages and holiday pay, whilst it's biggest debt was to HSBC, which was owed more than £61m across the business, with an estimated £16.8m still outstanding. Private equity backer TSG, which took a 22% stake in BrewDog in 2017, is also set to lose £27.6m, as "no funds were expected to be available from either PLC or retail.