Uk

Whitbread announce 2020 sustainability and jobs targets

07-May-2015 By Sophie Witts

Whitbread PLC, owner of Costa and Premier Inn, has committed to reducing its environmental footprint and creating 15,000 new jobs by 2020 as part of its Good Together corporate responsibility programme.

Small restaurant brands upbeat about expansion

05-May-2015 By Sophie Witts

Over half (54 per cent) of small UK foodservice entrepreneurs are planning to open more than five outlets in the next 12 months, according to Horizon’s latest Ones to Watch survey.

Trends

Diners see Caribbean as most under-represented cuisine in UK restaurants

27-Apr-2015 By Emma Eversham

Caribbean food has topped a list of the types of cuisine British diners want to see more of on menus with Greek following closely behind. 

Nando's launches speaking menu for visually impaired and dyslexic diners

10-Apr-2015 By Sophie Witts

Nando’s has joined Carluccio's and Pret a Manger in partnering with the Good Food Talks app to make their menus more accessible to visually impaired and dyslexic customers.

Hospitality named one of the most sociable industries to work in

07-Apr-2015 By Emma Eversham

The hospitality industry has been named as one of the most sociable industries to work in with almost half (49 per cent) of those surveyed saying they see colleagues socially at least once a month. 

Modern Greece: New wave of Greek restaurants casting aside ‘dated perceptions’

01-Apr-2015 By Emma Eversham

Over the last year it seems that we have reported on the arrival of more Greek restaurants in the UK than any other type.

UK hotels have worst customer service in Europe, says Hotel.info website

20-Mar-2015 By Sophie Witts

Staff members in UK hotels are the least friendly in Europe, according to Hotel.info.

Rising hotel prices fail to deter domestic winter travellers

13-Mar-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

Winter travellers are continuing to opt for domestic locations despite increasing hotel prices, a price comparison site has found.

UK's first insect restaurant opening this summer

23-Feb-2015 By Sophie Witts

The UK’s first restaurant serving insects will open in South Wales this summer.

Pub wine and spirit sales at a high

10-Feb-2015 By Mike Berry

Wine and spirits sales are becoming increasingly important to the on-trade and now account for almost half of the value of all drinks sales in new openings, exclusive figures have revealed.

S.Pellegrino reveals UK judges for Young Chef 2015

26-Jan-2015 By Helen Gilbert

S.Pellegrino has recruited four of the UK & Ireland’s leading chefs to help identify the world’s best young culinary talent.

Team UK turns to crowdfunding to improve Bocuse d'Or chances

21-Jan-2015 By Emma Eversham

Chefs competing in the UK team for this year's Bocuse d'Or have launched a crowdfunding campaign to improve their chances in the global competition.

Beer sales bounce back at expense of cider

22-Dec-2014 By Carina Perkins

UK beer sales have bounced back after five consecutive years of decline, according to the latest research from Mintel.

Accor triumphs at British Travel Awards

28-Nov-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Hotel group Accor scooped nine awards across its brands at this year’s British Travel Awards, which took place at Battersea Evolution in London on 26 November.

Domino's and PizzaExpress lead Youth100 list

07-Nov-2014 By Mark Wingett

Domino’s Pizza has topped the fast food and restaurant category in this year’s Youth 100 List: which highlights the UK’s top brands according to 18-24 year olds.

Cereal Killer Café comes to London

05-Nov-2014 By Lauren Houghton

The UK’s first cereal café will open in London’s Shoreditch in December.

London tops half-term staycation chart

21-Oct-2014 By Carina Perkins

London is set to be the most popular destination for domestic trips over the October half-term, with Blackpool and Edinburgh in at second and third place respectively.

Investors ‘deploying equity’ on healthier hotel market

14-Oct-2014 By Melodie Michel

The hotel property market is benefiting from domestic and North American investors’ need to spend the equity they raised before the crisis, according to Christie + Co.

Sun shines on UK hotels in August

03-Oct-2014 By Carina Perkins

Hotels across the UK performed strongly in August, with Scottish properties achieving record room rates and London bouncing back to positive growth.

Mixed growth for restaurants and pubs

12-Sep-2014 By Melodie Michel

Restaurants and pubs are forecast to grow, despite continued pressure in terms of outlets and value over the next few years, according to Allegra Foodservice.

International buyers boost hotel investment market

12-Sep-2014 By Melodie Michel

Foreign investors are boosting the hotel property market, particularly in the West, according to real estate agency Colliers International.

UK’s top 20 fish and chip shops announced

09-Sep-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Seafish has announced the top 20 fish and chip shops in the UK, all still in the running for the Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year title in its 2015 National Fish & Chip Awards.

Overseas visits to the UK hit record in H1 2014

14-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Visits to the UK by overseas residents hit a record 16.4m between January and June 2014, up 8 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Pop-up retailers contribute £2.1bn to UK economy

24-Jul-2014 By Mark Wingett

Pop-up retailers contribute £2.1bn to the UK economy each year and the sector is expected to grow by 8.4% over the next 12 months, according to a new study from economists CEBR and EE, the digital communications company.

#ServAptSummit: serviced apartments tackle the 'bleisure' market

11-Jul-2014 By Lauren Houghton

The ‘bleisure’ market was a key topic of conversation at the Serviced Apartment Summit 2014, with discussions centering around how serviced apartments could turn their business clients into leisure guests.

