Today’s news in brief – 16/05/24
Compass Group raised its 2024 profit guidance as revenues rose 11.2% during H1. The group also reported an 18.7% rise in underlying operating profit to £1.16bn. Moreover, it spent £294.3m on M&A, including the acquisition of Hofmann in Germany and CH&CO in the UK and Ireland completed, the latter being completed in April 2024.
Domino’s appointed Mitesh Patel as independent non-executive director, effective from 1 June. He is the co-founder of Lenstore, an online contact lens business which, in 2013, he sold to GrandVision, the world’s largest optical retail group at the time. He also has highly relevant non-executive experience as a director of Pizza Hut UK Limited from 2018 to 2020.
Top contract caterers saw Q1 sales rise 7% despite the number of outlets they serve falling, according to CGA’s Contract Catering Tracker. While this shows the sector’s continued recovery from the pandemic, with this being the tracker’s 12th quarter of growth in a row, the units opened in Q1 were 3% fewer than in the same period last year.
The Heart of Northumberland pub in Hexham is up for sale for £595k. The pub reopened in 2015, following a major renovation and refurbishment after being closed for years. The ground floor is subdivided into two main trade areas, the front bar seats 34 in a mixture of seating styles and beyond, the backroom which seats 28.
