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All MCA Insight articles in January 2025 – Page 4
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NewsTossed announces franchising move
The healthy eating brand currently operates 13 sites in central and greater London and is working with Bee Smart to realises its ambition to grow the business on a national scale
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NewsGail’s presses on with expansion
The upmarket bakery chain has three sites confirmed for London, as well as locations in Bristol, Greater Manchester and Birmingham in the coming weeks
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NewsSix by Nico posts record results amid rapid expansion
The company invested £8.3m in expanding its portfolio, opening seven Six by Nico locations across the UK and Ireland in 2024, with a new site in Bristol slated to open next month
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NewsBoxpark to launch new social gaming concept
Playbox will open at Boxpark Croydon next month, offering interactive games such as digital shuffleboard, karaoke, retro arcade games and bookable seating to watch live sports
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InterviewsRare Restaurants’ Rising Star is ‘the heartbeat of the marketing department’
Social media manager Poppy Midgley’s creative campaigns have achieved significant ROI, marketing director Mark Sansom tells MCA, in the latest in a series of profiles on the Rising Star award finalists at the MCA Hospitality Awards
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NewsJDW expands partnership with Haven
Wetherspoon will open four new pubs at Haven’s holiday parks in Cleethorpes Beach, Devon Cliffs, Kent Coast and Haggerston Castle, following a £6.7m investment in the sites
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NewsTonkotsu appoints ops director
Polly Barnes has has more than two decades’ experience in the hospitality sector and has held senior roles at Byron and Darwin & Wallace
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NewsSushi Samba Group reverses losses in 2023
The global hospitality group reported strong trading, with turnover up by 12% in 2023, to £15.3m, and the company achieving a profit after tax of £384k, compared to a loss of £768k in 2022.
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NewsXP Factory delivers double-digit growth
The experiential leisure businesses achieved strong like-for-like growth across its Escape Hunt (+14.3%) and Boom Battle Bar (+17.4%) brands during the Christmas and New Year period
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NewsHarassment protection could impact freedom of speech
The government has been warned by the equalities watchdog that employment reforms aimed at protecting staff from harassment could “disproportionately curtail” freedom of expression and be applied to “overheard conversations” in pubs for example
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NewsSubway celebrates 60th birthday with specials and promos
The sandwich chain is launching a Mexican-themed range in partnership with Dorrito’s, and a 30% discount for Subway Rewards app members
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NewsPizza Hut Restaurants close to rescue deal
Directional Capital, an investment firm which already controls much of Pizza Hut’s dine-in operations in Denmark and Sweden, is in advanced talks to acquire roughly 140 sites in the UK, Sky News reports
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NewsFormer Comptoir CEO set for unlikely return
Comptoir founder Tony Kitous has proposed Chaker Hanna return as CEO to replace outgoing Nick Ayerst – despite Kitous forcing Hanna’s resignation in 2022 - leading to the departures of the company’s two independent board directors, who say they are “no longer able to advise the board”
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NewsEG on the Move acquires 100 Applegreen fourcourts
Zuber Issa’s petrol fourcourts group is set to treble in size following the deal, which includes 40 foodservice concessions
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NewsVote for your winners before 19 January deadline
Voting for the MCA Hospitality Awards 2025 closes this Sunday so make sure you have cast your vote in the 12 hotly-contested categories.
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NewsHospitality sector could suffer £1bn loss if rail strikes go ahead
Avanti train managers represented by the RMT have said that they will strike on every Sunday from 12 January to 25 May, this year.
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NewsFestive trading at JW Lees up 10.3%
Food sales were up 12.7%, with drink sales +10.3%, however accommodation sales were down by 2.7%, due to the slowdown in staycations and closure of the port of Holyhead.
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NewsVarious Eateries names Mark Loughborough as new CEO
Loughborough, who joins the board on 20 January 2025, brings more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality sector, having spent the past 14 years at Young’s as retail director. Meanwhile current executive chairman Andy Bassadone will transition to the role of executive director
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InterviewsMitchells & Butlers: ‘Our scale of impact is truly exciting’
M&B’s director of sustainability Amy de Marsac shares more on the restaurant and pub giant’s planet-friendly initiatives, in the first in a series of finalist profiles for the Sustainability category of the MCA Hospitality Awards, sponsored by Pernod Ricard.
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Weekend PressZuber Issa: ‘We didn’t understand what private equity was’
Zuber, one half of the billionaire duo who created EG Group and took over Asda, tells The Sunday Times why he quit the empire and is starting again