CLH Digital - Issue #25

Issue 25

CLHNews

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Chancellor Launches Top-Up Wage Scheme and Extends VAT Cut to March 2021

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The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined additional government support to provide certainty to businesses and workers impacted by coronavirus across the UK. Delivering a speech in Parliament, the Chancellor announced a package of measures that will continue to protect jobs and help businesses through the uncertain months ahead as we continue to tackle the spread of the virus. The package includes a new Jobs Support Scheme to protect millions of returning workers, extending the Self Employment Income Support Scheme and 15% VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sectors, and help for businesses in repaying government-backed loans.

The announcement comes after the Prime Minster set out further measures to combat the spread of the

virus over the winter, while preserving the ability to grow the economy.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “The resurgence of the virus, and the measures we need to take in response, pose a threat to our fragile economic recovery…

“Our approach to the next phase of support must be different to that which came before.

“The primary goal of our economic policy remains unchanged - to support people’s jobs - but the way we achieve that must evolve.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has taken swift action to save lives, limit the spread of

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“Ministers have introduced one of the most generous and comprehensive economic plans anywhere in the world with over £190 billion of support for people, businesses and public services - including paying the wages of nearly 12 million people, supporting over a million businesses through grants, loans and rates cuts and announcing the Plan for Jobs in July.

“The government has been consistently clear that it would keep its support under review to protect jobs and the economy, with today’s action reflecting the evolving circumstances and uncertainty of the months ahead.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 3...)

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CLH Digital

Issue 25

Editor's Viewpoint

Welcome to the latest edition of CLH Digital IT’S NOT ENOUGH!

EDITOR

Peter Adams

Unsustainable!

I think the world and his wife would agree that the Chancellor’s winter economy plan is sticking plaster over a very large wound.

We have to get the sector and the economy back up and running as swiftly as possible.

For too long it was taken for granted and taxed to the hilt, now finds itself at the coalface of the government’s Draconian measures.

I never expected for one moment that the government would be able to sufficiently protect an industry like the hospitality and on-trade no matter what gestures they make.

Many of the reports I have read point to the world never “being Covid free”, one stating that the virus will “wax and wane” with outbreaks “popping up here and there”, and we are going to have to learn to live with it and we will have to manage our economy around it. This I suspect will become evident early in the New Year.

This is not an attack on the Chancellor or his plan - rather it is a criticism of the government’s handling of the Covid crisis.

Regular readers (and I hope you are out there) will know that I have been opposed to the sector lockdown since day one.

I fully recognise that the government had to move to mitigate and minimise the impact of the Covid crisis, but closing the economy, after giving it a shot in the arm in August only to add further restrictions this month is, frankly, disastrous.

Tim Martin, a vociferous critic of the lockdown and the latest restrictions, comments in this issue about the 10pm curfew being “another random and arbitrary move by the government which lacks logic or scientific credibility” and he is absolutely correct.

The Chancellor clearly finds himself in a difficult position. However, sooner or later he will “run out of other people’s money”! I have been in business long enough in the hospitality sector and in publishing to know you cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt (Daniel Hannan) and I suspect every hospitality operator in the country will say the same thing.

This, I understand, is the current price we are paying: • Public sector net borrowing was £35.9 billion in August 2020, £30.5 billion more than July and the third highest borrowing in any month since records began.

• Tax receipts were £37.3 billion in August 2020, £7.5 billion less than the previous month, with VAT, Corporation Tax and Income Tax receipts falling substantially.

• The government spent £78.5 billion on current expenditure in August 2020, £19.5 billion more than in August 2019.

• Borrowing in the first five months of this financial year is projected to have been £173.7 billion, £146.9 billion more than in the same period in 2019 and the highest borrowing in any April to August period since records began.

We here at CLH News will be campaigning to get the sector open as quickly as possible and at the same time calling on some of the industry’s leading lights and influential figures to provide the knowledge, insight and expertise to help operators trade their way through this crisis.

A country without a vibrant hospitality sector really is a country without joy!

Once again we have some of the industry’s leading lights forward/experts to give an insight on not only the crisis itself but also to advise with guidance and best practice on how to help you through this crisis and cater for the growing staycation(ers) Visit our website for our “Staycation-Your Country Need You” Poster available to download. Only the hospitality sector can put some cheer back into the country, showcasing the wonderful diverse vibrant UK!

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SALES EXECUTIVES David Bartlett Guy Stephenson

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Matthew Noades

PRODUCTION & WEB ADMIN Shelly Roche Published by

• Each of the months from April to August 2020 were also record months for borrowing.

• Government debt has hit £2.02 trillion or around 101.9% of GDP; it has risen 12% in just a year.

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Issue 25

CLH Digital

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Chancellor Launches Top-Up Wage Scheme and Extends VAT Cut to March 2021 (...CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER) The package of measures, which applies to all regions and nations of the UK, includes:

SUPPORT FOR WORKERS “A new Job Support Scheme will be introduced from 1 November to protect viable jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand over the winter months due to coronavirus.

“Under the scheme, which will run for six months and help keep employees attached to the workforce, the government will contribute towards the wages of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to decreased demand.

“Employers will continue to pay the wages of staff for the hours they work - but for the hours not worked, the government and the employer will each pay one third of their equivalent salary.

“This means employees who can only go back to work on shorter time will still be paid two thirds of the hours for those hours they can’t work.

“In order to support only viable jobs, employees must be working at least 33% of their usual hours. The level of grant will be calculated based on employee’s usual salary, capped at £697.92 per month.

“The Job Support Scheme will be open to businesses across the UK even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme, with further guidance being published in due course.

“It is designed to sit alongside the Jobs Retention Bonus and could be worth over 60% of average wages of workers who have been furloughed – and are kept on until the start of February 2021. Businesses can benefit from both schemes in order to help protect jobs.

“In addition, the Government is continuing its support for millions of self-employed individuals by extending the Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant (SEISS). An initial taxable grant will be provided to those who are currently eligible for SEISS and are continuing to actively trade but face reduced demand due to coronavirus. The initial lump sum will cover three months’ worth of profits for the period from November to the end of January next year. This is worth 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875.

“An additional second grant, which may be adjusted to respond to changing circumstances, will be available for self-employed individuals to cover the period from February 2021 to the end of April - ensuring

our support continues right through to next year.

This is in addition to the more than £13 billion of support already provided for over 2.6 million selfemployed individuals through the first two stages of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme – one of the most generous in the world.

TAX CUTS AND DEFERRALS “As part of the package, the government also announced it will extend the temporary 15% VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality sectors to the end of March next year. This will give businesses in the sector which has been severely impacted by the pandemic the confidence to maintain staff as they adapt to a new trading environment.

“In addition, up to half a million business who deferred their VAT bills will be given more breathing space through the New Payment Scheme, which gives them the option to pay back in smaller instalments.

Rather than paying a lump sum in full at the end March next year, they will be able to make 11 smaller interestfree payments during the 2021-22 financial year.

“On top of this, around11 million self-assessment taxpayers will be able to benefit from a separate additional 12-month extension from HMRC on the “Time to Pay” self-service facility, meaning payments deferred from July 2020, and those due in January 2021, will now not need to be paid until January 2022.

GIVING BUSINESSES FLEXIBILITY TO PAY BACK LOANS “The burden will be lifted on more than a million businesses who took out a Bounce Back Loan through a new Pay as You Grow flexible repayment system. This will provide flexibility for firms repaying a Bounce Back Loan.

“This includes extending the length of the loan from six years to ten, which will cut monthly repayments by nearly half. Interest-only periods of up to six months and payment holidays will also be available to businesses. These measures will further protect jobs by helping businesses recover from the pandemic.

“We also intend to give Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders the ability to extend the length of loans from a maximum of six years to ten years if it will help businesses to repay the loan.”

In addition, the Chancellor also announced he would be extending applications for the government’s coronavirus loan schemes that are helping over a million businesses until the end of November. As a result, more

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businesses will now be able to benefit from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and the Future Fund.

This change aligns all the end dates of these schemes, ensuring that there is further support in place for those firms who need it.

INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICES At the start of the pandemic, the Chancellor pledged to give the NHS and public services the support needed to respond to coronavirus – and as of today, £68.7 billion of additional funding has been approved by the Treasury, including £24.3 billion since the Summer Economic Update in July.

employers.

“Things were looking grim for our sector yesterday and we were desperately hoping for some good news.

The Chancellor has given us some reason to be positive again, but we urge him to engage with the trade on specific measures to keep people in work. While some of these measures announced today will give businesses a future to shoot for, and hope that they can begin to rebuild, we are still not out of the woods.”

CAMRA’s National Chairman Nik Antona said: “The Jobs Support Scheme is a welcome announcement - we are glad that the Chancellor has listened to industry calls for action on jobs. However, those jobs will not exist if pubs and breweries are not viable businesses.

This funding has helped ensure the procurement of PPE for frontline staff, provided free school meals for children while at home and protected the country’s most vulnerable. In addition, the £12 billion funding to roll-out the Test and Trace programme has played a key role helping to unlock the economy, enabling businesses like restaurants and bars to serve customers again.

“While we wait for further details, what we've heard does not go far enough to support pubs, especially wetled pubs, or breweries and the wider supply chain which - as we've seen from recent industry statistics is going to be massively impacted by new restrictions, with job losses and potential closures before Christmas.

As announced earlier this year, the Treasury has also guaranteed the devolved administrations will receive at least £12.7 billion in additional funding. This gives Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the budget certainty to for coronavirus response in the months ahead.

“What the hospitality industry needs is a support package including an extension of the business rates holiday, grants rather than loans, consideration of a differential rate of duty on draft beer served in pubs and real support for wet-led pubs which cannot benefit from the VAT cut extension.”

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The announcement of further restrictions yesterday was a significant hammer blow that will inevitably depress trading. It was crucial that the Chancellor delivered support today that specifically targeted the hospitality sector which has been hit harder than any.

“The announcement of flexible employee support is a move in the right direction, but hospitality needs more targeted efforts to support jobs. Almost 1 million people in our sector are still on furlough. We need Government to go further in hospitality, recognising the greater restrictions imposed upon us, and pick up the full cost of unworked hours. This would be a relatively low cost for huge reward for our workforce. Full support to sustain people in their jobs during what could be a pretty bleak winter for hospitality would be a great step forward.

“Looking ahead, the extension of the VAT cut was absolutely critical. UKHospitality had pushed hard for it, so it is great to see the Government taking note of our major concerns about recovery into 2021, though this must be extended further. The announcement of longer tax deferrals and the option of longer loan repayments should deliver some much-needed breathing room for

FDF’s Chief Executive, Ian Wright CBE, said: “The decision to introduce the Jobs Support Scheme and to extend the VAT cut for hospitality are welcome from the government but simply do not go far enough. The requirement for staff to be working part-time to be eligible for support will not be enough to sustain hospitality businesses and their food and drink manufacturing suppliers – the squeezed middle - through a difficult autumn and winter where pubs, bars, and restaurants will have significantly reduced custom.

“The pandemic has had a far greater impact on some sectors of the economy than others – sectors that would continue to support millions of viable jobs once a vaccine is achieved and social distancing can end. Only by continuing a targeted furlough scheme while the current restrictions remain will we avoid mass long-term unemployment and the decimation of a sector that could otherwise support our economic recovery once the pandemic is over. We urge the UK Government to engage with those industries most impacted about what more can be done to support those food and drink businesses most affected by the restrictions.”

