Fuller's closes Gales brewery
London brewer and pub operator Fuller's is to close Hampshire's Gales brewery, following a strategic review that will save it £3m annually. Fuller's paid £91.8m for the rival brewer last year and its 111-strong pub estate in the South-east of England. Gales's HSB, Butser, Festival Mild and Prize Old Ale will continue to be produced in London. However, Gales Bitter will be discontinued in favour of Fuller's own London Pride.
Folio leases 19 sites
Fast-expanding hotel operator Folio Hotels has leased 19 new sites from property owner Washington Hotels. Folio, which was formed in 2005 by two ex-Corus Hotels directors, has agreed to lease the sites from Washington, a company created for the deal. Washington, which is owned by the Landesberg and Rosenberg families as well as Galliard Homes, bought the hotels from Corus Hotels for £116m on 27 February. Most of the hotels are in England, with two in Scotland.
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First Sam & Maxie's
La Tasca has announced its first Sam & Maxie's restaurant will launch this April at Stevenage Leisure Park in Hertfordshire. The family-friendly restaurant is being marketed in the premium casual dining bracket and is based on a bar, grill and smokehouse concept. La Tasca plans to open a second Sam & Maxie's by July at an as yet undisclosed location.
Gale joins Café des Amis
London eaterie Café des Amis in Covent Garden has replaced head chef Koenrad Inghelram with Andy Gale. Gale was formerly head chef at The Wells in Hampstead and prior to that worked at the one-Michelin-starred Chez Bruce in Wandsworth. Most recently he has been working at Danesfield House hotel in Buckinghamshire. Café des Amis owner Nadir Suleman said new menus would be in place within six to eight weeks while the starter menu had already been refreshed. Inghelram is now head chef at City fish restaurant Rudland & Stubbs, now owned by Raymond de Fazio.
French hotel sale
General Electric Real Estate (France) has sold three French hotels for €47.15m (£32m). The Golden Tulip in Boulogne was sold to Foncière des Murs and will be operated by Accor under the Mercure brand. Boissée Finances, a private group which already owns 52 Accor-branded hotels in France, bought the Tulip Inn in Ivry, which will also operate under the Mercure brand. The Holiday Inn Calais Coquelles was bought by private investor Algonquin. Property agents Jones Lang LaSalle instructed the deal.
Acorn Club Ball raises £6,000
Caterer's 2005 Acorn Club Ball last month raised £6,000 for the Children's Trust, a national charity that helps children with multiple disabilities. The Acorn Awards, co-sponsored by Caterer and Hotelkeeper and Unilever Foodsolutions, celebrate the top 30 outstanding achievers in the hospitality industry under 30 years old. Look out for this year's winners announced later this month.
Correction
On 16 February Caterer reported that Andy Townsend and Jim Gordon were former directors of Macdonald Hotels. We would like to clarify that neither was on the board of Macdonald Hotels. Townsend was a regional manager-director of the Macdonald group and on the board of Countrytown Hotels, a non-trading subsidiary of Macdonald Hotels, but he was not its managing director. Gordon was a commercial director of the Macdonald Group. We apologise for any confusion.
New Bermondsey eaterie
Bermondsey is set to get a new eaterie and bar from the people behind the Garrison. Village East, situated on Bermondsey Street in Southwark, south London, will open later this month featuring three bars and two dining areas. The new venture is the brainchild of Adam White and Clive Watson.
