July
TV chef Jamie Oliver picks up the Special Award at the 2003 Caterer & Hotelkeeper Awards. Full story>>
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson calls for a ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants. Full story>>
Blackstone, owner of the Savoy Group, sells the Lygon Arms hotel in the Cotswolds to private hotel group Furlong Hotels for £10m-£15m. Full story>>
Embattled hotel group Queens Moat puts two of its London hotels on the market with a £28m price tag. Full story>>
Investment tycoon Jack Petchey makes a £38.2m bid for hotel group Hanover International after building up a 49.15% stake. Full story>>
An inquest hears that Gordon Ramsay protégé David Dempsey, who died in May after falling from a block of flats, had a mixture of cocaine and alcohol in his body that could have made him psychotic. Full story>>
Whitbread sells 13 Swallow hotels, and the Swallow brand name, for £57m. Full story>>
Carl Leaver, the managing director of Travel Inn, is named as the new chief executive of De Vere. Full story>>
Conran Holdings takes a 25% stake in struggling rival Bank Restaurant Group in what could be a prelude to a full-scale takeover. Full story>>
UK hotels have suffered their lowest first-half occupancy and revenue figures since 1996, says a report. Full story>>
Financier Guy Hands pulls out of the running to rescue international hotel chain Le Méridien. Full story>>
The Le Méridien Grosvenor House and Waldorf hotels in London are placed into administrative receivership. Full story>>
Donald Macdonald, chief executive of Macdonald Hotels, ups his bid for the 104-strong chain to £156.8m. Full story>>
August
Queens Moat Houses announces a "full strategic review" of its business after tough trading conditions make it difficult for the hotel group to meet its debt repayments. It also says group chief executive Andrew Coppel will step down. Full story>>
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels reports pre-tax losses of £6.3m during the first half of the year. Full story>>
Hanover International reluctantly tells its shareholders to accept the £38.2m bid from investment tycoon Jack Petchey. Full story>>
Coffee Bar chain Coffee Republic announces plans to turn itself into a deli-bar operation. Full story>>
Inspection results published by the Department of Health reveal that the standard of food in NHS hospitals has improved significantly over the past year. Full story>>
Pizza Hut announces a blanket ban on smoking across its 350 UK restaurants. Full story>>
Autograph Foodservice, the business and industry division of Initial Catering Services, wins the five-year contract to cater for about 10,000 staff at BNFL's Sellafield plant in Cumbria. Turnover will be about £2.5m a year. Full story>>
Hilton Group announces a 40% drop in profits during the first half of 2003. Full story>>
September
Von Essen Hotels buys four luxury country house hotels in the Cotswolds for £16m, including Buckland Manor and Lower Slaughter Manor. Full story>>
A report from consultants PKF detects "green shoots of recovery" in the UK hotel industry. Full story>>
Pub group Mitchells & Butlers claims the rise in the minimum wage to £4.50 an hour will cost it £10m. Full story>>
Peter Eyles, executive chairman of hotel and conference centre group Hanover, resigns in the wake of the group's takeover by investment tycoon Jack Petchey. Full story>>
Tim Martin, the boss of pub group JD Wetherspoon, shocks the City by heading off on a six-month sabbatical. Full story>>
Shares in Queens Moat Houses are suspended while the hotel company continues talks with its bankers to sort out its complex debt repayments. Full story>>