IHG boss lobbying hard for VAT reduction on hospitality - For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

IHG boss lobbying hard for VAT reduction on hospitality
Andrew Cosslett, the head of InterContinental Hotels Group, told the Mail on Sunday that lobbying the Treasury to slash VAT on hospitality businesses to 5% was his prime preoccupation at present. “At the moment, Government policies are threatening the investment that the hotel and tourism industry wants to make, particularly in the run-up to the Olympics,” said Cosslett. “'Germany and France have both recently reduced VAT levels in the hospitality sector in an effort to stimulate more demand and create jobs. Perhaps this is an approach we should think about in this country?” IHG is currently half-way through a four-year, £600m revamp of its 3,200-strong Holiday Inn brand.  The group plans to open 350 new hotels this year and Cosslett is focusing on expanding its extended-stay Staybridge and design-led Indigo hotels outside of the USA. – 31 January, Read the full article in the Mail on Sunday >>
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Analysts upgrade forecasts for Premier Inn and Costa Coffee
Analysts have upgraded their forecasts for Whitbread’s Premier Inn and Costa Coffee chains. Broker Numis said Premier Inn would continue to outperform the UK hotel market and make gains in the corporate sector, while it believed that Costa’s prospects continued to be bright. Barclays Capital has raised its profit forecasts for each year to 2013 on the back of the faster rollout of new Costa stores and an assumed pick-up in new room growth at Premier Inn. Morgan Stanley described Premier Inn as “one of the highest quality, fastest growing yet cheapest quoted hotel companies.” Whitbread’s shares rose by 45p to 1409p to top the blue-chip risers board. – 30 January, Read the full article in the Daily Express >>

Costa acquisition of Coffeeheaven backed by 52% of investors
Costa Coffee’s planned acquisition of Coffeeheaven has been approved by investors representing 52.73% of the shares held in the East European coffee chain. Costa has extended the deadline to accept the £32m offer to 9 February. – 31 January, Read the full article in the Sunday Times >>

Sir John Ritblat fails to buy back Merchant Inns from administrators
Former British Land chairman Sir John Ritblat has failed in his attempt to regain his fledgling pub company, Merchant Inns, which collapsed into administration last October. The group’s main debt provider, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has decided to retain control of the company. – 31 January, Read the full article in the Sunday Times >>


Actor urges diners to shop ‘unsustainable’ fish restaurants to website
US actor Ted Danson – known for his role in the Cheers sitcom– has filmed a YouTube video to highlight a website that names and shames fish restaurants that support unsustainable practices and praises those that don’t. In a bid to highlight the risk of overfishing, Fish2Fork.com is monitoring restaurants across the US and the UK with the aid of the members of the public, who are encouraged to either ‘Rat on a restaurant’ or ‘Pat a chef on the back’ by submitting reviews of restaurants and their policies on sustainable fishing. 31 January, Read the full article in the Independent on Sunday >>


PepsiCo plans to treble sales from healthy eating range
PepsiCo is to invest $30b (£19b) in a bid to treble the revenue from its nutritional and healthy products. The ‘good for you’ range - which includes Quaker porridge oats, Tropicana fruit juice and Naked Juice - currently accounts for $10b of the group’s total $43b turnover, and for £300m of its £1b UK sales. Chief executive Indra Nooyi wants to grow this line from $10b to $30b within the next decade. It is currently developing a nutritional drink aimed at children. 31 January, Read the full article in the Sunday Telegraph >>


By Angela Frewin

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