Refurbs halt decline at Yates
The summer sun failed to work any magic at pub group Yates, with like-for-like sales dropping 5%.
A programme of refurbishment is slowing the decline, with sales at revamped pubs up 1.7% but down 16.9% at unmodernised sites. Currently, 80 out 118 Yates sites have been refurbished, with a further 20 to go.
Directors said the fate of a small number of residual sites which no longer fit the brand's portfolio would be decided in November.
A trading statement for the six months ending 28 September revealed that sales at Yates's 23 Ha!Ha! Bar & Canteens had increased by 6% year-on-year.
Eldridge Pope sells 23 pubs
Last week Eldridge Pope announced the sale of 23 of its pubs for £5.4m. Chief executive Susan Barratt said the disposal was a further step in the company's "back to basics" strategy.
Slow start for Paramount
Paramount, the company set up to buy the Groupe Chez Gérard restaurant chain, has reported a turnover of £6.7m and a pre-tax loss of £800,000 for the year to 29 June. Its figures are complicated by the fact that it has changed its year-end from May, and the lion's share of the results refer to the 77 days of trading since it bought Groupe Chez Gérard on 14 April.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation amounted to £200,000 before reorganisation costs of £400,000. Since the year-end, like-for-like sales increased 0.5% compared with a 4% decline during the 77 days.
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