New bidder emerges for Loch Fyne Restaurants
Urban Dining, AIM-listed owner of the Tootsies restaurant chain, is believed to be among the potential bidders for Loch Fyne Restaurants, for sale at more than £30m. - The Times, 28 May
Scottish hospital kitchens urged to become safer
The Scottish executive has been told to make hospital kitchens safe after health inspectors uncovered dozens of breaches of hygiene laws. Local authority reports, obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal a catalogue of unsanitary and often dangerous conditions. Inspectors discovered: infestations of cockroaches, mice and insects, including sewage flies; out-of-date food that could endanger the health of vulnerable patients; food being stored at temperatures that could lead to food poisoning; cooked and raw foods stored together, allowing possible cross-contamination by dangerous bacteria. - Sunday Times (Scottish edition), 29 May
Welcome Break bypass advertising ban
Welcome Break has become the latest motorway services operator to bypass the ban on advertising to drivers by altering the names of 19 of its 24 sites to Welcome Break KFC. - The Times, 28 May
O’Briens sandwich bars to drop Irish image
The Irish sandwich bar chain O'Briens is spending £350,000 on re-branding all its shops in the UK to take on coffee shop operators such as Caffè Nero and Coffee Republic. It is dropping its Irish tagline and re-christening itself O'Briens Handcut Sandwich and Gourmet Coffee. – Independent on Sunday, 29 May
Avebury Taverns up for sale
Avebury Taverns is to be put up for sale for up to £250m. The group, which owns about 450 pubs after selling an estate of non-core sites last week, has appointed PC Hansen & Co, a boutique firm specialising in pub deals, to explore a possible sale of the business. - Sunday Times, 29 May