S&N retail boosts turnover and profit
Scottish & Newcastle's managed retail business increased turnover in the year to 27 April by 3.9%, to £1.05b, while operating profit grew by 6.5% to £227.7m.
This week it will issue details of the sale of its retail division - of 1,500 pubs, restaurants and budget hotels, which include the Chef & Brewer and Premier Lodge brands. The division boosted turnover from food by 7.8% and from accommodation by 18.9%.
Overall, S&N's group turnover went up by 19% to £4.9b and pre-tax profit by 15% to £507.3m.
City Centre seeks a new name
City Centre Restaurants - which operates the Est Est Est, Garfunkel's, Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and Caffe Uno brands - is expected to change its name in the next 12 months to reflect the fact that many of its 250 UK outlets are "no longer in city centres".
According to executive chairman Alan Jackson, the current name is a misnomer. "We want to look for a name that represents what we do. Over 70% of our businesses are outside cities." He said that a creative agency was looking at the options.
- Frankie & Benny's managing director Kevin Bacon has been appointed to the City Centre main board. He has been with Frankie & Benny's since joining the company from Granada Motorway Services in 1996. See page 46 for more management appointments at Frankie & Benny's.
Fourth London outlet for Ricker
Australian-born Will Ricker opens his fourth London restaurant today. Eight Over Eight in the King's Road, Chelsea, offers pan-Asian cuisine with a focus on Chinese and especially Shanghai dishes. Ricker also owns e&o in Notting Hill, Cicada in Clerkenwell and the Great Eastern Dining Room in Shoreditch.
- Read our interview with Will Ricker in next week's Caterer.
Marconi appoints Sodexho
Sodexho has won a two-year contract at telecoms firm Marconi in Coventry. The contract, worth £500,000 a year, starts this month and will see Sodexho cater for more than 2,000 Marconi employees at the New Horizon Park and Marconi's UK head office, New Century Park.
At New Century Park, Sodexho will also provide a hospitality service and run a retail outlet and coffee area - Café Splendid.
- Home Service, Sodexho's community meals division, has retained its contract with the London Borough of Redbridge for a further five years. The contract, worth £500,000 a year, involves the supply of 175,000 hot and frozen meals a year for direct delivery, and 30,000 lunch club and day centre meals.