Finance

Seven steps to selling your business

13-Jan-2020 By Darcie Rae

The sale of a business is unexplored terrain for many people. It’s likely to be something that you only go through once in your life and therefore vital that you get it right first time, with the right advice and support. Here’s seven things to consider...

The Lowdown: PizzaExpress

10-Oct-2019 By James McAllister

Speculation has been growing around the future of PizzaExpress following recent reports that it is preparing for debt talks with creditors.

The Restaurant Group looks to raise £315m to fund Wagamama deal

12-Nov-2018 By Sophie Witts

The Restaurant Group (TRG) is planning to raise £315m through a rights issue to fund its acquisition of the Wagamama casual dining chain, despite facing criticism from shareholders and analysts.

The Restaurant Group buys Wagamama in deal worth £559m

30-Oct-2018 By Georgia Bronte

The Restaurant Group (TRG) has reached agreement on the purchase of the entire share capital of Mabel Topco Limited, the company that owns and operates Wagamama.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen initiates CVA following £2.6m operating loss

24-Oct-2018 By Georgia Bronte

Casual burger restaurant chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen has confirmed that it will be initiating a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), becoming the most recent casualty of the casual dining crisis.

Patisserie Valerie investigation may be handed to independent body over legitimacy concerns

23-Oct-2018 By Georgia Bronte

Leading investors in troubled café chain Patisserie Valerie are concerned about the legitimacy of an internal investigation into a £40 million hole in the company’s accounts, according to The Times.

Patisserie Holdings suspends chief financial officer over fraud probe

10-Oct-2018 By Sophie Witts

Patisserie Holdings, the owner of Patisserie Valerie, has requested its shares be suspended amid an investigation in to potential fraud.

Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner partner with Tesco to launch retail range

17-Sep-2018 By Georgia Bronte

Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG) has entered into a partnership with supermarket chain Tesco for the launch of the debut retail ranges from two of its popular brands.

Bread winner: Pret A Manger reports 34th consecutive quarterly sales growth

04-Sep-2018 By MCA

Pret A Manger has achieved a 13.2% increase in revenue, to £878.5m, for the 52 weeks to 28 December 2017, with like-for-like sales up 3.2%.

Honest Burgers secures £17m refinance deal

23-Feb-2018 By MCA

Honest Burgers has secured an increased funding package from its banking partner Santander to help fund its growth pipeline.

The Alchemist secures £16m funding for growth

10-Jan-2018 By Sophie Witts

All-day restaurant and bar brand The Alchemist has secured a £16m funding package to continue its growth across the UK.

Pieminister secures fresh funding to continue expansion drive

18-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Bristol’s Pieminister is opening three new restaurants following a £1.65m investment package from HSBC.

Giraffe reports improvement in losses following 2016 acquisition

06-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

World-food restaurant chain Giraffe has reported a £5.2m loss for the year to January, following its acquisition by Boparan Restaurant Holdings in 2016.

Deliveroo to invest in 'dark kitchens' roll-out

25-Sep-2017 By Sophie Witts

Deliveroo has raised £284m ($385m) in new funding to help roll-out its ‘dark kitchens’ to more locations in the UK and overseas.

Restaurants and pubs are missing out on £300m rates relief fund, says ALMR

14-Aug-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Restaurants and pubs are missing out on millions of pounds worth of promised business rates relief, says the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).

Humble Grape aims for £750k-£1m in second expansion crowdfund

02-Mar-2017 By Hannah Thompson

Wine bar and merchant group Humble Grape has launched its second crowdfunding campaign, hoping to raise £750,000-£1m to support its ongoing expansion plans.

Street food trading platform StreetDots to expand network

09-Jan-2017 By Emma Eversham

Street food trading platform StreetDots is aiming to more than double the number of pitches it offers to street food operators after securing £350k investment to expand its network. 

BrewDog launches £10m crowdfunding campaign

02-Dec-2016 By Sophie Witts

Scottish bar brand BrewDog has launched a fresh round of crowdfunding to support its 2017 expansion plans.