Last Orders At The Bar? 4

CLH Digital

Issue 25

By Fionn Hart, UK Country Manager, Flipdish (www.flipdish.com)

Of all the measures introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, the controversial decision to impose a mandatory 10pm curfew on pubs and bars understandably attracted most of the headlines. However, arguably the change that will have the biggest impact on the sector is enforcing table service.

Complying with this legislation requires landlords to change decades-old systems, processes and patterns of behaviour. It involves introducing new technology, screens and signage, spending more on cleaning and hygiene services, adding extra staff to each shift and

buying more protective equipment for them to wear.

In a sector that already operates on extremely thin margins, pub and bar owners still reeling from the initial lockdown could be forgiven for thinking this is yet another unreasonable burden they are being forced to carry. However, there is evidence to suggest that while these changes have been triggered by the government in response to the virus, they are already causing a more fundamental shift in how Britain orders its drinks.

While standing with your elbow resting in a pool of stale beer desperately trying to make eye contact has always been an integral part of the great British pub experience, a study conducted by Flipdish a few weeks ago suggests that the vast majority of us are actually ready to bid farewell to this particular tradition.

It revealed that four in five pub-goers that have used digital tableordering during lockdown want pubs to keep the service available even after guidelines change and 63 percent are more likely to visit a pub or a bar with a digital app. The poll also ranked ‘long queues’ (46 per cent)

and ‘people getting served unfairly’ (46 per cent) as the worst aspects of ordering at the bar pre-COVID. Steve Wynne, Licensee of The Hand Inn, has experienced a positive response to digital ordering at his pub in Denbigh : “App ordering enabled us to quickly get back on our feet after lockdown. Since using the technology, staff feel safer and more confident coming to work.

Locals and new customers alike easily grasped the system and love it.”

In fact according to Flipdish’s survey it’s only the over 55 age group that shows any appetite whatsoever to return to the ‘old normal’, with just under half (48%) of them saying they would prefer to go back to ordering at the bar after lockdown ends compared with just 9% of under 35s.

David Johnston, owner of The Paper Mill and The Craigie in Scotland, believes table service has advantages for staff too: “ Our staff are fantastic but having digital ordering means they can focus on giving customers an amazing experience and spend less time worried about giving back the right change, remembering difficult orders and working out who’s next to be served.”

Based on this evidence, the initial foray pubs and bars have made into digital ordering have been well received by both customers and staff.

However it also demonstrates that in a world increasingly dominated by the smartphone, the COVID-driven shift to table ordering may well have reshaped consumer expectations for good.

Pub-Goers Urged To Choose Cask To Celebrate Cask Ale Week CAMRA is calling on pub-goers to choose cask-conditioned ale during Cask Ale Week, taking place from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 4 October.

The industry-wide campaign aims to promote locally produce cask ale, with a special focus on celebrating pubs and clubs as the home of fresh cask ale, following their 100+ days of closure earlier this year.

Where people are unable to visit the pub due to local restrictions or health concerns, CAMRA has developed a range of resources to allow beer-drinkers to search for and order takeaway or delivery cask ale, such as its Brew2You app and Pulling Together resources.

Gillian Hough, CAMRA National Director said: “Cask Ale Week provides a great opportunity to support and promote locally produced cask conditioned ale. UK brewers have been especially hard-hit throughout the COVID-19 crisis and need our support now more than ever.

“Many of us have sorely missed enjoying a pint of fresh, cask-conditioned ale this

Odour Free!

The Controlled Ozone range of odour control equipment from Ecovery Innovations has been designed to give Food Industry Operators a cost effective, easy to install and maintain method of reducing the cooking odours that they emit from their premises.

The “Plug and Play”design of the injectors means that complaints about existing problems or planning permission objections can be dealt with quickly, effectively and within tight budgets.

For the first time the food outlet can control the levels of cooking odours that they give off.

The Controlled Ozone units all have a variable output control as standard which means the operator can chose how much food odours they give emit.

year, and some areas are now facing second waves of closures. We’d encourage everyone to either choose cask at the bar or seek out delivery or takeaway options in their local area.”

Some pub chains are even taking advantage of Cask Ale Week to stock extra barrels of cask-conditioned beer for customers, with Stonegate using the week to test a larger selection of cask on the bar long-term.

Cask Ale Week is also asking breweries to either create new beers, or use specially designed artwork on existing beers to promote the initiative. You can find the artwork template and an example from Black Sheep here.

CAMRA members heading off to the pub can enjoy 50p off a pint of cask ale at Stonegate managed pubs, alongside Wetherspoon, Brains and Amber Taverns. They can also tap into individual discounts across 3,500 pubs that have joined the Real Ale Discount Scheme.

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Quarter Of Hospitality Businesses Believe They Could Fail In Next Three Months Without Further Government Support Issue 25

Trade bodies say sector is teetering on the edge following new restrictions announced by Prime Minister, which could result in 540,000 further jobs lost Pub and hospitality trade bodies the British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality and the British Institute of Innkeeping have unveiled new findings today showing that almost a quarter (23%) of their members think their businesses will fail by the end of the year without further Government support.

The findings, from a survey of members of all three trade associations conducted by hospitality market research company CGA, revealed the high level of concern about the future of the pub and wider hospitality sector without further support from Government. This was before the latest restrictions for pubs, restaurants and the wider hospitality sector were announced by the PM earlier this week, including a 10pm curfew and table service only, which will only make the situation worse.

The survey also found that one in eight hospitality staff have already been made redundant, and that more sector jobs are expected to be permanently lost when the Government’s furlough scheme comes to an end in October. On average, businesses believe their workforce will be 25% lower

by February 2021 compared to February this year – a decline of 675,000 jobs lost from the sector in a year.

Only 7% of respondents said they were feeling optimistic about the prospects of the hospitality sector over the next 12 months, down from 23% in August and 19% in July when respondents were previously asked the same question.

With such a gloomy outlook for the sector, exacerbated by the Prime Minister’s announcement earlier this week on further restrictions, the trade bodies have all called on the Government to take drastic action.

They have urged the Government to immediately put in place a new sector-specific employment support package and to extend the VAT cut and business rates holiday for the sector.

These measures, they say, will help pubs and hospitality businesses survive any further disruptions to their operations, enabling them to work towards a safe and sustainable recovery heading into 2021 and beyond.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “This research shows pub businesses were already teetering on the edge.

Now the Prime Minister has announced even more restrictions for them, it is clear much more support will be needed from the Government to ensure they survive.

“An immediate stimulus package is required for our sector in the form of an extension to the furlough scheme and business rates relief, plus continuation of the VAT cut to food and soft drinks and a significant cut to the UK’s excessively high beer duty.

“Only by taking these measures can the Government save our pubs, hospitality businesses and as many as 540,000 jobs. If the Government doesn’t act now it would be unforgiveable.”

Sales Dip After EOTHO Ends

Food and drink sales fell back last week following the end of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and fresh concerns about rising COVID-19 infections. But there are signs that consumers’ appetite for eating and drinking out earlier in the week has continued into the aftermath of the promotion.

CGA’s Volume Pool of 7,000 managed outlets shows that food sales on Monday 7 September were down by 63% on the previous Monday—the last day of Eat Out to Help Out. But with some operators continuing to fund early-week discounts, sales were nevertheless up by 27% on the equivalent day in 2019. The following Tuesday and Wednesday (8 and 9 September) also saw year-on-year increases of 18% and 16%.

The latest edition of CGA’s Drinks Recovery Tracker meanwhile shows that the value of drinks sales in the seven days to last Saturday (12 September) was 22% lower than in the same week in 2019. It is a widening of the year-on-year deficit from a 10% drop over the previous week.

CLH Digital

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Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said: “The future of the sector is still very much in the balance. Many venues have still have not reopened and those that have are operating at reduced capacity and a fraction of normal revenue. We have already had some highprofile casualties and far too many job losses.

“The additional restrictions announced this week place even further burdens on a sector that is operating with razor-thin margins and needs all the help it can get. It is vital that these restrictions are reviewed regularly.

“We need comprehensive financial support so that those businesses that survive the winter can begin to rebuild next year, starting with a package of measures to support short time working. The VAT cut for hospitality must be extended through 2021, as must the business rates holiday. We also need the government to step in now and help to deal with the rent debt that has built up over months of enforced lockdown.”

Steven Alton, Chief Executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping, said: “This insight clearly reinforces the urgent need for a specific package of Government support for our sector, especially in light of the devastating impact of new restrictions both on trading and in severely damaging hard fought consumer confidence. Government support in our sector is an investment which will deliver strong returns economically, with skilled jobs and allowing our venues to continue to be at the centres of their communities across the UK. “Despite the immense fragility of their own businesses, 23% of respondents still see playing a key role in their communities as a top priority. We have fully played our part in this pandemic both in successfully delivering extensive changes to our venues to keep our staff and customers safe as well as delivering essential social value to communities across the UK.”

Echoing the trend in food, consumers appear to be drinking out earlier in the week. Sales on Monday 7 September were up by 1% year-on-year, and only 5% and 8% down on Tuesday and Wednesday (8 and 9 September).

As in previous weeks, year-on-year trading was weaker later in the week. Food sales were down by between 16% and 24% on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (10 to 12 September), and drinks sales were down by between 25% and 35%.

The Drinks Recovery Tracker shows that pubs (down 18%) outperformed restaurants (down 34%) on drinks sales across the week—continuing a trend that has been evident ever since hospitality reopened in early July. Category wise, soft drinks (down 16%) fared better than beer, cider and wine (all down between 20% and 22%).

Eat Out to Help Out was a huge stimulus to the on-trade in August, and while sales have inevitably eased in September, it created welcome momentum in people’s eating and drinking out,” says Jonathan Jones, CGA’s Director of Client Services. “However, with new restrictions on socialising starting this week, and mounting concerns about infection rates and local lockdowns, the sector faces a big challenge to preserve guests’ optimism about safety and spending in the second half of September.”

Boris Johnson Reveals New COVID-19 Rules On Face Masks In New Crackdown Issue 25

The trade body has warned that job losses and business failures will be an inevitability unless support is immediate and wide-ranging.

Fines for failing to wear a face mask will increase to £200 and will be extended to customers when they are not seated at a table, Boris Johnson told MPs.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “These restrictions are a further, potentially fatal, blow for many hospitality businesses. In isolation, they may appear moderate, but the cumulative effect is going to be hugely damaging. Consumer confidence is going to take another hit and we cannot hope to recover while confidence remains low.

Announcing the new coronavirus restrictions, the PM said the UK had reached a “perilous turning point” in its fight against COVID-19 and needed to “act now to avoid still graver consequences later on”.

“The shift back towards working from home is going to hit city centre hospitality very hard. These businesses have already lagged behind as office workers and tourists have stayed away and they are going to take another battering.

The Prime Minister said “we must act from the virus being transmitted in bars and restaurants, will extend the requirements to wear face coverings to include staff in retail, all users of taxis and private hire vehicles and staff and customers in indoor hospitality, except when seated at a table to eat or drink. In retail leisure and tourism and other sectors, our Covid-secure guidelines will become legal obligations. Businesses will be fined and could be closed if they breach rules”

He also warned that the measures could remain in place for as long as six months, declaring: “For the time being, this virus is a fact of our lives.”

• • • •

The restrictions announced by the PM – who will address the nation from Number 10 later – are as follows: • Office workers should work from home again where possible – although those in “key public services and in all professions” where this is not possible, such as construction and retail, should continue to go in. Mr Johnson later

7

• The phased reopening of stadiums for sporting events from 1 October has been scrapped Commenting on the announcement UKHospitality has called on the Government to deliver a package of support for hospitality.

