Articles by Date : December 01 2007 - December 31 2007

Barracuda to open three pubs before Christmas
Rapidly expanding Barracuda Group will open three pubs this week to cash in on the key Christmas and New Year period. more
(12 December 2007 12:17)

Act together for sober decisions
Christopher Eddlestone, head of the leisure team at law firm Halliwells, says the hospitality sector should be doing more to combat binge-drinking more
(12 December 2007 11:59)

What’s on the menu? - A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews including: Viet Grill; Le Café Anglais; La Bouchée; Haozhan more
(12 December 2007 11:39)

Starwood to open W hotel in Washington and other international hotel news
Essential news from around the world, including: Seven new Ritz-Carlton hotelsto open in China; Rezidor to expand in Europe; Mandarin Oriental.... more
(12 December 2007 11:29)

Scottish licences to double in 18 months
Scottish licensees will see their license fees double in the next 18 months in a move that will see licensing boards granted flexibility for.... more
(12 December 2007 11:12)

UK budget hotel sector to double in size in two decades
The UK budget hotel sector is set to more than double in size in the next 20 years and will account for more than a quarter of the overall hotel.... more
(12 December 2007 07:00)

Greene King
Greene King is one of the oldest and largest brewers and pub operators in the UK with over 2,500 pubs and more than 14,000 staff. more
(12 December 2007 00:00)

School Food Trust launches consultation on school dinner drinks
The School Food Trust (SFT) has launched a public consultation on which drinks to provide for children with school dinners. more
(11 December 2007 14:00)

Hotels warned to be vigilant over fake credit cards
Hoteliers have been warned about fake credit cards after Bristol Crown Court heard that a con man was able to run up bills at hotels throughout.... more
(11 December 2007 13:30)

Travelodge fined over health and safety breaches
Travelodge has been fined a total of £70,000 following a series of breaches of safety regulations. more
(11 December 2007 13:00)

Whitbread to open 200 Costa Coffees in Russia
Whitbread today announced plans to open more than 200 Costa Coffee's in Russia over the next five years, in partnership with Rosinter Restaurants.... more
(11 December 2007 12:40)

Gerry Calabrese buys Shoreditch bar
Gerry Calabrese, the son of cocktail maestro Salvatore Calabrese, has acquired the Pool Bar, a late night venue in Shoreditch, London. more
(10 December 2007 17:07)

How to spot if one of your employees has a problem
Peter Kay, the chief executive of the Sporting Chance Clinic, says there are various telltale signs to look out for which could indicate that one of.... more
(10 December 2007 16:39)

The traffic light system for drinking
The guidelines issued by the Government more
(10 December 2007 16:34)

Key elements of a workplace substance misuse policy
A model workplace policy on substance misuse may cover the following: more
(10 December 2007 16:30)

Is alcohol costing you more than money?
When someone is developing a problem with alcohol, there are usually “tell-tale signs” which are beginning to show in their lives. How can you tell.... more
(10 December 2007 16:17)

Introduction to a workplace policy
A workplace policy is a formal statement of an organisation’s intent, clearly setting out the rules and procedures for dealing with a particular.... more
(10 December 2007 16:07)

Secret meeting for binge-drinking crackdown
Prime Minister Gordon Brown held a secret meeting over the weekend to outline plans that would see binge drinking become as taboo as drink driving. more
(10 December 2007 13:02)

Jamie Oliver dinner raises £225,000 for the Fifteen Foundation
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s annual fundraising dinner for charity the Fifteen Foundation raised £225,000 last week. more
(10 December 2007 12:30)

Buyout group seeks Gaucho restaurants
Argentine steak-house operator Gaucho Grill is believed to be in advanced talks over a buyout by Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), which would value.... more
(10 December 2007 12:08)

What’s on the menu? - A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews including: Sevendials Restaurant, Brighton; Patio, London W12; Fortnum & Mason, London W1; Le Café.... more
(10 December 2007 11:53)

3663 signs £27.5m deal with ISS
3663 First for Foodservice has signed a deal worth £27.5m to supply facilities management company ISS with chilled and ambient products. more
(10 December 2007 11:36)

France to turn prisons into luxury hotels and other international hotel news
Essential news from around the world, including: IHG opens Holiday Inn in Soweto; Starwood to launch W brand in Japan; Accor to launch Novotel in.... more
(10 December 2007 11:00)

Brown holds crisis talks on binge drinking For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say
A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry. News includes: Stelios signs £50m deal for 10 more British EasyHotels; Nando’s.... more
(10 December 2007 10:42)

Industry must take part in VisitBritain strategy review
Hospitality and tourism operators have been urged to play a full part in the strategy review of VisitBritain. more
(10 December 2007 10:17)

Hospitality bosses slam Gordon Brown’s tourism policy
Chief executives from the some of the UK’s largest hospitality and tourism businesses today wrote publicly to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to.... more
(10 December 2007 07:00)

