The Directors of Oakman Inns & Restaurants are delighted to be able to report on a year of significant progress across the group. The key financial highlights were as follows: Group turnover up by 20.4% at £23.3m Like for Like sales up 3.5% Average sales per core Oakman site continued to exceed £30k NET per week Site EBITDA grew by 31.1% to £4.04m Group … [Read more...]
Consumer spending grows 4 per cent in December as Brits embrace the Christmas spirit
Consumer spending jumped to 4.0 per cent year-on-year in December – outperforming the Q4 average of 3.2 per cent – to mark the first occasion in three months when spending outpaced the rate of inflation. But while shoppers loosened the purse strings to enjoy Christmas and take advantage of seasonal sales, they remain cautious about prospects for the year ahead. Data from … [Read more...]
Kieran McLoughlin named UK Restaurant Manager of the Year 2018
Kieran McLoughlin of Gravetye Manor Hotel has been named the UK's Restaurant Manager of the Year during a prize-giving ceremony at the Royal Garden Hotel, London yesterday (8 January). The UK Restaurant Manager of the Year competition, now in its ninth year, is run by the Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS), which was acquired by the Institute of Hospitality last … [Read more...]
Welcome Break reports a very strong Christmas
Motorway service operator Welcome Break has reported a very strong Christmas period with like-for-like sales up 14 per cent. More than 845,000 transactions took place during the peak week (December 26 to January 2 inclusive) across the company’s 27 service stations in England, Scotland and Wales. Welcome Break Chief Executive Officer Rod McKie said: “Coffee sales were … [Read more...]
Five minutes with… Silvano Giraldin
Front-of-house hero Silvano Giraldin is best known as the former maitre-d' at London restaurant Le Gavroche where he worked for 37 years. The Italian father-of-two started his career in France before moving to the UK in 1971 and although he retired from Le Gavroche in 2008 he remains working with the Roux family as an executive director for Le Gavroche and at their restaurant … [Read more...]