Face masks are now compulsory for bar staff, waiters and customers in an effort to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England, the prime minister announced. He also confirmed a 10 PM curfew for all pubs restaurants and bars which came into force on Thursday, September 24.

The Prime Minister also confirmed table service only for pubs bars and restaurants.

“From Thursday all pubs bars and restaurants must operate table service only except takeaway’s. Together with all those menus they must close at 10 PM. To help police enforce this rule it means closing not just calling last orders because simplicity is paramount. The same will apply to takeaway is though deliveries continue thereafter” he added

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said that people should keep going in if it is important for their job, mental health or wellbeing From Thursday, all pubs, bars and restaurants must offer table service only and close at 10pm – but delivery services can remain open The requirement to wear a face covering has been extended to staff in retail, people in taxis and everyone using hospitality services Fines for not wearing a face covering will now double to £200 for a first offence COVID-secure guidelines will become a legal obligation for retail, leisure and tourism firms, with those who do not comply running the risk of fines of £10,000 or closure Only 15 people can now attend weddings, but 30 can still go to a funeral The “rule of six” has been extended to indoor sports teams, such as five-aside football games

“Most disheartening is the announcement that they are potentially in place for six months. Lots of businesses will not survive this and we are going to see more and more people lose their jobs unless we have the support to counterbalance these restrictions.

“The Government must immediately announce an exhaustive package of financial support, otherwise our sector is facing ruin. Employment support must be extended. The furlough scheme is already wining down and it comes to a complete halt at the end of October. Unless it is extended for our sector, businesses are inevitably going to have to make staff redundant. We are looking at a steady stream of job losses for six months, otherwise.

“We also must have longer-term support to enable businesses to rebuild in 2021. The VAT cut for the sector must be extended as must the business rates holiday. We also need a rent-debt settlement package, otherwise whole businesses are going to go under with widespread redundancies.”

Switching to Freelance Consultancy Could Be the Answer for Hospitality Workers Fearing Furlough End

By Paul Aveyard, Head of Digital at Markel Direct, experts in professional indemnity insurance (www.markeluk.com) As the end of the government furlough scheme nears, many working in the hospitality industry may feel uncertain about their financial future.

However, for those who may find themselves out of work for a period of time, becoming a freelance consultant is an attractive option.

By drawing on extensive experience and specialist knowledge, industry veterans can provide consultancy to hotels, bars and restaurants to help manage and improve their operations, particularly during this unprecedented time.

Working as a freelance consultant can provide increased flexibility, the autonomy of ‘being your own boss’ and the freedom to work on only the projects you want to – but it’s important to fully understand the steps required to switch to freelance.

Markel Direct have outlined the key considerations for those who want to make the move: 1.Develop your business plan for the short and medium term 2.Plan your marketing to potential clients 3.Give yourself a financial buffer (where possible) 4.Decide on a business structure and accountant 5.Insure your freelance business 6.Take time to rest so you don’t burnout Let’s run through each step in more detail.

BUSINESS PLANS Developing a business plan for the short (12 months) and medium (3 years) should be the first step. Some basic considerations for your plan should include: - What services will you offer?

- What will be your differentiator from the competition/unique selling point

(USP)?

- What will you charge?

- How will you market to potential clients? (More on this below) - How much do you expect to turnover?

- How much will you pay yourself?

You can find more help on writing a business plan on GOV.UK.

paid as an employee, and any profit the company makes will be subject to corporation tax.

Some clients prefer to work with you as a limited company, so you may find it helps to bring in new work – however, there are additional costs and responsibilities attached to this.

MARKETING

Talking to a specialist freelance or contractor accountant could help you better decide the best route to go down.

Ensuring you have a pipeline of work is essential when freelancing – not just for staying busy, but also for managing cashflow.

INSURANCE

To attract clients, raising awareness of your business through social media can be a cost-effective way to reach audiences that may be looking for your services. Make sure the content you are posting clearly illustrates your expertise in the space.

Arranging freelancer insurance is a vital part of making the move into self-employment. This cover will help protect your business against a range of unexpected scenarios, including:

Useful guides, hints and tips articles and even free consultations that act as a hook to larger projects are great ways to attract clients. Invest time and money into a professional website that will pay dividends in the long run.

FINANCIAL BUFFER One of the main pain points for freelancers is cash flow. Clients don’t always pay on time, so if you have the funds available, it’s useful to have a pot of money to help you through months where you don’t get paid on time.

You should also think about seasonality – for example, workload may slow down in January following the Christmas rush, and so work may be harder to come by. Having a cash reserve can help you weather those quieter periods.

BUSINESS STRUCTURES From a tax and legal perspective, freelancers are different to employees. Whilst there are many different ways you can structure your business, most freelancers choose to operate as: - Sole trader – as a sole trader, you are the business and so all profits (after tax) are yours.

- Limited company – the business is a separate legal entity and you will be a shareholder. Assuming you will be a director of the company, you’ll be

- Providing incorrect advice or inadequate services to clients (professional indemnity insurance) - Causing injury to a third party, or damage to third party property (public liability insurance) - Tax investigations and contract disputes (legal expenses insurance) - Vital equipment you use in the course of your business, such as laptops and smartphones (business equipment insurance) - Illness or injury suffered by employees of your business (employers’ liability insurance) It can be easy to assume the above won’t affect you, but it’s invaluable to have the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, your policy could help.

Many prospective clients will require that you have insurance in place before you start working with them.

TIME-OUT Give yourself time to rest and refresh as it’s vital for success.

Burnout can decrease productivity, and more importantly, impact your mental and physical health. Look after yourself by taking regular breaks throughout the day, join a freelance community on social media and schedule holidays well in advance to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Issue 25

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Chancellor’s Plan Doesn’t Go Far Enough to Protect Pubs and Jobs “It is very concerning to see the Chancellor not extend the business rates relief for pubs. Pubs now face a cliff edge come March 2021 where they will have to pay on average £25,000 each per rate paying pub. That’s a cost of £800 million to the sector which will be the final straw for many pubs. We need the Chancellor to review this and extend the business rates holiday as a matter of urgency.

“Increasing access to Government loans, and extending the lengths to pay them back, will help some pubs, but for many, taking on further debt in the form of a loan isn’t even a viable option – particularly at this stage.

“We need the Government to recognise that consumer confidence is fragile and the additional restrictions that could be in place for a further six months will only make this worse. We are asking them to consider ways they can help boost consumer confidence including running the successful Eat Out To Help Out scheme again and offering sector specific grants for pub businesses.”

The hospitality and licensed on trade industry has reacted with dismay at the Chancellor’s announcement yesterday Rishi Sunak’s Winter Economy plan.

Commenting on the plan, Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Following the additional restrictions announced earlier this week and their devastating impact on the already precarious situation our sector is in, we were really hoping for a strong package of support today. Some elements of the Chancellor’s plan today are welcome, but do not go nearly far enough to save the thousands of pubs and jobs that we have highlighted are at serious risk.

“The VAT cut extension on food and soft drinks will help our sector and it is great to see the Chancellor answer our urgent call for this.

However, the extension is only for six weeks and only takes us through to the end of the current restrictions – it needs to be much longer to help our sector recover.

“Furthermore, where those pubs and bars that are not food focused are concerned, the Chancellor has missed a golden opportunity to extend the VAT cut to include alcohol.

“The new flexible job support scheme is needed considering that the furlough scheme will end next month, but with a lower level of funding from Government that will cost employers more, we are not confident it is enough to protect jobs in the current trading conditions. We will need to closely monitor the effectiveness of this scheme with our members and invite the Government to work with us if changes to the scheme are required.

“As brewing businesses are also greatly impacted by the curfew and the tighter restrictions pubs now face, they need more support too.

With no direct support for them in today's announcement, it is imperative that a beer duty cut is top of the list for the Chancellor at the next Budget, which would greatly help wet led pubs too.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The announcement of further restrictions yesterday was a significant hammer blow that will inevitably depress trading. It was crucial that the Chancellor delivered support today that specifically targeted the hospitality sector which has been hit harder than any.

“The announcement of flexible employee support is a move in the right direction, but hospitality needs more targeted efforts to support jobs. Almost 1 million people in our sector are still on furlough. We need Government to go further in hospitality, recognising the greater restrictions imposed upon us, and pick up the full cost of unworked hours. This would be a relatively low cost for huge reward for our workforce. Full support to sustain people in their jobs during what could be a pretty bleak winter for hospitality would be a great step forward.

“Looking ahead, the extension of the VAT cut was absolutely critical.

UKHospitality had pushed hard for it, so it is great to see the Government taking note of our major concerns about recovery into 2021, though this must be extended further. The announcement of longer tax deferrals and the option of longer loan repayments should deliver some much-needed breathing room for employers.

“Things were looking grim for our sector yesterday and we were desperately hoping for some good news. The Chancellor has given us some reason to be positive again, but we urge him to engage with the trade on specific measures to keep people in work. While some of these measures announced today will give businesses a future to shoot for, and hope that they can begin to rebuild, we are still not out of the woods.”

Ross Hindle, UK pubs and hospitality sector analyst at Third Bridge.

Said: "The UK hospitality executives we're speaking to say Q1 and Q2 next year are going to be very tough for the pub trade as VAT goes back up, suspended payments become due, unemployment bites, business rates return, and rent relief tapers away. Some say a so-called 'polo mint problem' has already emerged, with inner-city pubs fighting for survival, whilst community and suburban pubs, typically serving food, do better.

Overall, experts say, the UK is likely to lose between 1,500 and 2,000 pubs over the next 12 to 18 months.

"We're told many pubs only become profitable at between 70% and 80% capacity, yet social distancing regulations and the rule of six mean many public houses are now capped at around 50-60% capacity - and so unable to break even. The usage of outdoor space can bolster that percentage but its impact is expected to fade as the winter months draw in.

"We've been told that in 2019 UK pub revenues were around £25bn, however in H2 this year pubs are expected to deliver just 55% of last year's revenue level and that's without another national lockdown.

Experts are telling us that even by the end of 2021, UK pubs should deliver only 92% of 2019 revenue levels. In real terms that would mean many publicans making only half of their usual profits. That said, executives say pubs will over-index or gain market share against the hospitality sector in general - winning against full-service restaurants, hotels, plus travel & leisure establishments. Overall we are hearing the pubs business will get back to 2019 levels of revenue in late 2022 or 2023."

Christian Mole, EY UK & Ireland Head of Hospitality & Leisure, said: “While the hospitality sector will welcome the support measures announced today, including Pay As You Grow, the Job Support Scheme and the sector-specific VAT rate freeze, many will have been hoping for more generous direct intervention in recognition of the particular challenges that the sector faces. Social distancing measures continue to constrain both operating capacity and customer demand, and pubs and restaurants have been further impacted by the 10pm mandatory closing time. The hotels sector will face depressed demand for some time due to decreased business travel and inbound tourism, which may result in continued closures and resulting job losses.

“The hospitality sector was already facing difficulties before the pandemic and is now undergoing an accelerated transformation. Businesses that are resilient enough to survive may ultimately emerge to form a healthier and more profitable sector but a smaller footprint could be the cost.”

