Today’s news in brief – 02/01/25
Pizza Hut’s UK operator is “in advanced talks” with potential bidders to wrap up a deal to secure its futures, according to Sky News. Heart With Smart (HWS), Pizza Hut’s biggest UK franchisee, which operates roughly 140 Pizza Hut dine-in restaurants, is expecting to select a preferred bidder in January. The news comes after HWS instructed advisers to find a buyer or raise tens of millions of pounds in external funding in November.
Eataly has seen its pre-tax losses widen to £5m for the year to 31 December 2023, from a loss of £1.9m in 2022. The Italian food hall and market stated that its sales and margins increased, and labour cost decreased from the previous year. However, energy prices had a negative impact on the company’s financial result. Despite this, the company saw its turnover rise 6.7% from £25m up to £26.7m for the full year.
More than 34 pubs a month stopped trading permanently in 2024, according to Altus Group’s analysis of official government data, which showed that the number of closures across England and Wales rose by 6.7% on 2023 levels. The commercial real estate adviser found that the overall number of pubs in England and Wales has now fallen below 39,000 for the first time to 38,989 in December. This means a fall of 412 venues compared with 39,401 at the same point in 2023.
Star Pubs will invest over £60k in Six Nations 2025 Championship rugby pub support. Following unprecedented demand for its Six Nations 2024 Championship rugby materials, the £60k will be the group’s biggest ever package of free support and will include 1,400 promotional kits, staff training and a digital game to help licensees enhance the customer experience.
