Magnify Marketing

NEWS

As National Cask Ale Week gets underway, an industry report has revealed that cask ale continues to outperform the declining beer market. Against a backdrop of a 5% fall in on-trade beer sales last year, total cask volumes are up by over 1% amongst the smaller brewers and turnover, by an average of 16%. morningadvertiser.co.uk

The managing director of Adnams, Andy Wood, is to take over from Jonathan Adnams as the chief executive of the business. M&C Report

Geronimo Inn has reported like-for-like sales up 6% and total turnover, which includes the six pubs the group bought from Punch Taverns, has increased by nearly 44% to date. thepublican.com

According to a report in The Independent on Sunday, pub entrepreneur, David Bruce, is set to raise up to £10m for the next stage of his latest venture. Bruce has already raised cash to purchase and develop sites for the first phase of his Country Pub & Dining brand and is targeting 10 sites within two years

Waitrose is said to be in talks to buy Eat, the sandwich bar and coffee chain, for £100m as part of its expansion plans. The Sunday Times

Richard Caring, the owner of Le Caprice and backer of Cote, is thought to be mulling a bid for Carluccio’s. The Independent on Sunday

Heston Blumenthal has received £200,000 compensation following a food-poisoning outbreak at his Fat Duck restaurant. caterersearch.com

Ufi Ibrahim is to take over as chief executive of the British Hospitality Association from 19 July

and finally…according to a poll conducted by discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk people from Swansea are the lousiest tippers, after it revealed that just one in five admitted they regularly recognise good service with a tip. Leeds was found to be the most generous city, according to the 1,925 strong survey.

Site of the week

This week following on from all the positive feedback about tapas I thought I would highlight another venue that delivers the wow. Dehesa is tucked away off Carnaby St and just from the outside you want to go in due to the excellent atmosphere management of the manager.

Service is attentive and whilst the food is great – it also serves its purpose in that you are not going out for a main meal but will happily graze away.

The wine list is dangerously good and the second bottle seems all to easy!

Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

NEWS

Mitchells and Butlers is to announce plans to open hundreds of its pub restaurants in out-of-town retail parks and shopping centres. The Sunday Times

Pubs minister John Healey has unveiled a £4million package designed to support community pubs across the country including £3.3m to help communities keep pubs open.

More than 4,000 pubs are set to join in the celebrations when National Cask Ale Week starts next Monday. Beer tastings and food matching are just a few of the celebrations that will be taking place in circa 4,000 pubs during the period. More information at www.caskaleweek.co.uk thepublican.com

More than 1,000 pubs and clubs in the UK and Ireland have signed up to receive 3D football through Sky. The channel will go live with the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea on Saturday April 3. morningadvertiser.co.uk

According to their annual report, TRI Hospitality Consulting, claim that hotel profitability dropped by 11.4% across the country in 2009. caterersearch.com

The Pub is the Hub scheme will now be available on a national scale in both rural and urban areas, following the promise of a £1m grant from Government. More at www.pubisthehub.org.uk

Cavendish Bars is opening its fourth Wahoo Bar & Grill venue at the former Bar Risa site in Oxford. moringadvertiser.co.uk

According to a report by VisitEngland, England’s visitor economy can grow from £97b in 2010 to £147b over the next decade and in doing so, create 225,000 more jobs

A local newspaper has brewed a beer in its own name as part of its bid to promote pubs. Stroud Life, working with the Stroud Brewery in Gloucestershire, forms part of its ‘Save the Local’ campaign. thepublican.com

and finally…a cheese only restaurant has opened in London. L’Art Du Fromage, which presents over 100 different cheeses on its menu, is offering dishes that include cheese ice cream.

Site of the week

This week’s site is a venue on Wardour St London called Barrafina. For those looking for inspiration on a tapas menu then here is the place. Cooked only a few feet away you sit at the counter and feel part of the kitchen team…..all being a lazy one!