Neil Pattison, Director at the UK’s biggest hospitality jobs board, Caterer.com: “An extended VAT cut is good news for the sector but with hundreds of thousands of workers still on furlough and businesses under increased pressure due to new restrictions, the government needs to do a lot more to protect jobs – covering 22% of wages when businesses can’t do their usual trade just isn’t enough. Despite seeing a small increase after Eat Out to Help Out, hospitality job vacancies are still at a low point and we’re seeing thousands of workers apply to jobs in hospitality and other sectors every day through Caterer.com’s Redeployment Hub. Without proper, immediate support, more businesses may be forced to close and the incredible talent we have in the sector may be forced to seek work elsewhere or face becoming unemployed. With the ‘summer of staycations’ drawing to a close and Christmas gatherings under threat, we need more creative policy to hold onto hospitality’s workforce.”

Double Celebration For Merseyside Village Pub

It’s a double celebration for one Merseyside village pub, which opens this week* for the first time in nine months and is showcasing a stunning £700,000 revamp.

every use.

Other changes include new toilets, a new kitchen and screens for watching Sky and BT Sports. In addition, the building is now wheel chair accessible and has bike racks and two electric car-charging points.

The only pub in Hightown, The Hightown Hotel was due to open in mid March following refurbishment by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars and new licensees, the McLoughlin family – dad and mum Patrick and Claire and their son and daughter Thomas and Lauren. Instead, with work delayed by lockdown, the McLoughlins have had to wait a further five months before revealing the changes to the village. 20 new jobs have been created.

The investment has transformed The Hightown Hotel inside and out and restored the previously tired local into a great quality traditional pub serving outstanding food. The work has retained all the character of the 1800s pub and renovated original features such as wooden floors, sash windows and open fires whilst making the pub more stylish and contemporary.

With social distancing now required, the McLoughlins are delighted with The Hightown’s spaciousness. The pub still comfortably accommodates 150 inside and the project has created an alfresco eating and drinking area with seating for a further 110 in the pub’s large garden. As

Customers four legged friends have not been forgotten either. Dogs will receive a warm welcome with water and treats and, in due course, will have their own area of the garden.

Says Patrick: “The pub looks beautiful. We’re over the moon and excited to be finally opening. There’s been a massive amount of interest from residents; they’ve been desperate for the pub to reopen and to have somewhere to meet up again. We can’t thank them enough for their support and good wishes. We’re looking forward to being part of the community.” well as a new deck, the garden now boasts heating, lighting and big umbrellas for year-round use, smart furniture and a covered pergola complete with speakers. The McLoughlins have also put a host of safety measures in place to keep people safe. Customers will be greeted at the door and shown to their tables, which will be sanitised between

Guests Still Secure On Safety Restaurants, pubs and bars are successfully reassuring guests about their safety—but a dip in satisfaction scores during busy Eat Out to Help Out trading is a reminder of the need to guard against complacency.

The latest data from the ‘We Hear You’ survey, launched by CGA, Yumpingo and UKHospitality to collect the opinions of consumers going out after lockdown, confirms the effectiveness of the sector’s COVID precautions. More than four in five (85%) guests say they have been satisfied with safety measures on their visits.

However, proportions feeling ‘very satisfied’ with precautions fell slightly for the duration of the Eat Out to Help Out campaign—from 64% in the last week of July to between 56% and 58% in each of the four weeks of August. Numbers have picked up again since, and stood at 62% for the second week of September. Net Promoter Scores have recovered too, from a survey low of 46% in mid-August to 53% last week.

The proportion of consumers satisfied with levels of hygiene and cleanliness (96%) and team members’ fol-

Comments Phil McWilliam, Star Pubs & Bars area manager: “The Hightown Hotel is definitely worth the wait, it looks amazing and hopefully will bring some much needed good cheer in these challenging times. It’s great news for Hightown but, with all that The Hightown Hotel now offers, it should attract people from across Merseyside, too.”

lowing of precautions (89%) has remained very high ever since hospitality reopened after lockdown in early July.

The survey confirms that safety remains a top priority, with more than three quarters (78%) of respondents saying they consider precautionary measures when going out to eat or drink. There has been widespread acceptance that precautions have not affected guests’ experiences (61%), or that it is necessary that they do so (34%).

These very high satisfaction scores show that the sector has been working tirelessly to provide the safety precautions that consumers want,” says Charlie Mitchell, CGA’s Research and Insight Director. “With so many restaurants and pubs filled to capacity during the Eat Out to Help Out campaign, it is no surprise to see that scores took a small hit—but that should not detract from the superb work that frontline teams have done to keep their guests secure as well as happy.”

Gary Goodman, CEO and Founder of Yumpingo, says: “The insight clearly outlines the outstanding work of the hospitality industry in reinstating consumer confidence in the safety of eating and drinking out of home.

With the Government introducing a new mandatory track and trace requirement for all operators, it’s imperative that businesses seek ways to streamline what is becoming an increasingly congested digital guest experience, so as not to have a detrimental impact on the satisfaction scores generated over recent weeks.”

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Issue 25

New Restrictions To Cut Hospitality Visits But Won't End Socialising, Says CGA Snap Poll Consumers will significantly reduce their visits to pubs, bars and restaurants in the light of new government restrictions—but many plan to continue socialising elsewhere after curfew.

Those are among the messages from CGA’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey, conducted on Tuesday [22 September] after the announcement of requirements including 10pm closures and mandatory table service.

Two in five (40%) respondents say they will go out less often as a result of the measures—nearly three times as many as those who will go out more frequently (14%).

Tighter regulations are set to have the biggest impact on consumers who have been slow to return to hospitality—especially those in older age groups. They appear less likely to affect the behaviour of previously regular visitors, who largely indicate they will maintain their frequency.

But the curfew might not have the government’s desired effect of reducing late-night contact, the survey suggests. A third (34%) of British adults say they would be likely to invite friends back to their house after 10pm, and nearly as many (30%) admit they would seek out alternative locations to continue socialising.

The Consumer Pulse Survey indicates the measures may have further important impacts on behaviour, including shorter visits and an even greater reluctance to visit city centres. Among people who often go out late, three quarters will either stay for a shorter length of time (43%) or stay away in the late evening completely (34%). Of those who typically visit city centres, half (48%) say they are now less likely to visit ven-

ues—much more than those in rural areas (29%).

The regulations may also spread visits more evenly across the week—continuing a pattern of behaviour set in August by the popularity of the Monday-to-Wednesday Eat Out to Help Out promotion. Two in five (41%) consumers who previously went out on Saturdays say they are less likely to do so now, compared to 29% of weekday visitors.

CGA’s research & insight director Charlie Mitchell said: “Our survey shows that having been encouraged out to restaurants, pubs and bars in August, large numbers of consumers are now likely to retreat. The new restrictions deal a major blow to operators who had got back on their feet after lockdown, and to city-centre and late-night operators in particular.

“With so many people signalling they will simply switch their socialising elsewhere, rather than in the hygienic environments that operators have worked so hard to create, these measures may not even have much beneficial impact. Businesses have responded nimbly to all the restrictions that have been placed on them so far, and will now be finding more innovative ways to sustain trade without compromising guests’ safety.”

The Consumer Pulse data is based on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 British adults on Tuesday 22 September.

How Hospitality Businesses Can Learn from the First Wave CLH News talks to Philip Mayling, managing director of MKG Foods (www.mkgfoods.co.uk)

delivery in many cases.

Of course, hotels and outlets linked to theatres and performance spaces found it almost impossible to come close to replacing lost trade, so that initial period was all about survival.

When hospitality businesses began to reopen, we saw a good demand from customers, which was only helped by the government’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme. Those who participated in the scheme saw a real uptake in customers throughout August, with many restaurants and pubs having to turn people away due to being fully booked.

What were some of the most important things businesses in the sector did to ensure they weathered the storm of the first wave?

Participating in the bounceback loans and furlough scheme were two of the most important things businesses in the sector did to ensure they weathered the storm.

What has been your experience working with hospitality businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown?

At the beginning of the pandemic, when lockdown was introduced, the industry saw a lot of trauma. Suddenly, all sectors were shut down and even those with the best DR plans didn’t have this scenario planned.

However, once the initial shock was over, we saw some amazing creativity in the hospitality sector, as businesses moved to takeaway and

We have also seen some amazing creativity from the hospitality sector to continue some sort of trade whilst their premises were closed.

However, for the majority, this wasn’t enough to maintain the same level of trade. However, with the cost savings from the Furlough scheme, in conjunction with rent breaks have helped businesses keep their head above water.

How can hospitality businesses and their supply chains prepare themselves for a potential second wave?

Remaining nimble and ready to jump when measures are eased or

scaled up is key. Scope to move to delivery or take out options should be considered and prepared in the case of local or national lockdowns.

Other options, such as supplying customers with the ingredients needed to recreate their favourite dishes at home is another innovative idea I have seen in the industry which can help with trade.

From a supply chain perspective, it is important for us to understand the situation the hospitality sector finds itself in and react accordingly.

Supply chains should remain flexible in the products they supply to restaurants, pubs and hotel, and be willing to change supply depending on the needs of their customers.

The Chancellor’s recent announcement that the cut in VAT to 5% for hospitality is to be extended until March is also extremely welcomed by the sector and will be a great help in allowing businesses to prepare for a potential second wave.

How do you envisage the state of the industry in 2021. Will it recover and what support does it need from the Government in order to do so?

I think it’s extremely hard to say, especially as we are unsure how difficult this winter will be and whether greater restrictions will be introduced on the hospitality industry. Although the government has replaced the Furlough Scheme with the Jobs Support Scheme, this may not be enough to keep all those currently employed in the sector in work. Those sectors who have been unable to open under the current restrictions, such as performance venues and sporting stadiums, will be looking for further support from the government to guarantee their place in the industry going into 2021 and to prevent even more job losses.

Cocktails in the City Hosts Charity Fundraiser for Bar Staff Hit by Covid Crunch A charity cocktail event that raised a five-figure sum for workers in the coronavirus-ravaged drinks industry has been hailed by one of the participants, alcohol-free spirits distiller Bax Botanics.

More than 1,500 people visited the two-day Cocktails in the City event in Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury, buying 4,982 cocktails created by 30 London bars using 50 premium drinks brands including alcohol-free spirit Bax Botanics, Hennessy and The London Essence Company.

The event on September 11 and 12 operated at below 50% capacity and implemented a new pay-by-phone system to allow for social distancing, but featured tasting sessions, live music and main stage demonstrations.

All the representatives of bars and brands had donated their time, and the event space was provided free of charge by Bedford Estates.

Bax Botanics was chosen to appear on the stand run by Declan McGurk, Chairman of the UK Bartenders Guild and former

Director of Bars at The Savoy, due its sustainable credentials.

Bax Botanics was launched in January 2019 by Chris and Rose Bax after 20 years of teaching about wild foods and flavours in their Yorkshire woodland. They distil their drinks in traditional beaten copper stills using ethically sourced and sustainable herbs and botanicals.

Chris Bax, head distiller of Bax Botanics, said: “Seeing the crowds turn out to enjoy themselves while helping such a worthwhile cause was truly heart-warming and we were delighted to be able to take part.

“The weather gave the day a carnival atmosphere, and for a few hours it was possible to forget the restrictions being placed on the drinks industry by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Lockdown has caused immense harm to the drinks industry, and many bar staff find themselves facing an uncertain future, making events like these and the work of The Drinks Trust more valuable than ever.”

Cocktails in the City: Declan McGurk, right, chairman of the UK Bartenders Guild and former Director of Bars at The Savoy, and Nic Medicamento mix Bax Botanics cocktails

Issue 25

CLH Digital

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Wetherspoon Chairman Hits Out At 10pm Curfew Wetherspoon Chairman Tim Martin is set out at the government’s 10 PM curfew due to take effect this evening .