Chichester College invests £3m in kitchens for catering students

29-Nov-2016 By Emma Eversham

They are often criticised for not equipping students with the right skills to work in the industry, but one catering college is helping to put its students 'at the cutting edge' by investing £3m in new kitchens and a training restaurant. 

M Restaurants launches £1.5m crowdfunding push to aid expansion

29-Sep-2016 By Hannah Thompson

The M Restaurants group in London is looking to raise £1.5m in crowdfunding via the Seedrs online investment website, to aid the expansion of offshoot brand M Social.

Byron secures £12m funding for growth

11-Jul-2016 By Mark Wingett

Byron, the Tom Byng-­led better burger group, has secured a new £12m banking facility, which will aid its goal of reaching 100 restaurants in the next three years, according to BigHospitality's sister site MCA.

Porky’s BBQ hits £100k in first day of £650k Crowdcube expansion campaign

02-Jun-2016 By Hannah Thompson

Barbecue restaurant group Porky’s BBQ is seeking to raise £650,000 in online crowdfunding after hitting an initial £100,000 in just one day.

Cairn Group refinances to aid growth

24-May-2016 By Emma Eversham

North East-based hotel and bar operator Cairn Group has refinanced £101m with HSBC to enable it to develop and grow its portfolio across the UK.

Yorkshire Meatball Company extends crowdfunding campaign

30-Mar-2016 By Sophie Witts

The Yorkshire Meatball Company has extended its crowdfunding campaign by two weeks after receiving a ‘significant investment’ from a former customer.

Ex-Hedone chef launches crowdfunding campaign to open first restaurant

21-Mar-2016 By Sophie Witts

Ex-Hedone chef Lee Skeet has launched a crowdfunding campaign to open his first permanent restaurant.

Macdonald Hotels sees turnover and profit boost; cuts debt by £96m

07-Dec-2015 By Emma Eversham

Independent hotel group Macdonald Hotels saw turnover rise 7 per cent to £155.7m and made a pre-tax profit of £16.9m in the last financial year. 

Airbnb 'super host' service secures $2m funding

18-Nov-2015 By Sophie Witts

A hospitality start-up which claims to breed 'Airbnb super hosts' has secured a $2m investment from DN capital.

Chilango launches £1m crowdfunding campaign to aid regional expansion

26-Oct-2015 By Emma Eversham

Mexican fast food restaurant chain Chilango is aiming to raise £1m through a second crowdfunding campaign to kickstart its regional expansion plans.

Staff buyout at Leisureplex Hotels sees employees take control of the business

01-Sep-2015 By Sophie Witts

Chorley-based Leisureplex Hotels and coach holiday group Alfa Travel have completed an employee-backed buyout which has seen the business become controlled by its workforce.

Healthy eating chain crowdfunds almost £1m towards expansion

03-Aug-2015 By Sophie Witts

Healthy eating chain Filmore & Union has nearly doubled its CrowdCube target to raise almost £1m towards expansion in the North of England.

Handmade Burger Company secures funding for restaurant refurbs

16-Jul-2015 By Emma Eversham

Handmade Burger Company has received a £600k cash injection from Finance Birmingham to help it fit out its soon-to-launch site at Grand Central in Birmingham and refurbish two of its existing restaurants.

Square Pie launches £2m Crowdcube campaign to fund expansion

14-Jul-2015 By Sophie Witts

Gourmet fast-casual operator Square Pie is giving investors a chance to get a slice of the business with the launch of its first CrowdCube campaign.

Upham Pub Company secures funding for growth

16-Jun-2015 By Mark Wingett

Hampshire based Upham Pub Company has secured £6m funding from Natwest to support its ambitious growth plans.

BrewDog plans first hotel as part of £25m crowdfunding campaign

22-Apr-2015 By Emma Eversham

Craft brewer BrewDog has announced plans to build a craft beer themed hotel as well as expand its UK bar estate and extend its brewery capacity by raising £25m through its Equity for Punks crowdfunding campaign.  

