Today’s news in brief – 27/02/25

Hospitality sales fell by 1.3% year-on-year in January, following like-for-like growth of 3.2% in December and January. This was the lowest recorded figure since April 2024, and only the second month of negative trading since early 2022. Sales in early January were restricted by a squeeze on consumers’ spending after Christmas and widespread participation in Dry January. Nonetheless, this is still below the UK’s rate of inflation of 3%.

Star Pubs will be expanding its managed operator estate by 30 sites throughout the year. The announcement comes as the first of these pubs, The Coach and Horses in Ashbourne, is due to reopen this week following a £200k refurbishment. A second venue, The Westgate in Halifax, will reopen in early March after a £350k revamp. The pubs will specialise in sports and entertainment, and benefit from high-spec AV systems showing Sky and TNT Sports. 

More than 30 top UK restaurants have called for the greater protections of delivery drivers in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill. The joint letter to the HomeSecretary is part of Deliveroo’s Right to Ride Safely campaign, which launched in November 2024 and is backed by GMB Union. While the government has created a standalone offence of assaulting or threatening retail workers, signatories say this stops short of protecting delivery drivers. 

Bonchon has plans to bring its Korean fried chicken concept to the UK. Following the launch of its second site in Paris, where a third is already in the pipeline, Bonchon is seeking experienced hospitality entrepreneurs to become master franchisees in the UK and roll out the brand nationally. Bonchon currently has more than 455 stores in operation worldwide, with more than 140 in the USA and international sites.