The main problem with the 10pm curfew he says, is that it’s another random and arbitrary move by the govt which lacks logic or scientific credibility – it’s part of their “don’t just stand there, do something” approach.

It will reduce sales for hardpressed pubs and restaurants, reduce employment and reduce govt taxes as a result.

It will also increase the level of unsupervised socialising in the UK, as customers leave pubs and restau-

rants earlier.

There are about 3 million people employed in the hospitality industry and they are doing their conscientious best, with considerable success, to ensure that social distancing and hygiene standards are observed.

90% of Wetherspoon pubs, for example, have had zero reported cases of the virus- the great majority of the remaining pubs have only had one case.

In contrast, one sandwich making facility in the Midlands has had far more reported infections than all Wetherspoon’s 861 pubs combined.

The curfew will mean that supervised socialising in pubs and restaurants will end at 10 pm, resulting in unsupervised socialising at home and elsewhere.

In fact, homes are where far more transmissions of the virus have taken place since the pandemic began.

As Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council has said:

“The data we have shows that the infection rate has risen, mainly due to social interactions, particularly private household gatherings. In shops and hospitality venues there are strict measures in place to ensure they are Covid-safe, whereas it is much easier to inadvertently pass on the virus in someone’s house, where people are more relaxed and less vigilant.”

In summary, decisions are now being taken, under emergency powers, by a very narrow band of politicians in government, in league with advisers with equally narrow backgrounds.

Many people in the country strongly believe that the Swedish approach, which avoids lockdowns and authoritarian measures is superior.

Parliament needs to step up to the plate to end this authoritarian and counterproductive approach. It must ensure proper debate and scrutiny of the government’s flawed, changing and unpredictable strategy.

Sweden emphasises social distancing, hygiene and trusting the people, rather fines, threats and a reduction in civil liberties.

SLTA says Chancellor’s Announcement ‘Not Giving us Any Grounds for Optimism’ and Calls for More Support The Scottish Licensed Trade Association has described Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s measures to help stave off business closures and mass redundances, particularly within the hospitality industry, as “not giving any grounds for optimism”. And the trade association warned that without further additional sector-specific support, many business owners will have no choice but to close down, leading to job losses.

Colin Wilkinson, SLTA managing director, commented: “Without having full details, our initial view is that the Chancellor’s introduction of a Jobs Support Scheme and the extension of other initiatives to help businesses are not as far-reaching as we needed – we are very disappointed.

“It must be recognised that the Jobs Support Scheme is significantly less generous then the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It is designed to back ‘viable jobs’ – and with the latest restrictions on our pubs and bars, many jobs

in our sector will be unviable. It is also not clear at the moment how the scheme will be implemented.”

Mr Wilkinson continued: “The extension of government-backed loans, such as the Business Interruption and Bounce Back loans repayment dates through the measures announced in the ‘pay as you grow’ scheme and the extension of VAT relief for the hospitality industry until March 31 next year are welcomed but will have minimal effect.

“These are long-term measures of business support. The industry is struggling to survive now and operators need support today through additional comprehensive sector-specific support for the hospitality sector, highlighted by the Chancellor as a sector which has been hit the hardest.

“More must be done for a sector operating under serious restrictive measures.”

If support is not forthcoming, Mr Wilkinson added, the future for businesses and employees will still be under threat as many business owners may still have no choice but to close.

He said: “A recent survey highlighted that nearly 40% of hospitality businesses were considering closure or business exit while a recent SLTA survey highlighted that, within the pub and bar sector, 12,500 jobs could go.”

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CLH Digital Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier

Issue Sept/Oct252020

Foreign Holidays and Quarantine – What Should Employers Do? What should employers do if their staff have to quarantine after holidaying abroad?

Ellie Hibberd an employment law partner from the food and drink team at law firm Stephens Scown LLP explains the issues.

One of the many things we have had to get used to because of the coronavirus pandemic has been the sudden addition of international destinations to the quarantine list.

People who had started their holiday believing they could return to work as soon as they got home are suddenly having to quarantine for 14 days instead.

This raises several issues for employers.

WILL EMPLOYEES WHO QUARANTINE BE ENTITLED TO STATUTORY SICK PAY? The government guidance is clear on this - employees who must selfisolate after returning from abroad are not entitled to statutory sick pay.

WILL THE SELF-ISOLATION PERIOD BE PAID OR UNPAID?

If an employee self-isolates after returning from abroad, but can work from home either in their own role or an adjusted role, they should do so on full pay. However, many roles in the hotel, catering and hospitality sectors cannot be carried out remotely, so this may not be an option.

If that is the case, the situation is not so clear cut.

If an employee is not able to work, arguably the right to be paid would not apply. However, the employee may say that their inability to work is because of a third-party decision or external constraint. If an employee successfully argued that their inability to work is because of an unavoidable, external impediment, a decision not to pay could be unlawful. That argument is likely to be strongest where quarantine restrictions were imposed after an employee had started their holiday. However, if the trip were booked or taken knowing that there would be a period of self-isolation at the end, it may be difficult for an employee to argue that this was a factor over which they had no control.

CAN EMPLOYEES BE ASKED TO CANCEL HOLIDAYS? In theory, yes, but there is a risk that employees may seek damages from their employer if they lose money as a result. Further, if an employer cancels holiday at very short notice they may be in breach of the Working Time Regulations. Regulation 15 requires that employers must give the same notice to cancel as the number of days’ holiday.

Cancelling holiday or restricting where employees can take holiday could also, at its worst, damage the relationship of mutual trust and confidence and result in a constructive unfair dismissal argument.

It may be risky to require an employee to cancel a foreign holiday however there would be a substantially lower risk in a policy saying employees cannot book a foreign holiday provided it would not result in

them losing money (or not missing some key family/religious event or medical treatment).

DO EMPLOYERS NEED A POLICY TO COVER THEIR APPROACH TO THIS? Drafting a policy and sharing it with staff is a good idea and many of my clients are doing this.

Assuming employees cannot work from home in self-isolation, I would recommend a policy which: • allows for pre-booked holidays to be taken but on return the employee would be on unpaid leave; and • requires employees to obtain permission from their manager before booking travel abroad.

Asking employees to take unpaid leave is recommended because requiring them to take holiday for a further 14 days might discourage them from taking holiday and result in them not having enough leave for the rest of the year, which could breach the Working Time Regulations.

Remember if you do require an employee to take annual leave, you will again need to comply with the Working Time Regulations notice requirement – in this case, twice as much notice as the holiday being taken.

I would recommend allowing employees to discuss their plans with their manager, rather than having a blanket ban on booking international travel, as the employee might need to travel for religious purposes or to obtain medical treatment or for urgent family reasons and a ban could lead to financial hardship.

Ellie Hibberd is an employment law partner in the food and drink team at Stephens Scown. To contact Ellie, please call 01392 210700, email solicitors@stephens-scown.co.uk or visit www.stephens-scown.co.uk

Free From Functional & Health Ingredients and Free From Expo Packaging Postponed The organisers of the Free From Functional & Health Ingredients (FFFHI) and Free From Expo Packaging (FFEP) have confirmed today that the events, which were planned to take place at the RAI Amsterdam from 24-25 November, will be postponed to 15-16 June 2021, following remaining travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Speaking about the announcement, Ronald Holman, Event Director, said: “The health and safety of our Free From community and always organizing a successful show remains our number one priority. While it is disappointing to postpone, we believe it is in the best interests of all involved – from our exhibitors and visitors to our staff, speakers, sponsors and partners. This is not a decision we have made lightly, but all

exhibitors informed do support us and the overall support make this event such a success.

“We understand that Free From Functional & Health Ingredients is an important event in the Free From community and we want to extend our thanks for the support and understanding shown during this challenging time. We look forward to welcoming you to the RAI Amsterdam in June 2021 when we can return to create a great event that offers value for both our exhibitors and attendees.”

Free From Functional & Health Ingredients (FFFHI) is Europe’s leading platform for the dynamic free from industries. The Expo sits alongside Free From Expo Packaging (FFEP) – making this the most comprehensive Free From focused event in Europe.

Reflecting one of the food and drink industry’s most dynamic sectors, FFFHI and FFEP will return in June to showcase pioneering developments across five distinct product categories including Free From, Vegan, Natural/Organic, Functional and Ingredients.

In addition to an exciting show floor, packed with exhibitors showing

Whitbread To Cut Up To 6,000 Jobs Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn and Beefeater, has issued a warning that 6,000 staff could lose their jobs, citing the economic downturn due to coronavirus lockdown.

The announcement comes as the government’s furlough scheme, which still pays 27,000 Whitbread staff, ends next month. The company said earlier this week that it had begun formal consultations on the cuts, which equate to 18% of its workforce, and expected a large proportion of them to be voluntary Whitbread boss Alison Brittain said the company was hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies.

She said: “With demand for travel remaining subdued, we are now having to make some very difficult deci-

Influenced by Wembley Park’s legendary past as a host to some of the world’s greatest music and sporting events, and the area’s strong cultural heritage, the new pub’s name, ‘The White Horse’, aptly derives from the first ever FA Cup Final match to be played in the stadium. The higher than anticipated turnout to the 1923 match meant vast crowds surged onto the pitch. Mounted policemen, including one on a lightcoloured horse, which became the defining image of the day, had to be brought in to clear the crowds and allow the final to take place. The match is often referred to as the “White Horse Final” and is commemorated by the White Horse Bridge, a footbridge designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield which leads to Wembley Stadium from the railway station of the same name.

Bringing together more than 4,500 high calibre professionals from more than 63 countries, FFFHI offers the perfect platform to establish and grow business relationships, with a range of networking opportunities available including International Matchmaking and Roundtables.

The exhibition runs in conjunction with Free From Packaging which aims to service food manufacturers, food service, catering and hotels sourcing better packaging solutions. This dedicated event focuses on Free From waste, sustainable packaging and the latest developments within this area, making this the industry’s most comprehensive Free From focused event.

For updates and further information, please visit: https://www.freefromfoodexpo.com/

sions, and it is with great regret that today we are announcing our intention to enter into a consultation process that could result in up to 6,000 redundancies in the UK, of which it is hoped that a significant proportion can be achieved voluntarily.”

In October, the government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875. The employers’ share of the bill will then go up to 20% of wages.

And the scheme will cease altogether at the end of next month, shortly before the Whitbread’s 45-day consultation period will be completed for workers put on notice of redundancy.

The firm said it had taken the decision in the face of reduced demand, citing that it would stop receiving help with staff wages at the end of next month.

Whitbread said it had lost more than three quarters of its sales in the first half the year when hotels and restaurants were forced to close because of the virus.

The company expects the jobs to go by the end of the year, but said the vast majority of its 900 hotels and 350 restaurants would remain open.

It came as the company revealed like-for-like sales crashed 77.6% in the six months to 27 August after lockdown forced the closure of its estate.

Fuller’s Raises The Bar In Wembley Park London will acquire a brand-new pub this autumn as Fuller, Smith & Turner, the premium pub and hotel operator, gets set to pull pints at its newest pub and restaurant, The White Horse, which will open in Wembley Park on 2 October, with a wide range of COVID-safe precautions.

the latest plant-based and free from innovations, four targeted conference programmes will offer attendees with an exciting schedule of seminars. Delivered by some of the world’s most eminent food and drink professionals, FFFHI continues to provide delegates with quality insight into the latest innovations, trends and market analysis.

