US-style tipping hits UK pubs amid mass closures August 26, 2025 The UK pub industry is facing a new challenge as a controversial trend of implementing US-style tipping gains traction, coinciding with a period of widespread pub closures. A nationwide debate has been sparked by the Well and Boot pub in Waterloo, London, which has introduced an optional four per cent service charge on every drink. [...]
Butlin’s boss: We’re not going to tax ourselves to success August 26, 2025 The chief executive of holiday park chain Butlin’s has hit out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves after saying increases taxes on businesses is not the way to improve the UK economy. Speaking on an up-coming episode of Morning Wire‘s Boardroom Uncovered show, Jon Hendry Pickup said the country is “not going to tax ourselves to success” [...]
Hospitality bears brunt of job losses since October budget as costs rocket August 25, 2025 Over half of all job losses in the UK since last October’s budget have been in hospitality as the sector struggles under the weight of rising costs, according to new data. Of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, almost 89,000 have been lost in hospitality. The scale of job losses [...]
Bar boss quits Labour’s hospitality group after tax concerns August 23, 2025 A top boss of a British bar chain has quit a government hospitality taskforce after facing pressure over his criticism of Rachel Reeves’ tax agenda. Alex Reilley, the chairman of Loungers, has exited the Hospitality Sector Council (HSC) after receiving backlash from civil servants for publicly criticising Labour’s economic policies, The Telegraph reported. “I was [...]
My favourite Nasdaq-listed, Chinese-owned, Cayman-incorporated Scottish castle August 22, 2025 A question: what’s the fastest-growing hotel group in Britain? You might opt for Premier Inn, the Whitbred-owned budget chain that’s set to open more than 1,000 new rooms this year. A wildcard choice might be Yotel, the group set up by Yo! Sushi man Simon Woodroffe that’s ballooned from a single site in 2007 to two dozen [...]
Soho House: How billionaire Tyler Morse and his former boss are buying up London August 19, 2025 Soho House marked the end of its four-year spell on the Nasdaq this week after it reached an agreement to be taken private by US hotel giant MCR in a $2.7bn (£2bn) deal. The swish members’ club, which was founded in Soho’s Greek Street by restauranteur Nick Jones in 1995, has grown into a sprawling [...]
Corinthia London: Profit slashed at five-star hotel despite revenue spike August 14, 2025 Profit has been slashed at five-star hotel Corinthia London despite its revenue spiking by 80 per cent, it has been revealed. The hotel, which is located on the corner of Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall Place, has posted a pre-tax profit of £67,600 for 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The figure is down [...]
Dishoom warns that Brits’ low incomes pose risk for hospitality August 13, 2025 Dishoom has warned that the dual effects of still-low disposable income in the UK and tax rises in last autumn’s Budget present a short-term risk to British hospitality. The iconic restaurant business added that these factors may be exacerbated by “a possible slowdown in economic growth”. Confidence in the UK’s hospitality sector has been in [...]
Sir Rocco Forte enjoys record pay day after hotels empire deal August 13, 2025 The hotels group founded by Sir Rocco Forte has issued a record dividend for the first full year after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) became a major shareholder. Rocco Forte Hotels has paid out dividends totalling £8.9m for the year to 30 April, 2025, to its shareholders. The international hotels group, which is headquartered in [...]
Kensington Roof Gardens plunges to £26m loss August 13, 2025 The company behind the revamped Kensington Roof Gardens suffered a £26m loss after the venue reopened as a private members’ club, its latest accounts reveal. The grade-II listed former nightclub, situated on London’s swanky Kensington High Street, unveiled plans to launch as a members’ club in February last year, offering annual memberships of up to [...]