Marco Pierre White to sue Gordon Ramsay - For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Marco Pierre White to sue Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay is to be sued for “malicious falsehood” by Marco Pierre White after confessing that he cooked up a plot to blacken his former mentor’s name. Ramsay admitted last week that he faked the theft of the reservations book at Aubergine, the Michelin-starred restaurant, and blamed White because he feared that his rival was about to take his job as head chef. – Sunday Times, 1 April

High Court VAT ruling on smoothies
Fresh fruit and vegetables blended into “smoothies” are beverages rather than foods and are therefore subject to the full 17.5% rate of VAT, a High Court judge ruled yesterday. Kalron Foods, which franchises 14 Zumo Fresh Smoothie Bars, was attempting in a test case to close an anomaly that allows smoothies made from milk or yoghurt to be zero-rated for VAT whereas 100% fruit or vegetable blended drinks attract the full rate. – The Times, 31 March

Clapham House wants £4.65m to expand
Clapham House, the restaurant group, is raising £4.65m via a share placing to accelerate the rollout of its Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Bombay Bicycle Club brands. – The Times, 31 March

Smoking shelter that can double as event marquee
The Aire Group has devised an outdoor smoke shelter, Pubshelta, which can also double as a marquee for other events the pub may host. The device can fold away or be pushed flat against the pub wall when it is not in use. – Yorkshire Post, 31 March

Enterprise Inns confident over half-year figures
Enterprise Inns, the pub group, said it expected first-half profits to be in line with forecasts. – The Times, 31 March

M&B stop short of going into REIT
Mitchells & Butlers, the All Bar One and Harvester pub operator, could follow Tesco’s example by creating a joint-venture property company that crystallises the value of its assets but avoids full conversion to a real estate investment trust, according to Deutsche Bank. – The Times, 31 March

By Bob Gledhill

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