The new pub will offer the community a new and practical space for remote working with its open plan layout. The venue’s upper level has two private rooms and one quiet area, complete with charging points, free Wi-Fi and screens. Tables and specific areas can be pre-booked by individuals or organisations. In addition, a plethora of plugs and USB

points at every table throughout the pub make it an ideal space for local workers to enjoy a change of scenery.

The White Horse will offer all-day dining which will include delicious, fresh-cooked food and a range of Chef’s signature dishes from Head Chef, Tars Voznesenskis. The pub will also have a varied and interesting portfolio of beers, wines and spirits as well as range of low and noalcohol options.

Sinead Murphy, General Manager at The White Horse, said: “Wembley Park is becoming a landmark destination for culture and community, so it was only natural for us to reflect that with the opening of this brandnew pub, which celebrates Wembley’s legendary past. The White Horse will be a neighbourhood pub for Wembley Park’s residents and the wider Brent community who may be seeking an early breakfast before work, a swift pint on the way home, or change of scene to work remotely from.

“We look forward to welcoming event day visitors who will once again visit Wembley Park for its world-class culture and entertainment when it is safe to do so, and we are incredibly excited to be open at Wembley Park for the much-anticipated UEFA Euro 2021 next summer. We intend to be the go-to venue for people to eat, drink and revel in the atmosphere.”

SAY SA AY HELL HELLO O T OY OUR NEW TO YOUR TRAINING MANA GER MANAGER anywhere, TThe he anywher e, anytime training app for upskilling your bar staff From buying The The on trade experience is like like no other. other. From irst postyour first first beer aged 18 to enjoying your ffirst lockdown lockdown pint: it it’s ’s a British British institution.

However 40% of customers say they would leave However return*. an outlet if served served a bad pint and would not return Therefore proper proper staff training is vital for your business.

Therefore ello BEER could help you tap into an extra In fact, H In Hello £25,000 profit profit per year** £25,000 At just ££40 40 for up to 20 learners At learners,, staff training works out cheaper than a pint of lager per person***!

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*The Cask Report, 2018-19 2019-2020 pr ofit loss thr ough 1 in 3 pints ser ved thr ough a dirty line + A Average verage cost of wastage per p pub calculation: A ianet Beer Beer Quality Quality IInsight-Report nsight-Report 2019-2020 ** V Vianet profit through served through Average price of a pint in the UK = £3.67 (Office of National Statistics, M arch 2019 ). Average Average nnumber of taps per pub = 110 A Facts Facts on Tap Tap 2018 Statistics, March 2019). from BBPA 2018)) 0 ((source: source: attached fr om BBP ***Based on 20 members of staff signed up to learn ***Based

UK Hospitality Industry In Crucible After Rumours of Second National Lockdown 14

CLH Digital

Issue 25

By Kunal Sawhney, CEO of Kalkine (www.kalkine.co.uk)

With the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the UK and the possibility of a second wave of national lockdown across the country, the hospitality bosses are getting anxious about their businesses which had only just begun to recover slowly.

The fear of a further lockdown punched the share prices of the leisure and travel sector hard before the British government imposed a curfew on pubs in parts of the north of England and the Midlands beginning from Tuesday.

IMPACT ON HOSPITALITY AND TRAVEL STOCKS As the news of a possible second national lockdown started floating, the airlines, pub chains and hotel groups saw a big fall in their stock prices. For instance, the British brewery, pub and hotel operator Marston’s PLC, which is the owner of 1,400 pubs across UK, saw a drop of 12 percent in its share price on Monday, 21 September. On the same day, Mitchells & Butlers, one of the largest operators of restaurants, pubs and bars in the UK, saw a 12 percent fall in its share.

Not only this, but the day also saw IAG, the parent company of British Airways, registering a 10 percent slump in its share price. Moving ahead, the share price of British low-cost airline EasyJet PLC, popularly known as easyJet, fell 9 percent while the aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce’s share plunged by 5 percent.

JOB LOSSES The beleaguered hospitality and travel sector is already facing heat in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,

and now the second round of national lockdown will put at least 90,000 jobs at risk in the sector, as suggested by the trade body UKHospitality. This is a major concern for the industry as the government-sponsored job retention scheme is set to come to an end in October.

Besides hospitality and leisure companies, the travel sector is also in the doldrums, with nearly 100,000 jobs related to the airports could be lost in the wake of the second lockdown if implemented.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD It is indeed disheartening for pub owners to learn that the hospitality industry in the UK will again fall back if the second lockdown will be implemented. The second phase of the coronavirus outbreak has not just come from the reopening of restaurants and pubs.

In fact, a report from the Public Health England shows that merely 4.6 percent of COVID-19 cases have come from eating outlets, while 43 percent of cases came from care homes and 26.4 percent were reported from educational institutions.

Looking at this situation, the pub owners and restaurant bodies have urged the government to take effective measures such as the extension of the furlough scheme till October, the leeway of the VAT cut and slash in beer duty.

Such has been the impact that one may be surprised to know that sales numbers at the beginning of September looked robust across the sector, however, it witnessed a 69 percent decline in the revenue in last week on account of speculation about a second national lockdown.

Going further, if the second wave of coronavirus cases will take its head out, then the hospitality and travel sector will see further deterioration in its revenue. Only the government can help the sector to come out from deep financial imbroglio either by announcing a special stimulus package or some relaxation in pub timings.

CAMRA Members Make the Most of Cider Month CAMRA members are gearing up for Cider Month, which runs throughout the month of October to coincide with the harvest season.

To mark the occasion, CAMRA will be supporting a new cider initiative to help people learn more about cider and perry. The Ciderologist Gabe Cook has launched a Discover Cider campaign with more than 30 cider producers to help bring the nuanced and varied world of cider to the wider public. The campaign gives consumers a chance to win mixed cases of cider by sharing their own cider stories, visit producers and meet makers via the likes of events and tastings.

With a growing interest in cider, CAMRA Books is also looking to cider enthusiasts to support and launch a new book on Modern British Cider by Gabe Cook. It has opened its publishing programme to crowdfunding platforms, and cider-lovers can get involved in the project by visiting https://camra.org.uk/modernbritish-cider

• How cider is made series with Gabe Cook Alex Metcalfe, CAMRA’s Learning & Discovery Manager said: “CAMRA has run Cider Month for many years as our members visit orchards, tap room and pubs to call for glasses of their favourite real cider or perry.

“COVID-19 has obviously had a massive impact on some of the social elements of the festivities, which is why we wanted to create a wealth of online resources for our members to celebrate and learn more about the tradition of cider making, especially if they’re unable to visit the pub or tap room in person.

“Between our new cider resources and Gabe’s Discover Cider platform, there’s plenty of ways to get involved this year.”

CAMRA has also compiled a wealth of new Learn & Discover CAMRA resources about everything cider related to celebrate. These include: • • • •

A beginner’s guide to cider terminology by James Finch Cider tasting video with James Finch An enthusiast’s guide to cider terminology by James Finch The revealing story of women and cider by Cath Potter

In addition, CAMRA members are encouraging others to order cider and perry at the bar and direct from producers and specialist shops.

They are also producing digital guides of pubs and clubs serving real cider and perry for pub-goers. For those unable to visit the pub, a list of takeaway and delivery cider services is available on the CAMRA website or via the Brew2You app.

Cider producers and pubs hoping to get involved are welcome to connect with their local CAMRA branch directly, follow our dedicated cider and perry social media channels (@CAMRA_APPLE on Twitter, camracider.perry on Facebook), or use the hashtags #CiderMonth and #DiscoverCider to help spread the word.

Report From MPs’ Warns Red Tape Will Cause Chaos And Price Hikes For Wine A new report from a committee of MPs shines a light on the impact to UK wine businesses of the government’s new red tape requirements, which will push up the price of wine for consumers and cause “chaos” for the wine industry.

Following an inquiry into the impact of introducing new wine import requirements, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Wine and Spirits has today published a report in which UK wine companies have spelled out the cost to consumer and businesses of a series of new inspections and paperwork proposed – voluntarily – by the UK government, and which will be required for wine imported from the EU from 1 January next year.

If Government refuses to scrap plans to introduce wine import certificates (so-called VI-1s) and lab tests, experts warn that businesses could fold, or be forced to relocate outside the UK. Job losses are inevitable, and the Treasury will lose tax revenue.

Worried UK wine firms gave or submitted pages of evidence to the inquiry citing a catalogue of concerns.

The report comes in the same week as an amendment from Lord Holmes of Richmond to the Agriculture Bill, which calls for a Government review into the requirement for VI-1 forms and calls for a revolutionising electronic alternative for any necessary information.

In the report, Direct Wines stated that the introduction of VI-1’s would “be chaos” for all those companies buying and selling European wines which are unfamiliar with VI-1s and lab tests.

A spokesman said as part of the inquiry: “For those suppliers who

were trying to be proactive and work out what to do, they are getting little to no information from their own Customs officers”.

holic drink, will add further time and costs, which will ultimately fall to the consumer, with no demonstrable benefit.

Liv-Ex, a leading global trader in fine wines, gave evidence stating: “This is going to be unbelievably difficult to implement, Liv-Ex alone will have to produce at least 15,000 forms. 600,000 or more forms are going to be produced.

MPs were told it would push up the price of the nation’s favourite alcoholic drink and reduce the range of wines offered to the UK’s 33 million wine drinkers.

Fine wine merchants have told MPs it will be impossible for them to meet the testing requirements – which would mean opening and thereby ruining expensive bottles of wine – and remain competitive, which will inevitably result in businesses having to relocate from the UK to avoid using the forms.

As well as the huge cost to wine businesses– estimated to be over £70 million a year – there will be a big reduction in range and choice.

One independent wine merchant said: “UK customers have become accustomed to being able to buy the food and drink, they like, from all over the world. If they are suddenly unable to buy major brands from Bordeaux, Champagne, Rioja, Prosecco, I think they are going to be very unhappy”.

Other wine businesses stressed that this was opportunity for Government to move forward rather than take a step back.

Chainvine, experts in digital systems, said: “The Government should declare a “War on Paper.” it is wasteful, unsustainable, and in the long term not resilient as Covid-19 has shown us.”

The report concluded that the introduction of import certificates for EU wine, something that isn’t required of any other category of alco-

Last year the WSTA warned that the new inspections for imported EU wine would generate over 600,000 customs forms which is anticipated to treble the workload of UK wine inspectors overnight.

On top of this the report concludes that VI-1 forms will damage the UK bottling industry and could hinder the growth of the English Sparkling wine industry.

Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “The APPG report on VI-1s lays bare the disastrous impact these costly and unnecessary tests and paperwork will have on British business and the UK’s 33 million wine consumers.

“Sadly Defra Ministers are stubbornly ploughing ahead with the introduction of costly VI-1 certification for EU wines, meaning that at the end of the year wine drinkers will be facing price hikes and inevitably find that some of their favourite European wines will vanish from the shelves.

“It’s madness! More than half our wine comes from Europe. Instead of choosing to suspend and reduce red tape and costs for wine, Ministers have elected to apply additional burden and some £100m in costs for UK businesses and consumers. And with no idea where the lab testing capacity will come from."

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Music to Our Ears: Why Restaurateurs Need to Create a Brand Sound for Their Spaces 16

CLH Digital

Issue 25

By Doug Marshall, Founder and CEO at Altaura (www.altaura.com) It’s no secret that music has the power to make us feel good. Think about the effect music has when you relax in a spa, how a concert makes you feel (even virtually), or how music pushes you further when exercising. Sound has the potential to enhance the way we feel in a magnitude of situations. Many brands have demonstrated their understanding of this, and used it to evoke emotional responses in their audiences.

