A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry...
Café Rouge may seek flotation
The private equity firm that owns the Café Rouge chain is mulling over the possibility of floating the business six months after acquiring it for about £92m. Legal & General Ventures, which bought the business from ECI Partners in January, is understood to be looking at an initial public offering within the next nine to 12 months. It has been suggested that the business could attract a valuation of as much as £120m including debt. – The Times, 4 June
Government thinks tougher over pub smoking ban
Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, is considering tightening up the Government's proposed anti-smoking law to reduce the risk of workers suffering from passive smoking. One Whitehall source said: "She is worried about the fact that, under our current plans, we would not protect bar staff in places not serving food. If somebody comes up with a solution to this, we would look at it.” – Daily Telegraph, 4 June
Guy Naggar emerges as front runner for Little Chef
Guy Naggar, who recently took the Chez Gérard and Bertorelli restaurant business private, has emerged as one of the front-runners in the £50m auction of Little Chef. Naggar is one of five parties in the final round of bidding, although a source close to the process confirmed that he was “one of the two leading bidders”. – The Times, 4 June
Campaign to improve hospitality standards in Scotland
Bad hotels and restaurants are to be stamped out in a new campaign aimed at driving up standards in Scottish tourism. The £1m initiative will enlist Scotland's best hoteliers and front-of-house staff to encourage better service and weed out others who are letting the industry down. The "pride and passion" scheme, developed by the Scottish Tourism Forum, has already signed up almost 200 operators. – The Scotsman, 4 June
Inter-Continental offers 40% internet anniversary discounts
InterContinental Hotels Group is marking the tenth anniversary of the launch of internet booking with an online sale that offers discounts of up to 40% for summer bookings. – The Times, 4 June
Pubs ignore self-policing curb on happy hour promotions
Hundreds of British pubs and bars are defying a much-publicised curb on “happy hours” and offering cut-price alcohol to young people. The death of happy hour was signalled last month by the British Beer and Pub Association in a move that was supposed to cut drunkenness in town centres. Pubs and bars, however, are getting round or ignoring the association’s policy by extending happy hours into “happy afternoons”. – Sunday Times, 4 June
Tchenguiz set for control of SFI Group
Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, is poised to take control of SFI, the pub company that owns the Slug & Lettuce chain. He has bid about £80m for the group, which has about 150 pubs and is being sold by the consortium of banks that took control after SFI got into difficulties in 2003 and was delisted from the stock market. – Sunday Telegraph, 4 June
Small SFI shareholders may get nothing from sale
Thousands of private shareholders in SFI Group will receive nothing from the sale of the business. The group, once valued at £225m, will be carved up and sold in a process that will just about cover its £80m debts. – Mail on Sunday, 4 June
Ex-Pubmaster boss eyes Spirit Group pub sale
John Sands, former boss of Pubmaster, the tenanted pub group, is believed to be among the bidders for a collection of 170 high-street pubs and bars put up for sale in April by Spirit Group for more than £200m. It is not clear who is backing Sands, who stepped down from Pubmaster after it was sold to Punch Taverns last year. – Sunday Times, 4 June
Brewer to refurb pubs in view of imminent smoking ban
Belhaven, Scotland's biggest independent brewer, is planning to spend £2m on rebuilding its pubs to comply with the smoking ban which is due to come into force next year. Belhaven, led by chief executive Stuart Ross, will tomorrow unveil record profits for the 14th successive year and analysts forecast a surplus of £17.2m for the year to March. – Scotland on Sunday, 4 June
Regent Inns on shortlist to buy Luminar
Regent Inns has made it to the shortlist of bidders for Luminar’s entertainment division as key shareholders of the pub operator throw their weight behind its acquisition strategy. The Luminar sale, which includes 56 Chicago Rock Cafes and 16 Jumpin’ Jaks bars, was announced in March. – Mail on Sunday, 4 June
Restaurant owner jailed after food poisoning outbreak
A restaurant owner whose food and premises were riddled with the potentially fatal salmonella bug has been jailed for 12 months after sparking the biggest outbreak of food poisoning in the UK for a decade. More than 300 people contracted the virus after visiting Javid Qadir's restaurant, Shimla, in Bradford. Jailing him and ordering him to pay £34,000 to cover the cost of the investigation, a judge told Qadir it was "a mercy" that no-one had died as a result of his negligence. – Yorkshire Post, 3 June