Finance

Macdonald Hotels profits

Macdonald Hotels operating profits up 7%

By Melodie Michel

The hotel group has announced operating profits of £14.9m for the year ended March 2013, an increase of 7 per cent over the previous year.

Charterhouse targets expansion as FY EBITDA grows 13.2%

Charterhouse targets expansion as FY EBITDA grows 13.2%

By John Harrington

Charterhouse Leisure, operator of the Coal Grill & Bar brand, has reported a 13.2% rise in company EBITDA to £727,000 for the year to the end of February and said it plans to grow from six to about 24 sites over the next three years.

The increase in sales volume has been driven by more readily available debt financing from both traditional and new sources of debt

Hotel transaction volumes reaching pre-recession levels

By Luke Nicholls

With three-quarters of the year now complete, the European hotel industry is still on track to record the highest level of transactional activity since 2007 – is this a sign that buyer confidence has returned? 

The arrival of STK followed the success of Heliot Restaurant, Lounge & Bar at the Hippodrome Casino

ONE Group plans STK UK expansion

By Mark Wingett

The ONE Group, owners of international restaurant group STK, has announced plans to further expand the premium steakhouse brand within major cities across the UK after attracting $44.3m (£27.3m) of new investment.

Businesses are looking to alternative finance options to fund their growth aspirations and the UK market is changing to meet this need

Finding finance in hospitality: New alternatives

By Luke Nicholls

So, you’ve been turned away from the bank, run out of deep-pocketed friends and family and aren’t keen on giving away an equity stake in your company. Is all hope of securing finance to develop or expand your business lost? No. There are still plenty...

Private equity group Graphite Capital has taken a minority stake in restaurant group Hawksmoor which operates four sites in London including Hawksmoor Guildhall

Graphite takes stake in Hawksmoor

By Mark Wingett

Graphite Capital, the private equity backer of Rex Restaurants, has backed the management buy-out of Hawksmoor, the operator of four high-end steak restaurants in London, in a deal which values the company at around £35m.

Lee Cash and Hamish Stoddart founded Peach Pub Company in 2003

Peach remains confident after 'difficult' year

By Luke Nicholls

Independent pub operator Peach Pub Company has admitted that 2012 was a ‘difficult’ period for the business as pre-tax profits dropped by 39.7 per cent to £375,128.

Back in growth: restaurants rallied after a woeful March

Optimism in the eating-out sector hits a six-year high

By Stefan Chomka

Increased spending in the eating-out sector will provide some welcome relief for restaurateurs this year and could help pave the way for an economic recovery, according to figures released by the CBI.

Snug Bars expansion plans

Snug Bars to add two new sites in 2013

By Emma Eversham

Cambridgeshire and Chilterns-based pub company Snug Bars has unveiled plans to open two more sites this year following a record Christmas trading period.  

Bramwell Pub Company will operate 190 pubs, with 18 sites to be returned to the landlords

Barracuda restructures, becomes Bramwell Pub Co

By Luke Nicholls

Barracuda Pub Company has been renamed The Bramwell Pub Company in a restructuring which sees ex-Mitchells & Butlers chief executive Adam Fowle appointed as chairman and the newly-formed company benefitting from a credit facility of up to £10m from...

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced details of the new business bank at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton on Sunday

Business bank: is the Government missing the point again?

By Luke Nicholls

The new ‘business bank’, which will be handed £1bn of taxpayers’ money in a bid to kick-start lending to small and medium-sized British firms, is ‘missing the point’ and will have to overcome the same barriers as high street lenders.

Forty-seven per cent of businesses will seek additional finance to fund growth over the next two years

Banks hold the key to growth for hospitality businesses

By Luke Nicholls

Nearly half of hospitality and leisure businesses are hoping to obtain additional sources of finance to assist with their expansion over the coming months as many look to return to growth in 2012.

Wear Inns receives £10m investment to fund expansion

Wear Inns receives £10m investment to fund expansion

By Peter Ruddick

The northern pub chain Wear Inns has received an investment of £10m from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) and NVM Private Equity (NVM) to fund expansion plans for the company, which expects to make new acquisitions in the next few months.

The BHA believes the Scheme could cut red tape for hoteliers

BHA lobbies government over EIS scheme for hotels

By Luke Nicholls

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) is urging the Government to allow hotel operations to qualify under the Enterprise Investment Scheme, following the Chancellor’s failure to remove the restriction in the autumn statement.

HVS London's European Hotel Transactions report reveals that the UK saw a total transaction volume of €2.7 billion in the past year

UK hotel transactions on the up

By Luke Nicholls

The number of European hotel transactions has risen by nine per cent since 2010 and the UK remains the most active investment market of them all, with total transaction volume of €2.7 billion.

How to secure funding for your hospitality business

ASK THE EXPERTS

How to secure funding for your hospitality business

In today’s environment, how can a growing business be sure that it’s in the best possible position to secure much-needed financing? Mike Saul, Head of Hospitality and Leisure at Barclays Corporate explains how to access finance in the changing world of...

Hospitality sector welcomes interest rate decision

Hospitality sector welcomes interest rate decision

By Lorraine Heller

The Bank of England is holding its interest rate at the record low of 0.5 per cent, a decision that allows the UK’s restaurant, pub and hotel sector more time to recover from a hit to consumer spending.

Train staff and survive the recession

Train staff and survive the recession

By Becky Paskin

Businesses are warned if they don’t invest in training instead of making redundancies, they are more likely to fall victim to the recession