All Weekend Press articles – Page 2

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 21-22 September

    2013-09-23T06:56:00Z

    RestaurantsItsu plans expansion and possible stake saleThe founder of itsu has drawn up ambitious plans to expand the Asia-inspired healthy food chain outside London and could sell a minority stake in the business to fund its growth.Julian Metcalfe, who founded Pret A Manger as well as itsu, is to open ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 31 August-1 September

    2013-09-02T06:49:00Z

    RestaurantsCote tempts new suitorRichard Caring is edging closer to a deal to sell his Cote brasserie chain for about £100m. CBPE, the private equity firm that was once part of Close Brothers investment bank, is in talks to buy the 45-strong chain.It has leapfrogged Bridgepoint, a rival firm best known ...

  • Weekend Press

    Bank Holiday weekend press round-up, 24-26 August

    2013-08-27T08:44:00Z

    RestaurantsFood police lose fight to outlaw rare beefburgersBeefburgers cooked rare can remain on restaurant menus after a judge rejected claims by food watchdogs that they are a health risk. A wine bar and restaurant chain had been told to stop serving the burgers unless they took certain safety precautions. The ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 17-18 August

    2013-08-19T07:07:00Z

    Pubs Irish Nationwide took €130m hit on loan deal with UK pubs chainIrish Natiowide Building Society (INBS) took a gigantic hit of €130m on a single client by agreeing to a bizarre loan restructuring for one of its biggest clients in the summer of 2007 as the society was gearing ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 10-11 August

    2013-08-12T07:04:00Z

    Weekend Press 10-11 August Companies and markets The sun shines on pubs and Spirit rises The belated arrival of summer has offered some salvation to Britain’s beleaguered brewing and pub industry. The shares have now thrown off the shackles and, along with the rest of the stock market, are enjoying ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 27-28 July

    2013-07-29T08:35:00Z

    Weekend press round-up, 27-28 JulyPubs and barsM&B has found its balance againIt is now almost two years since billionaire Joe Lewis moored his mega-yacht by Tower Bridge and declared he’d like to swallow pub company Mitchells & Butlers in its entirety. Lewis owned 25%, so this was serious. The proposed ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 20-21 July

    2013-07-22T07:13:00Z

    Companies and marketsMake mine a Marston’s This week four of the nation’s biggest pub owners will reveal their financial results, writes Danny Fortson in his Inside the City column. They include Mitchells & Butlers, the company behind the All Bar One chain, and JD Wetherspoon. In theory, all should have ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 13-14 July

    2013-07-15T07:04:00Z

    Restaurants Where does all the cash come from? “It’s been horrendous, but we’re a different company now,” says Stuart Gillies, who runs Ramsay’s restaurant firm. He does the numbers, while Ramsay does the nosh. “Everything we do is new.” They are moving home. “This office costs £500,000 a year,” says ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press roundup, 6-7 July

    2013-07-08T06:59:00Z

    RestaurantsGregg Wallace thinks he has the recipe for successMasterchef presenter Gregg Wallace has put new funds into his South-West London restaurant, Wallace & Co, in order to boost its performance.The investment is part of an improvement plan put in place by Wallace, who earlier this year bought out the restaurant’s ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 29-30 June

    2013-07-01T08:47:00Z

    Restaurants Burger battle heats up as Five Guys and Shake Shack arrive in UK A tweeted picture of George Osborne tucking into a takeaway from the upmarket chain Byron late at night while completing details of the spending review may have prompted ridicule this week, but the chancellor was bang ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 22-23 June

    2013-06-24T07:32:00Z

    Food-on-the-go Pret A Manger seeks £375m debt refinancing Pret A Manger is seeking to raise a new £375m loan to refinance existing debt and pay a dividend to private equity owner Bridgepoint. The London-based firm has mandated HSBC, Rabobank, ING Bank, RBS, Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up 15-16 June

    2013-06-17T07:41:00Z

    Financial results and company news Drinks wizard Walsh to chair caterer Compass Paul Walsh, the mastermind behind the success of Diageo, the drinks giant, is to become chairman of Compass as the extraordinary reshuffle of the FTSE 100’s leadership gathers pace. Walsh, 58, has been lined up to succeed Sir ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press roundup, 8-9 June

    2013-06-10T10:14:00Z

    Roadside servicesBetting tycoon takes punt on giving lorry drivers a break from open roadThe man who built Betfred from a single bookies in Salford to a nationwide chain is taking a gamble on motorway services and plans to open truck stops nationwide over the next five years.Only a couple of ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 1-2 June

    2013-06-03T09:36:00Z

    Weekend Press 1-2 JuneFinancial results and company news Pub reform newswill cut tax revenuesPub companies will convert to tax-efficient trusts if Government reforms go ahead, in a move that will deprive the Treasury of tens of millions of pounds in revenue.Enterprise Inns, Britain’s biggest pub company, is planning to become ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 25-27 May

    2013-05-28T09:41:00Z

    Please see below our roundup of this weekend’s newspapers: Pubs Britain’s pubs face lost decade The pub industry faces a lost decade with sales unlikely to hit 2007 levels for at least another five years despite the government’s efforts to reduce the cost of beer in the latest budget. Tightened ...

  • Weekend Press

    Weekend press round-up, 6-7 April

    2013-04-07T20:11:00Z

    PubsCoalition’s pub brawl over bid to help landlordsThe Coalition was hit by a new split last night following claims that George Osborne is blocking plans by Business Secretary Vince Cable to save the ailing British pub. Liberal Democrat Mr Cable wants to launch a new watchdog to combat allegations that ...