The English Brasserie Company has accepted out-of-court settlements in two new cases of trademark infringement of its Brazz chain of brasseries.

The company won an eleventh-hour, out-of-court settlement of £15,000 in a trademark dispute with Devon café-bar Banx last year.

The latest breaches involved the use of the Brazz name at Bar Brazz in the Macdonalds Lymm Warrington hotel, and the use of its "B" logo at the Branksome Beach bar in Poole, Dorset.

Both the name and the logo are registered trademarks in the UK, Europe, and other English-speaking countries.

"Where there are infringements of our registered trademarks, we will always protect our intellectual property rights," warned Kit Chapman, chief executive of EBC.

The company is negotiating the leasehold on a city-centre site in Cardiff which will become the fourth and largest Brazz.

The plan is to convert "a dull office block" into a ground-floor caf‚ and bar and a first-floor restaurant to seat more than 200 in total. Chapman hopes it will be ready to open by next spring.

Director of operations Ian Fitzgerald said it gave Brazz the opportunity to add private dining areas for the first time.

The company has extended from 10 June to October the deadline for its new share offer, which aims to raise £2m for expansion.

Fitzgerald said the falls in global stock markets had slowed down the process by making investors more cautious about how they spent their money. To date, 60% of subscribers have been private individuals, although a couple of institutions are now showing an interest.

by Angela Frewin

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 18 - 24 July 2002