All Toby Carvery articles
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News
Operators self-fund Eat Out extension
Several operators are extending the Eat Out to Help Out discount into September, funding the cost themselves.
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Interviews
M&B CEO Phil Urban: ‘People want to go out and be social again’
As social media storms go, it was up there with the silliest.
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Analysis & Insight
Steve Gotham: Turning up the heat and other NPD delights
New product development (NPD) is rightly recognised as a lifeblood for the eating out industry, and MCA’s Menu Tracker offers insights into the latest menu trends and influences across 150 leading operators. This review only serve as a taster, but the three courses have each been accompanied with three key summary insights.
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Analysis & Insight
J.P. Morgan Cazenove on Marston’s and M&B
After strong outperformance in 2019, we are moving MARS and MAB to Neutral, from Overweight, as the current share prices have now “caught up” to reflect the fundamentals, in our estimation. MAB’s operational performance inflected during 2019, and MARS largely resolved fears around its leverage and dividend sustainability. In addition, ...
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Analysis & Insight
And the 2019 consumer award winners are…
While we are in the midst of the entertainment awards season it would be most neglectful not to extend this to the worlds of foodservice and hospitality.
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News
Low price champions
Given the prevailing weak outlook for consumer confidence, it seems inevitable that more risk averse and belt-tightening behaviours will come to the fore.
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News
Phil Urban: ‘Greene King deal vindication of why shareholders invested in us’
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) will inevitably be touted as a potential target for M&A, but chief executive Phil Urban doesn’t see a takeover happening, he has told MCA.
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Analysis & Insight
Participation at dinner increases for first time in 2019
The percentage of UK adults eating dinner out of the home has increased during the third quarter of 2019 – the first period of growth this year, according to MCA’s latest Eating Out Panel data (July-September).
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News
Strong drink sales drive M&B’s 3.3% lfls growth
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has continued to outperform the market in the eight weeks to 21 September, with like-for-like sales growing by 3.3%.
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Analysis & Insight
M&B – Much ado about branding
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham analyses data from MCA’s Eating Out Panel to pinpoint potential areas for improvement for some of Mitchells & Butlers’ key brands.
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Analysis & Insight
Good value of greater importance to pub customers
The value of food and drink is of much greater importance to visitors of pubs than other of operators in the eating out market, across all three day-parts, according to the latest MCA Pub Brand Monitor.
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Analysis & Insight
Pub brands lose share at dinner time
Pub brands’ share of visits at dinner time – its most important occasion – in the second quarter of 2019 (April – June), reflecting toughening competition from restaurants and growing customer expectations.
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Analysis & Insight
Pub menus: Quantity over quality?
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham looks at whether the increases seen in pub menu counts are sustainable, particularly when extensive menu choice is not a particularly high-ranking consumer need.
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Analysis & Insight
JDW top brand for awareness and usage
JD Wetherspoon was the top pub brand for awareness and usage, though visit share growth has plateaued at dinner time, while falling at breakfast and lunch, MCA’s Pub Brand Monitor reveals.
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News
Urban: ‘New concept could be second string to our premium bow’
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is to trial a new concept in Harpenden next month, which it believes could add a second string to its bow of premium offerings, MCA has learnt.
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Analysis & Insight
NPS – A taster menu of brand winners, losers and risers
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham gives an overview of the eating out sector through the prism of Net Promoter Scores, revealing the brands who are truly winning with customers and those still in need of improvement.
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Analysis & Insight
Loungers – the one and only?
This week, Loungers announced its much-anticipated intention to float. One line in the accompanying documentation caught the eye of MCA market insight director, Steve Gotham – that Loungers is “the only growing all-day operator of scale in in the UK with a strong reputation for value for money”. He delves into MCA’s wealth of data to determine whether this claim stacks up.
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Analysis & Insight
Family friendly winners unveiled
By 2045 one in seven UK residents will be over the age of 75, with the inevitable impact on the spread of generations being catered for by the hospitality sector. MCA’s market insight director, Steve Gotham, looks at which operators are best placed to appeal to a multi-generational family.
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Analysis & Insight
Wagamama named customers' favourite in 'fundex'
Wagamama has been rated as the UK’s favourite eating out brand in a major survey of the customer journey by OC&C management consultants.
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Analysis & Insight
Quality is a dish best served … everytime
According to MCA data, food quality is the single most important factor for consumers in choosing where to eat out. But how are those customers defining quality and which operators are being scored highest on this crucial metric? MCA’s market insight director, Steve Gotham, reveals answers that may surprise many operators.