However, for restauranteurs, sound isn’t widely viewed as a strategic brand tool - more often sound is an afterthought. I see many brands using music streaming services such as Spotify in their spaces, creating a playlist, and leaving it on repeat. Firstly, this is illegal (as Spotify is a non commercial product), but secondly, for brands looking to strengthen their identity and build customer loyalty, this is a considerable oversight, and can drive your staff mad with repetitions.

Even more concerning for your business, is the impact the pandemic is having. With uncertainty thrown our way everyday, music could provide the ultimate remedy. Use music to ease your customers’ stress levels, further their feeling of escapism, positively impact customers’ well- being, and ultimately increase sales.

But what evidence is there to support that the right music can increase sales?

In an episode of Altaura Talks, Jasmine Moradi, Former Head of Research at Soundtrack Your Brand discussed her research into the impact of on-brand music on customer experience in restaurants. Her results showed that “architectural design strategies are crucial for any successful restaurant. And by combining and matching

visual design with sound design, brands can create the ultimate customer experience.” Her study also found that playing the right music at the right time increased sales by 9.1%. Another study from HUI research, found it is better to play no music at all than to play randomly selected popular songs, which can actually decrease sales.

So how do you achieve an on-brand sound that is right for your business?

It’s not always easy to judge what sound is going to be right for your brand. Music is a passion point for many of your customers - We listen to more music than ever before, and technology enables us to walk around with millions of records in our pocket. More charts, genres and specialities make it difficult to know what your customers are listening to. But understanding that there’s a difference between what your customers like, and what is on-brand is the key. Another difficulty is music’s strong relationship with culture. You need to be up-to-date with current affairs, and hand-pick the tracks to play in your spaces, otherwise you might end up with R Kelly on your speakers, which could negatively impact your brand.

Creating an on-brand sound is like completing a jigsaw puzzle. Everything has to fit. For the restaurant chain and franchise industry in particular, on-brand sound is an opportunity to provide a deeper level of consistency to your audience across multiple locations and geographies. In my experience as a music strategist for restaurant chains, there has to be one clear vision, that captures all of our senses and delivers your unique atmosphere. When you lose one sense, you lose the encompassing brand story.

Restaurateurs should approach sound the same way they approach their interior/menu/lighting design.

Ensuring they have the right expertise and the right resources. Sound is another important touchpoint and it’s actually the first sense that activates when your customers walk into your spaces. There are many more reasons why your brand should consider curated music, and ways to implement them. Don’t forget your spaces are the catalyst for many memorable moments your customers can enjoy, and sound is the trigger.

Community Pub Reopens with Local Experienced Licensees at the Helm The Angel Inn, a traditional community pub in Swadlincote has recently reopened with the arrival of two experienced licensees, Ian and Lynsey Birley who have over 37 years’ worth of experience in the industry.

Owned by leading UK community pub group, Admiral Taverns, their dream of running the Angel became a reality in August due to a partnership with the company. The licensees will reopen a family friendly local serving delicious food, live entertainment and offering locals a welcoming place to visit.

Ian Birley commented on taking over the Angel Inn: “We are thrilled to be behind the bar at such a wonderful pub, with great support from the pub company. We knew that taking over the Angel would mean we had excellent backing during these difficult periods and we have plenty of ideas we’re keen to bring in once restrictions allow, including a number of exciting live bands to introduce to the community.

“We are so excited to welcome the community back to show off our new offering –

we will be hosting a weekly socially distanced McMillan Friday coffee morning which would be great to see some new faces.”

The pub is offering traditional pub food, from steaks, gammon, chicken and jacket potatoes to delicious deserts, including cheesecake and homemade apple pie. All food is cooked on site by licensee and head chef, Ian Birley.

The pub itself, situated on Church Street, benefits from an enormous beer garden which with current social distancing restrictions can take up to 10 tables. Inside, the bar and restaurant are separated, with the restaurant currently seating up to 30 guests.

Steve Brighty, Business Development Manager for Admiral Taverns said: “The Angel Inn is a lovely traditional pub, which the local community should be proud to have on their doorstep. The arrival of two local licensees from Derby who know the area well will only further develop the pub into the heart of the community. I wish both Ian and Lynsey a successful future at the pub.”

Hampshire Pubs Celebrate Cask Ale Week with Range of Giveaways Pubs across Hampshire are celebrating Cask Ale Week kicking off Thursday 24 September. The pubs have teamed up with popular cask ale, Doom Bar, to not only offer customers two-for-one on pints of the ale, but also the chance to win a staycation in Cornwall, as part of a wider offer across selected Stonegate Pub Company sites in the UK. The following pubs are taking part: Greyhound Aldershot Redbridge Andover The Station Eastleigh The Swan Inn Haslemere Greyhound Aldershot Redbridge Andover The Station Eastleigh The Swan Inn Haslemere To receive a two-for-one voucher, customers must register on the Great UK Pubs website, selecting their local pub’s details and they will receive their voucher by email, together with details how to enter the

competition to win a two-night staycation. The prize consists of a Bed & Breakfast stay in Rock, Cornwall, for two, as well as a meal at Paul Ainsworth’s pub, The Mariners, and return travel. *Terms and conditions apply.

Cask Ale Week runs from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 4 October is organised by cask ale accreditation body, Cask Marque, to celebrate the beverage as a unique pub favourite and awards pubs that serve great quality cask ale. Cask Ale is one of the few products you can only get in a pub and embodies British public house tradition.

Alan Armstrong, Director of Marketing at Stonegate Pub Company, said: “Cask Ale Week is the perfect time for our teams and customers to celebrate the Great British Pub with the quintessential pub favourite, cask ale. All of our pubs are Cask Marque accredited, as we believe that the perfect pint is as much to do with the perfect serve, as it is to do with the ale.

“We’re delighted to be offering such a fantastic giveaway too. Rock is a wonderful place for a staycation, and I look forward to congratulating our lucky winner.”

*Terms and Conditions: • The competition entry opens on Monday 21st September and closes at midnight Sunday 4th October • The winner will be contacted 48hrs after the competition closes • Guests will be emailed a 2-4-1 voucher for Doom Bar w/c 5th October • This offer is available entitles the holder to one free pint of Doom Bar on the purchase of a full priced pint of Doom Bar. • The offer is not available on any other drinks.

• This voucher is valid until midnight 18th October 2020.

• Offer only available to over 18s.

• Photocopies of the voucher will not be accepted.

• Please present the voucher at the time of ordering.

• Voucher can be used a maximum of 1 time per person.

• Voucher has a cash value and is not transferable.

• This voucher cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

• We reserve the right to amend this offer, or the terms and conditions.

To find your nearest participating pub visit: https://www.greatukpubs.co.uk/ https://www.craft-pubs.co.uk/

Stonegate Pub Company Gives Further Business Support To Lease And Tenanted Business The additional support includes rent reductions of 30% in October and a reduction of 20% in November for tied publicans operating substantive agreements in England. This package follows the rent and credit provisions that Ei gave to publicans from April to September including publicans who were not in receipt of Government grants receiving a three-month rent credit for the period.

Stonegate Pub Company has announced further business support within its lease and tenanted business, Ei Publican Partnerships, creating an overall support package, which has been implemented in response to the COVID-19 lockdown, in excess of £36.5 million.

Nick Light, Managing Director of Ei Publican Partnerships, said: “The road out of lockdown is a long one and we are standing by our publicans every step of the way to help safeguard their businesses in these uncertain times.”

In July, Stonegate utilised its scale as a managed house operator to offer exceptional promotional pricing for a three-month period for

wines, spirits and minerals to its lease and tenanted business. These products are available to all publicans including those contractually tied for one or more of these drinks’ categories. Following positive feedback, this initiative is being extended until the end of November enabling publicans to stock up for the Christmas period.

Nick added, “we are starting to see some real advantages from being part of the Stonegate business and we will continue to look at ways in which our publicans may benefit from that.”

This additional support comes after a wave of tailored support that Stonegate has given to Ei Publican Partnerships in both England and Wales, in response to the COVID-19 lockdown.

How To Operate A Karaoke Room Safely Whilst Driving Revenue For Your Business 18

CLH Digital

Issue 25

By Gemma Stenberg, Head of Marketing, Singa UK (www.singa.com/uk)

Karaoke rooms are an insanely popular singing phenomenon that originates from Asia and has spread all across the globe.

In fact, there are thousands of karaoke room venues in the UK alone and there’s good reason for it. Whilst creating unforgettable experiences for your customers, karaoke rooms make a lot of sense for your business.

Karaoke is not what it used to be. You don't need expensive and heavy equipment anymore.

A fully digital service like Singa Business is modern and easyto-use and can be set up in any venue and if you're looking for a new or alternative entertainment offering, especially under current circumstances, or you are trying to find a way to boost your venues revenue - making your venue sing might be just what you need.

The UK hospitality industry has been left decimated by Coronavirus, many businesses are hesitant and legally obliged to offer food & drink only to drive their business. Pair this with the demand for experiences and the decreasing urge for a boozy night, the hospitality industry is looking for ways to drive revenue and provide an experience for cus-

tomers that they can’t get at home.

To find out more about how karaoke rooms are operating under coronavirus restrictions, we spoke to Steve Tinsley, Hogarths, Amber Taverns, Stafford. "Since reopening our venue after the Coronavirus pandemic, we have created a 'Bubble-oke' concept. In line with current guidance, we have social bubbles of people (currently a maximum of 6, from no more than 2 households) booking out the karaoke room for private use. The karaoke room works on a pre-book basis, we take a £10 per person deposit which is converted into a bar tab. We have increased our session times from one hour to three hours to replicate the feeling of a special event or occasion, something we have all missed out on over the lockdown period.

The Bubble-oke has been a roaring success, in fact, I didn't think we would be considering any form of entertainment at the moment but with reduced capacity in the venue, the karaoke room is what is driving our revenue. We have trebled our hourly income from £100 pre lockdown to £300 now. We have a three-week waiting list to manage and my only regret is not building two karaoke rooms."

Thinking about how you could create a karaoke room at your venue?

The initial starting cost of a karaoke room for an existing event venue or a restaurant would be around £1000-2000. You need hardware such as microphones, speakers, screens and a mixer. Maybe some new furniture or paint, in case you decide to place the karaoke room in an old storage space or disused room. In addition to this, you'll have the recurring (monthly or yearly) cost of a karaoke system such as Singa.

In Central London, a typical karaoke room rents from £30 to £100 per

hour depending on how many people can fit in and the day of the week.

Just as an example, let’s say that the rent is £40 per hour and your karaoke room is booked every Friday and Saturday evening for 3 hours, and you’ll have one 3 hour booking each week for a weekday evening.

So, 9 hours per week, far from full capacity. This would mean more than £1400 a month and that’s excluding the beverages and food you sell.

So, within the first month in operation you will cover the fixed starting cost of a karaoke room and the monthly Singa Business fee, even though the use of the room is far from full capacity. For the months to come, you'll be making profit and entertaining your customers safely.

The White Horse in King’s Lynn Wins The Great British Pub Awards - Pub Heroes The White Horse in King’s Lynn has won the Community Mindfulness category in The Great British Pub Awards – Pub Heroes.

everyone who voted and to everyone who tuned in during lockdown. All I wanted to do was to help the community in any way I could. It was great to be able to interact and communicate with people but also wonderful to have them be able to interact with each other!”