UK visits continue to climb as London remains top destination

10-Jul-2014 By Melodie Michel

International visits to the UK were up 4 per cent in May (3.2m) compared to the same month last year, despite a decline in spend, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

Spanish restaurant MasQMenos launches in the UK

07-Jul-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Spanish all day dining concept MasQMenos has launched in the UK and opened its first restaurant in London’s Holborn. 

Give Us A Break: New campaign to cut tourism VAT

30-Jun-2014 By Carina Perkins

The Sun newspaper has launched a campaign calling on Chancellor George Osborne to cut VAT on hotel accommodation and attractions to 5 per cent.

Summer trends: all about staycations

24-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

TripAdvisor has just released its travel trends for British travellers this summer and results show that staycations are going to be popular, with UK cities taking 6 of the top 15 travel destination spots.

Serving the UK: McDonald’s at 40

23-Jun-2014 By Mark Wingett

To mark its 40th year in the UK, McDonald’s has produced a report highlighting its contribution to the economy, the number of jobs created and its ongoing investment in restaurants and its supply chain. We take a look at some of the key findings and also...

Hospitality industry welcomes visa changes for Chinese visitors

17-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

The government’s decision to streamline UK visa applications from Chinese nationals has been welcomed by the hospitality industry.

Holiday visits to the UK up 18% year to date

13-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

A recent report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the trend for a rise in visits to the UK by oversees residents is continuing, while the number of visits abroad by UK residents has fallen slightly.

Burgers and coffee shops lead strong 2013 chain performance

11-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Burger, coffee shops and Italian/pizza were the menu categories that registered the greatest sales among the 100 largest UK chains in 2013, according to data released by Technomic.

French burger joint crosses the Channel

09-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

French burger brand Big Fernand is opening its first UK restaurant in London in October.

Independents’ Day 2014 to celebrate small hospitality businesses

06-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Charity for the hospitality industry People 1st is running this year’s Independents’ Day campaign which celebrates the contribution small businesses make to the UK. Previously focusing on retail outlets, 2014 is the first year the hospitality industry...

Value of restaurant market to reach £52bn by 2017

15-May-2014 By Melodie Michel

The UK restaurant market is expected to reach £48.2bn in value in 2014 and £52bn by 2017, capitalising on consumers’ ever-growing interest in food. 

Economy segment to push UK hotel performance growth

15-May-2014 By Melodie Michel

Experts have forecast solid growth, led by the economy segment, in the UK hotel sector in 2014.

Over £13bn invested in UK hotel industry in ten years

15-May-2014 By Melodie Michel

UK hotels have enjoyed their most prolific decade yet, with £13bn invested in the industry between 2003 and 2013.

With a little help from my friends: is crowdfunding the answer to the SME finance gap?

12-May-2014 By Carina Perkins

New research suggests that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are facing severe challenges when trying to access financing – could crowdfunding fill the gap?

Caffe Culture Show 2014 Preview

07-May-2014 By Lauren Houghton

The Caffe Culture Show, a key event for the UK café bar market, will be returning to London’s Olympia on the 14 and 15 May.

UK floods: Hospitality & tourism businesses ‘struggling to cope’

17-Feb-2014 By Luke Nicholls

Hotels, restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions have been battered by heavy rain and gale-force winds and the Government must 'act now' to set a path to recovery. 

Parliament to debate hospitality and tourism VAT

06-Feb-2014 By Carina Perkins

After years of industry campaigning, Parliament will next week hold a debate on VAT rates for tourism and hospitality.

Solution to ‘ethnic skills crisis’ lies in training more UK chefs, says restaurateur

15-Jan-2014 By Luke Nicholls

The owner of a new Pakistani restaurant in London has dismissed fears of the looming ‘ethnic skills crisis’, claiming he would rather hire UK-based chefs than those from the Indian subcontinent.

Happy New Year: What's hot in hospitality for 2014

03-Jan-2014 By Emma Eversham & Luke Nicholls

What does 2014 hold for the hospitality industry? We’ve looked into our crystal ball (and spoken to a few industry experts) to predict some of the big trends and developments in the world of restaurants, hotels and pubs over the next 12 months. 

Breakfast still 'bright spot' for restaurants and pubs finds report

10-Dec-2013 By Emma Eversham

Breakfast 'continues to be a bright spot' for restaurants and pubs and could give the operators who add it to their offering quickly a real opportunity to boost trade suggests a report by The NPD Group. 

Town locations remain streets ahead for diners

05-Dec-2013 By Stefan Chomka

The high street is still the preferred place for consumers to eat out and visit coffee shops, new research has shown, despite the growth in restaurant activity in out-of-town locations.

Motel One reveals UK expansion plans

29-Nov-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Motel One, the Germany-based, design-led budget hotel chain, is opening five more properties in the UK over the next three years, with a particular focus on tackling the highly competitive market in London.

David Cameron promises to ease immigration rules for ethnic restaurants

26-Nov-2013 By Luke Nicholls

David Cameron has vowed to support upcoming young chefs in the UK’s ethnic restaurant sector, but the Prime Minister admitted that the difficulties importing skilled chefs from the Indian subcontinent will take some time to solve. 

UK grows in appeal to US travellers and staycationers

07-Nov-2013 By Emma Eversham

The number of people coming to the UK from America has risen by 23 per cent in the last year with travellers from Canada, Singapore and China also showing a greater interest in the nation as a tourist destination.

Accor makes ‘significant progress' in 2013 as UK hotels outperform rest of world

18-Oct-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Hotel giant Accor says its portfolio of brands ‘has continued to gain traction’ across the UK, with six hotels opened so far this year and a ‘healthy’ development pipeline.