Sodexho wins £26m hospital contract
Sodexho Healthcare has signed a five-year deal worth £26m in total turnover with Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust. more
(07 December 2007 17:21)

Sodexho scoops £50m+ deal with London military
Sodexho has been signed up to run a £50m-plus deal to provide catering and soft services to the Queen’s Life Guard and military personnel at several.... more
(07 December 2007 16:31)

Tate Catering wins John Moores University deal
Tate Catering has won a five-year deal worth £1.75m in turnover over the full term to run the café at the new Liverpool John Moores University Arts.... more
(07 December 2007 15:38)

Friday Wrap: A round-up of the week's hospitality news
Caterer this week kicked off its drink and drugs awareness campaign to highlight the true cost of dependency within the industry. more
(07 December 2007 14:45)

M&B sells two pubs for £1.7m
Ember Inns and Harvester operator Mitchells & Butlers has sold two food-led,freehold pubs near Perth and Preston for approximately £1.7m. more
(07 December 2007 12:54)

Tesco boss is the 'Godfather' of binge drinking
The head of the all-party Parliamentary beer group has branded the chief executive of Tesco as the “godfather of British binge drinking”. more
(07 December 2007 12:22)

Cains opens first Best of British
North-west brewer and pub operator Cains Beer Company has opened its first Best of British pub, the Market Tavern in Glossop, Derbyshire. more
(07 December 2007 11:24)

Independent ditches Macdonald Hotels to go it alone
Macdonald Hotels has had its contract to run two independent hotels terminated after the properties’ owners decided they could do a better job.... more
(07 December 2007 10:20)

Industry data: PKF Hotel Britain 2006
Yearly figures on hotel performance in England, Wales, Scotland and London. more
(06 December 2007 17:20)

Charles Wells buys pub and hotel in Boxworth
Pub operator Charles Wells has bought the Golden Ball hotel, a thatched property dating back to the 16th century in the Cambridgeshire village of.... more
(06 December 2007 16:32)

Speyside hotel sells off £1.3m guide price
Norfolk-based BWWC, a company offering specialist holiday packages, is the new owner of the Grant Arms hotel in the popular Highland tourist, holiday.... more
(06 December 2007 16:27)

Care home owner buys West Sussex beachside café
The Lobster Pot Café, which overlooks the beach on the Esplanade in Felpham, West Sussex, has been sold to a local care home owner. more
(06 December 2007 16:20)

Bude nightclub operator buys Exeter gastropub
Nightclub owner John Justice has bought the popular Blue Ball gastropub in Exeter through JJ Leisure, the expanding Bude-based company he founded in.... more
(06 December 2007 16:15)

Trocadero owners bow to council pressure to change hotel design
The owners of the London Trocadero have bowed to pressure from local councillors to change the design of their planned £145m, 600-bedroom Ibis hotel. more
(06 December 2007 13:56)

The Bench: London weekly hotel performance to 2 December, 2007
London hotels saw revenue per available room (revpar) grow by 12.2% in the week ending 2 December, according to figures from hotel benchmarking.... more
(06 December 2007 12:36)

Pubs 'n' Bars acquires Moorgate Taverns
Pub operator Pubs ‘n’ Bars has acquired Moorgate Taverns for £9.27m. more
(06 December 2007 12:30)

The Bench: North-western hotel performance in July 2007
Hotels in the North-west saw revenue per available room (revpar) drop by 5.5% during the month of July. more
(06 December 2007 12:28)

Hilton turns to local suppliers
Hilton has switched its 67 hotels in England, Scotland and Wales to a consortium of family-run suppliers in a bid to boost quality and its.... more
(06 December 2007 12:00)

Drink and drugs in hospitality - Caterer's Be Aware campaign
Caterer and Hotelkeeper has launched a new campaign called Be Aware to highlight the worrying level of drug and alcohol misuse in the hospitality.... more
(06 December 2007 11:49)

A bumper Christmas is on the cards for restaurants and pubs
Spending in pubs and restaurants during the critical Christmas period will be up by almost 20% in a spending spree that could result in a £6.8b boom,.... more
(06 December 2007 11:00)

Industry welcomes Gordon Ramsay's female head chef
Leading chefs have welcomed the appointment of Clare Smyth as Gordon Ramsay's head chef at his eponymous three-Michelin-starred restaurant on.... more
(06 December 2007 08:00)

Hospitality's image is being damaged by drink and drugs
Alcohol and drug abuse continues to plague the hospitality sector in the UK, exclusive research has revealed. more
(06 December 2007 07:00)

Opening a cookery schools: the pros and cons
When the Only Running Footman opened in London earlier this year, it became one of an increasing number of pub and restaurant businesses with a.... more
(06 December 2007 00:00)

Educate your front-of-house team to boost wine sales
An educated front-of-house team can considerably enhance your wine sales. Fiona Sims finds out what some operators are doing to train their staff more
(06 December 2007 00:00)