Hotelier turns to crowdfunding to raise refurbishment funds

31-Mar-2015 By Emma Eversham

The owner of Glen Rothay hotel in the Lake District has turned to crowdfunding to help raise funds for bedroom refurbishments and a restaurant re-launch. 

Jurys Inn acquired by Lone Star Funds for £680m

28-Jan-2015 By Emma Eversham

Hotel group Jurys Inn has been bought by an affiliate of private equity firm Lone Star Funds for £680m. 

Macdonald Hotels vows to continue investment following 2013/14 profit increase

08-Jan-2015 By Patrick McGuigan

Macdonald Hotels is continuing to invest heavily in its estate after reporting a healthy increase in turnover and profit in 2013/4.

Hotel finance: The big divide

24-Nov-2014 By Melodie Michel

It’s official: Money is back on the hotel market. Mergers and acquisitions deals are a weekly occurrence, surveys regularly rank London hotels as some of the most attractive investment opportunities, and real estate agents are celebrating the return of...

Restaurant finance: Start-up funding

24-Nov-2014 By Melodie Michel

Every small business will tell you that the toughest part of any business is getting it off the ground in the first place. You’ve identified a niche in the market, have a great idea to fill it and people to help you achieve that, but where do you find...

Hampton by Hilton to open in London Docklands

10-Oct-2014 By Carina Perkins

Marick Capital is to build a new 160-bedroom Hampton by Hilton Hotel in London Docklands after securing funding from Topland.

Light at the end of the tunnel for Tragus

02-Oct-2014 By Melodie Michel

Tragus has announced the completion of its financial restructuring and the appointment of Martin Robinson as non-executive chairman as part of a ‘transformational reorganisation’.

Strada sold to Sun Capital Partners for £37m

29-Sep-2014 By Melodie Michel

Tragus Group has sold 43 Strada restaurants to Sun Capital Partners (SCP) for £37m, claiming to have ‘secured a sustainable future for the business’.

Government scheme fails to boost SME lending

28-Aug-2014 By Carina Perkins

Business groups have called for government action after a new report showed lending to small and medium-sized firms (SME’s) such as restaurants, hotels and bars continued to fall in the second quarter of the year.

Chilango’s Burrito bond closes at over £2m

28-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Mexican chain Chilango has closed its crowdfunded Burrito Bond after collecting £2.16m of investment – over twice its original goal of £1m.

Viewpoint

Eric Partaker on Chilango and spearheading a new funding route for SMEs

22-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Eric Partaker is the co-founder of Chilango, the Mexican chain that has raised £1.8m via a mini-bond hosted on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. He talks to BigHospitality about the success of this initiative and why crowdfunding is a great alternative...

Chilango extends Burrito Bond deadline

11-Aug-2014 By Mark Wingett and Melodie Michel

Chilango, the Mexican restaurant group, has extended its burrito bond fundraising initiative to midnight 26 August after it raised over £250k last week.

Chilango hits Burrito Bond target before deadline

30-Jul-2014 By Melodie Michel

Mexican chain Chilango has surpassed its £1mn crowdfunding target over a week before its deadline.

Rosa’s secures expansion fund and new sites

28-Jul-2014 By Mark Wingett

Rosa’s, the London-based Thai café concept led by Alex Moore, has secured £500k of new funding and two new sites in Chelsea and Angel as it looks to grow from four to 10 London restaurants by the end of 2017, BigHospitality's sister publication M&C...

River Cottage raises £1m through crowdfunding

20-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Restaurant and food business River Cottage has gained 283 investors and raised £1m in the space of 36 hours through crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. 

Free booking platform Bidroom crowdfunding for expansion

18-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Bidroom, a no-fee website that allows hotels to bid for customers’ business without going through an online travel agent (OTA), has launched a crowdfunding campaign to take its concept to the next level.