Today’s news in brief – 21/10/24

The UK’s top 100 restaurant groups saw profits dip to £244.1m in 2024 from £246.5m, according to new research by UHY Hacker Young. The firm has called this dip in profits a “creditable performance” considering the challenges the sector has faced from the cost-of-living crisis and years of losses the sector has suffered from during the pandemic. 

Insolvencies within hospitality fell 16% month-on-month in August 2024, from 323 to 270, the lowest monthly figure since January 2024, according to the Insolvency Service. Furthermore, insolvencies were down 29% when compared with the same month last year. However, insolvencies in the sector increased 9% in the year to August 2024.

170 hospitality bosses have backed UKH’s call for lower business rates ahead of the Labour party’s first Budget at the end of the month. In an open letter to the chancellor, the CEOs of Britain’s most well-known and biggest pub groups have backed the call, alongside Burger King, Caffe Nero, KFC and Pizza Pilgrims.

King Pins will open its third venue in Cabot Circus, Bristol, in January 2025. The venue, which will be its first out of Manchester, blends bowling with a hospitality offering in the form of a bar and onsite eatery for guests. King Pins Bristol will have a variety of games and activities “suitable for the whole family”.

Rockwater will open a third and largest venue in Sandbanks, Dorset, next spring. The hospitality and lifestyle group’s new venue will benefit from views of the Jurassic Coast and will be spread across two floors with an outdoor terrace. A cocktail bar, which will incorporate a retractable roof, will also be located on the top floor.