All Opinion articles – Page 53
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OpinionOff the leash
BrewDog has grown to be the leading light of the UK’s blossoming craft beer scene, and with new funding and a new brewery in place, the company is setting its sights even higher. John Harrington spoke to co-founder James Watt about what the future holds for the self-styled “punk” brewer, and for UK craft beer as a whole
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Opinion
Shoryu secures third site
Shoryu, the Hakata ramen concept owned by the Japan Centre Group, has secured its third site in London, near Carnaby Street
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OpinionProbing the complexities
The current post-recessionary consumer landscape is shaped by an intricate web of economic, social and cultural trends, writes Michael Brennan, executive director at Trajectory, which specialises in analysing and forecasting social and consumer trends
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OpinionWhen Martin met Griffiths
JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin and Andrew Griffiths MP, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, met recently to discuss their differing opinions of the VAT campaign over a pint or two. Martin discusses how they got on and looks at what’s next for the campaign
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OpinionWagamama restructures property department
Wagamama, the Duke Street Capital-led group, has carried out a restructure of its property department, which has led to the departure of property director Sharon Cawthorne
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Opinion
UK pub market almost "healthy"
The pub industry needs to lose another 1,000 sites within the next couple of years to achieve a “healthy” marketplace – that’s according to Christie + Co director Neil Morgan
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OpinionTesco set for the long stay
News earlier this month, that two M&B executives were set to join Tesco’s Family Dining vehicle led one commentator to proclaim, “oh, they are serious then!”. With underutilised and underperforming space to fill, the supermarket giant is deadly serious about becoming a significant player in the UK’s eating out sector
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Opinion
Big shoes to fill
I like to think that if Andrew Page, the retiring chief executive of The Restaurant Group, was a footballer, say for his beloved Fulham, he would be cast in what pundits like to call the “Claude Makelele-role”. Tidy, unfussy but essential in making the rest of the team tick. Sure there have been more high-profile chief executives, but for getting the job done at a consistent and high quality level, Page’s work over the last 12 years at the Frankie & Benny’s operator will take some beating. These are big shoes to fill indeed
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OpinionCosta grows presence in the north
Costa has agreed tenancy agreements for six properties in prominent out of town locations across the North of England
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OpinionRise of the hybrids
There’s a shift away from comforting ‘crisis’ foods that prevailed since the recession began. And you can watch this evolution beginning to become mass market entry points for more unusual cuisine and ethnic influences reaching and mixing across menus. But Mike Palmer, the founder of food and drink consultancy Lostincatering.com, asks when will large-scale operators pick it up?
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OpinionGrocer margins
With a combination of smart management and Richard Caring’s backing, Bill’s has made the jump from fledging concept to major national player in record time. Joe Lutrario reports.
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OpinionWord on the street
Bar and club operator and now street-food kingpin Jonathan Downey discusses how the mobile vendors have become a match for ‘traditional’ restaurants
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OpinionTurning over a new leaf
Consumers in the USA are starting to take their eating habits much more seriously, and vegetables have benefited from this change in mindset. Darren Tristano senior managing director at US consultancy firm Technomic examines the growth of the green stuff on menus
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OpinionHopes and fears
M&C Report speaks to operators from across the pub, bar and restaurant sector to ask their views on the biggest challenges and opportunities for 2014
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OpinionWrong legislation, wrong time
With the Government now set to announce its response to the consultation into the proposed statutory code for tenanted pub companies in 2014, John Harrington examines the concerns of pub companies and asks what the industry can expect
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OpinionThe only way is up
Peter Marks, chief executive director of the Luminar Group, tells Dominic Walsh how the nightclub operator is remodelling its estate through a programme of investment, after it was rescued from administration in 2011
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OpinionTaking M&B back to the top of its game
A year into his role as chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers, AlistairDarby has got under the skin of the UK’s largest managed eating and drinking-out operator and started to lay the foundations to put it back to its position as the leader of the sector’s pack
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OpinionThe positive pull of leisure
Despite the backdrop of economic doom and gloom the leisure property market is bucking the trend and providing canny investors with impressive returns, argues Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure
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OpinionNow the fun begins…
Rewind 12 months ago and 2013 was being labelled as empty and difficult compared to the Olympic-driven 12 months previous. What rubbish. Without trying to sound too much like a BBC4 documentary presenter, sector commentators may look back in years to come and describe 2013 as one of the most important years in the evolution of the UK’s eating and drinking out sector and a launch pad for a new era of sustained growth and investment
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Opinion
Pubco action will be 'proportionate and targeted'
Writing for M&C Report’s sister title Publican’s Morning Advertiser, consumer affairs minister Jo Swinson explains the Government’s decision to delay its response to the consultation into a statutory code for the pubco/tenant relationship until the New Year