Beautifully presented this small venue is packed every day of the week and its easy to see why from a visit. Execution is first class and sets it above alot of other venues in a very competitive location.

http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

NEWS
 
Four pub operators are launch members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). Eat, Sleep & Drink’s Felin Fach Griffin and Gurnard’s Head, owned by the Inkin brothers, Geetie Singh’s Duke of Cambridge in Islington and the Thomas Cubbitt in London’s Belgravia, are among the 85 members of the not-for-profit SRA. morningadvertiser.co.uk
 
Graduates struggling to find a job in traditional professions such as accountancy, banking and the media are being encouraged to run a pub by Punch Taverns. For the first time the company will make 236 properties available to graduates and other entrants to the business under an innovative new tenancy agreement called the Capital Builder. M&C Report
 
Restaurant chain, Nando’s, has been chosen as the number one company to work for in the Sunday Times list of the 25 Best Big Companies (over 5,000 employees)
 
West Yorkshire brewery Saltaire scooped three awards at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) National Beer Competition 2010, including the title of Supreme Champion Beer 2010 for its Triple Chocoholic, a 4.8% abv chocolate stout. morningadvertiser.co.uk
 
With just weeks left to contest old business rates, the Forum of Small Business (FSB) is urging firms to consider appealing. Owners of licensed premises have until the end of March to lodge an appeal against the amount they have paid in business rates over the last five years. For more information, contact the Fleurets rating expert, Michael Yass, on 020 7 280 4700 or email michael.yass@fleurets.com
 
Satellite television broadcaster, Sky, is said to be considering changing how it charges pubs for its subscription fees according to a report in The Mail on Sunday
 
Property developers Chelsfield Partners, have secured planning permission for two new luxury hotels in London, providing a further 350 bedrooms for the capital by 2012. It includes the redevelopment of the Park Lane Mews hotel in Stanhope Row, behind the Hilton on Park Lane.
 
and finally…the SNP have been accused of sending “mixed messages” after announcing a “year of food and drink”. The campaign is designed to boost tourism by attracting more overseas visitors to Scottish pubs and restaurants as well as encouraging Scots to holiday at home, that’s according to a report in the Daily Record
 
 
Site of the week
 
If someone had told me a while back that a premium bakery with an open kitchen and oven open till 10pm would work in central London I would have been amazed!  Well their is and it works fantastically.
 
Called Princi, its genuine italian authenticity brings a real bit of style and occasion to a cup of coffee and a cake.
 
Serving much more in an environment that alot of bars would aspire to, it is well worth a visit.
 
http://www.princi.co.uk/
 
 
Have you been to one? – let me know what you think on my blog or face book pages on our website www.magnifymarketing.co.uk

NEWS

Former Caledonian Brewing director Martin Kellaway and former Tetley head brewer Ian Smith have teamed up to open their own brewery – the WharfeBank Brewery. morningadvertiser.co.uk

According to the M&C Report, the Orchid Group has revealed ambitions to reach an estate of 500 pubs and plans to double its Bar Room Bar portfolio.

The first sites of the proposed 60-strong pub restaurant expansion by Whitbread have been unveiled. The company will be opening two new-build Table Table restaurants in Barnsley and York in April. morningadvertiser.co.uk

The Donnington Brewery in Stow-on-the-Wold has been named the UK’s “Brewery of the Year” by the 2010 edition of the Good Pub Guide. thepublican.com

Jamie Oliver has announced that he is to expand his high street restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian with a new outlet planned for Bristol in 2011. caterersearch.com

According to the Mail on Sunday, Sky is said to want to link up with the BBC and ITV to offer the World Cup in 3D.

Abode Hotels, the firm founded by Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines and greetings card entrepreneur Andrew Brownsword, is to double its property portfolio according to a report on caterersearch.com

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts have announced the opening of a new 120-bedroom hotel in Windsor on the site of the former Caley’s department store. caterersearch.com

and finally…a Liverpool pub that has an original Banksy mural on its outer wall (a 30-foot gun-toting rat) has sold at auction for £34,000 above the guide price of £114,000

Site of the week

The popularity of steaks continues – and one of the groups leading the the charge is a concept called Cote.

French in style, venues have a feeling of quality and deliver great value for money. They have one a number of awards – go and eat in one and you can see why!

Have been to one? – let me know what you think on my blog or face book pages on our website www.magnifymarketing.co.uk

http://www.magnifymarketing.co.uk