Gate Gourmet accused by BA of failing hygiene standards
It has been revealed that Gate Gourmet was accused by British Airways last year of repeatedly failing to meet minimum hygiene standards. A letter from a senior BA manager to Gate Gourmet’s managing director at the time, BA complained that the company was “consistently failing contractually agreed hygiene standards during the period from December 2003 to March 2004”. – The Times, 27 August
Dangerous bacteria found in BA meals
Traces of potentially fatal E.coli bacteria were found in meals intended for British Airways passengers, documents obtained by The Times reveal. Gate Gourmet, the airline food company at the centre of a bitter industrial dispute, tested a number of its suppliers’ products last year, according to the papers. An internal company document, Microbiological Information 2003-2004, identified eight meals between August 2003 and August 2004 that were infected with food-poisoning bacteria. – The Times, 29 August
100 troublemakers will not be return to Gate Gourmet
Gate Gourmet is insisting that up to 100 “troublemakers” will not be allowed back to work even though the company and the union have agreed to 675 redundancies. – Mail on Sunday, 28 August
BA will fund Gate Gourmet redundancies
British Airways has secretly agreed to fund millions of pounds of redundancy and compensation payments to workers at Gate Gourmet. Industry sources said the airline would give the catering firm, owned by US private- equity group Texas Pacific, a one-off payment of about £7m to meet the cost of the pay-offs. – Sunday Times, 28 August
Gate Gourmet doubles redundancy pay offer
Gate Gourmet has offered staff twice the statutory level of redundancy payments to resolve its dispute with its workforce. The company is seeking 675 voluntary redundancies from both the 667 sacked staff at the centre of the dispute and the 1,400 workers who did not join the wildcat strikes. They are being offered two weeks' pay for each year of service in a deal expected to cost Gate Gourmet £2m-£5m. – Daily Telegraph, 29 August
Punch sell 45 pubs to Admiral Taverns
Punch Taverns, the UK's second biggest pub company, sold 45 pubs to smaller rival Admiral Taverns while Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries bought out English Country Inns in a separate deal. Punch said that after buying Avebury Holdings' 409 pubs last month it had decided to review its estate and sell off 45 pubs to Admiral for £14.8m. – Yorkshire Post, 27 August
Alchemy bids £200m for Bar 38 chain
Alchemy Partners, the private equity firm, has entered exclusive talks to buy Spirit Group’s City Day & Night division, home to the Bar 38 chain, for up to £200m. The proposed deal is being led by Peter Brook, former chief executive of InnSpired, the tenanted pub chain. – The Times, 27 August
Precinct makes final push for Jurys Doyle
Precinct Investments and the Reuben brothers, its billionaire backers, are courting the property developer Sean Dunne this weekend in an attempt to mount one final push to take majority control of Jurys Doyle. Precinct has won the full support of Halifax Bank of Scotland to finance its €1.16b (£792,000) bid, but will only chase a 50.1% stake in the company if it can secure the backing of Dunne, who now controls more than 18% of the hotel group. – Sunday Times (Irish edition only), 28 August
Backing of Doyle family sought in new hotel group bid
A consortium fronted by Irish property developer Derek Quinlan is understood to have made a tentative approach to the Doyle family about joining forces in a bid for the €1.1bn (£751,000)-valued Jurys Doyle hotel group, as Precinct's offer for the company hit the skids last week. – Irish Independent, 28 August