During lockdown, Marvin Tillman, operator of the White Horse, reached out to his local community and hosted a weekly live DJ set on Facebook – he partied every Friday evening for two hours.

Marvin saw this as an opportunity to interact with his regulars who he missed seeing. What he didn’t expect was that the weekly events would take off. Viewings figures soon jumped to over 1000 views and people were watching him from all over the world.

The Great British Pub Awards Pub Heroes recognise and reward the incredible efforts by pubs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of the lockdown and being forced to close their doors, many pubs remained at the heart of their communities, providing help and support in many different ways. With over 600 entries across fifteen categories, the winners were chosen by a public vote.

Marvin also donated items to the local hospital for the nurses on the critical care ward. The local church was so impressed with his generosity that when he came to donate to the critical care nurses again, they also pulled together and contributed to his donation.

Each winner will be offered the opportunity to submit an application for up to £10,000 each to fund a business improvement or upgrade or to put towards a community project. Additionally, CocaCola will fund a further £1,000 donation to a local charity or good cause supported by each of the winning pubs.

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RECONDITIONED & SECOND USER CATERING EQUIPMENT EDWARDS, KING & EDWARDS • We have a comprehensive range of Re-conditioned Catering Equipment in stock • We can supply most of the markets leading names in New Equipment at competitive prices • Full Service & Installation facilities by fully qualified engineers • We can also supply modular fridge & freezer rooms

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• DISHWASHERS • GLASSWASHERS • REFRIGERATION

Marvin said: “I can’t believe we won! Thank you so much to

TOASTERS • STAINLESS STEEL SINKS & TABLING

The Independent Hoteliers Conundrum, “Can I (Or Should I) Do It All On My Own?” Issue 25

CLH Digital

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the brand variations there is too much consumer choice, which may lead to brand confusion.

Clearly the key benefit is the utilisation of a powerful brand platform, including; distribution, CRS, sales and marketing, loyalty / reward programmes and all without the need to go through extensive refurbishment programmes (PIPs).

CORE BRANDS Core brands, many of whom are bringing out more and more independent friendly brands to the market (again, is it now becoming too confusing for consumers?), may include, Accor’s; Mercure, Ibis, Ibis Styles, Ibis Budget. IHG’s; Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express. Wyndham’s; Ramada, Days Inn. Hilton’s; Hampton

by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton, Best Western core brands. Each of these international brands have many more brands of course. More recently, in relative terms, the introduction of Magnuson Hotels perhaps creates an alternative. Sat within the core brand camp with its Magnuson Grand and Magnuson Hotel, yet unusually they apply no stringent property improvement plan (PIP) criteria.

Core brands bring powerful platforms, distribution, PMS (in some cases), CRS, revenue management systems, active loyalty and reward programmes, brand recognition and potential for increased asset value, but at a cost, in terms of fees, control and identity. As we’ll mention later the decision whether to go down this route or not must be tied, in part, to revenue delivery and assurances thereof.

Independence is your raison d'être yet you often wonder if it would be better to have more external support. The options available in sales, marketing, distribution, and management typically swirl around your head.

Perhaps more so during troubling times?

Driving the top line is going to be vital over the next 18 months as we recover and aim to get back to prepandemic levels. There are compromises with most of these core brands and soft brands as you’ll be associated with the chosen organisation, its reputation and that of its other hotel members, and you’ll potentially be seen in the same light, good or bad as that may be.

4 KEY DECISION AREAS The choice is vast, and decisions must be made based on several factors, including,

You don’t want to give away control of the business, become just a number and provide a bland experience for your customers. But times are hard, generating revenue and ultimately cash is key to survival and compromises may be in order.

Independence

What’s the answer? In this article, the first of a series, we consider partners and brands (we’ll cover more topics in later articles). So, let’s see if there’s an option that suits you best, whilst focusing on 4 key decision areas;

Brand alignment, does the brand really reflect the style of your hotel and align to the expectations of the customers you attract or want to attract?

• • • •

Cost Return Independence Long term impact For the purpose of this article we’ll consider certain Distribution Partners, Consortia, Soft Brands and Core Brandswith our key decision areas being influenced by the levels of branding and integration.

Firstly, we’ll cover some of the main players within the UK.

DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS Distribution partners do just this, they distribute your hotel’s bedroom inventory and rates and packages, through global networks to increase its visibility to new markets and customers with reservations being made via their booking platforms. The likes of HotelREZ, TravelClick and Navarino for example, who don’t require branding or onerous membership agreements, may be an option worth considering. Often the distribution partners Central Reservation System (CRS) provides distribution across all Global Distribution System (GDS) platforms along with Internet Distribution System (IDS) channels. Connecting to the likes of Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport and DHISCO. These ensure you are available to book, globally, by thousands of Travel Agents, Travel Management Companies, Hotel Booking Agents and Corporate Clients.

CONSORTIA As an alternative to the soft brands and more connected than the distribution partners, consortia provide additional benefits, to that of a distribution partner, specifically; increased distribution, and sales and marketing.

Consider, Leading Hotels of the World, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Mr & Mrs Smith and Classic British Hotels to name a few.

Each of these consortia is effective, to varying degrees, in driving business to your hotel and the choice of which one to choose can come down to the segments and channels you need to work with, for both corporate and leisure business.

In terms of corporate business, and granted there is very little corporate travel currently, do you expect there is enough volume of business that books via Agents and the Global Distribution System once we get back to some form of new normal? The strength in using these types of partners, rather than just connecting directly to a GDS provider, is in the partners recognised chain code (the code that precedes your hotel name in the systems used by the agents) and that you are more likely to feature higher up the agents search due to the preference given to these organisations and their hotels. These partners will also assist in driving corporate business through their sales activity with the agents (AMEX, Capita etc) as long as your hotel is situated in an area that has enough corporate business that you can avail of or is currently using a competitor property.

With regard to leisure business, and some of these consortia are better than others, the consortia can generate business through; their own customer databases, their distribution expertise, their own online marketing, and their reward / membership programmes (varying degrees of membership size apply).

As an example, you may consider, if you fit within the boutique and luxury sector, Mr & Mrs Smith, the “Travel Club for Hotel Lovers”, who have 1,200 properties in 80 countries and who recently partnered with IHG to be listed in their (IHSs) direct booking channels and allow IHG members to earn and redeem points in some of the Mr & Mrs Smith properties.

SOFT BRANDS Here we have found a blurring of the lines in recent years as consortia have hardened their marketing and brand propositions slightly, whilst the core brands have entered the independent space realising there is a market up for grabs. At the same time the core brands were unable to badge many more hotels in certain locations and needed a new vehicle.

So, for the purpose of the article we describe a soft brand as a collection of hotels using a core brands system / platform and without the need to adhere to certain hard branding requirements, rules and regulations and potentially having different features and amenities. Consider the likes of Trademark Collection by Wyndham (collection of “distinctive” independent hotels), Curio – A Collection by Hilton, Ascend by Choice,

By Magnuson Hotels, some Best Western brands including, BW Signature, SureStay Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western and SureStay Collection by Best Western. Consider, perhaps, that with all

The impact on how you operate, which moves from no impact (distribution partners) to huge impact (core brands)

Support, how much focus and genuine attention will you get as a customer?

Long Term Impact How long are you tied into the agreement, is there a break clause included? The commitment level rises as you move from distribution partner to core brands.

How will the length of the agreement affect your exit strategy? Will it add value having a brand in place (add to the price you can achieve with brands generally improving multiples) or will selling the hotel with a brand in place put off certain hoteliers, investors and operators?

Once signed up you have to adhere to brand standards and even major re-brands with the core brands. Whilst in the same instance you are tied to certain systems (PMS and distribution) with all the distribution partners and brands.

Some of these systems may not be as well developed for the future as you think.

COST Onboarding - property costs driven through property improvement plans (PIP), signage, systems and integration costs, training etc.

Operating fees - membership, marketing, royalty, commissions, rewards, distribution and channel costs, and more.

RETURN Perhaps most important of all how much profitable business will the partner or brand deliver for you through their systems and what guarantees are in place?

If the partner or brand can demonstrate to you their ability to deliver and is able to determine the level of new business delivered through their own systems, and not purely redirected existing business (hotels own website or OTA), then any compromises on identity and control may well be worth it. But don’t cannibalise your existing business (a point worth making twice).

With greater distribution to different markets core brands may have a greater impact on ADR and occupancy (%) and command a higher multiple when it comes to asset valuation as previously mentioned.

Lots to consider and we haven’t even scratched the surface really! It is not easy to compare the value proposition of the available core brands, soft brands, consortia and distribution partners and often for this reason hoteliers go for the easiest route, which is certainly not always the best and can often be an expensive mistake both in fees and missed revenue opportunities. You should also never underestimate the work that goes into making a major transition and the fact that any relationships needs to be worked at, any switch to a partner, consortia or brand will require initial and ongoing work if it to prove successful.

Internal resource and lack of skillset are, in economically difficult times, often impacted and outsourcing elements of the operation to bring additional expertise, knowledge and experience into the business in a way that delivers cost benefit should be seriously considered. Those hoteliers that plan ahead and get ahead of future challenges more often than not find themselves not just surviving but growing and leading the way.

During the next 18 months the UK will, hopefully (no one can predict with any certainty), move towards the pre-pandemic levels of trading. STR in its September 2020 report suggested that Q4 2021 occupancy will see London and the UK Regionals 10-15 and 10 percentage points lower than 2019 respectively. Whilst ADR in London may be 15-25 % lower than 2019 with the UK Regions 10% lower than 2019. This is just one potential outcome of course, with much riding on the next 6 months.

To ensure you are at least in line with the predicted trends, trading profitably, driving sales, keeping ahead of your local market, can you do it all on your own or would a carefully selected and suitable partner(s) or brand strengthen your chances of coming out of this in the best possible position. It may be a decision that needs to be made, despite some compromises.

Can you afford to work with a partner or brand, can you afford not too?

If would you like some free advice on any of the topics raised or would like to discuss your own challenges confidentially and without obligation, then please feel free to reach out.

Paul Abson Tim Penter Director Director paul@aparthospitality.com tim@aparthospitality.com 07974 709307 07741 317272 www.aparthospitality.com

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CLH Digital

Breakfast & Brunch- Reaping the Benefits Issue 25

“To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day.” ― W. Somerset Maugham sons alone, and the demand for ‘clean eating’, paleo, vegan and other diets, has alo increased.

Furthermore, the number of vegans in Britain has risen by 360% in 10 years, with more people opting for a plant-based diet to gain on the perceived health benefits of a vegan diet.

So when it comes to breakfast and brunch, what health-inspired dishes are finding favour right now?

So, operators really should view breakfast as an opportunity to be embraced and could also hold the key to profitability and increased revenue for hotels, pubs and restaurants.

are largely made based on health (28%). Millennial consumers, accounting for 23% of all breakfast consumers, are especially seeking health benefits at breakfast – 253 million MORE breakfast servings they enjoyed last year were based on fulfilling this need. 190 million more were chosen based on being ‘more natural/less processed’.

Nestlé Cereals Box Bowls range – a six pack of Nestle Breakfast Cereal favourites that can be eaten straight from the box. All that is left to do is to pour milk into the speciallydesigned bag inside the box, and grab a spoon for a tasty and convenient breakfast to be enjoyed at home, or on the go.

It is widely acknowledged to be the most important meal of the day, and recently revealed statistics show that breakfast could also hold the key to profitability and increased revenue for hotels, pubs and restaurants.

Furthermore, the brunch phenomenon has been growing for a few years now and it shows no signs of abating, with many venues introducing a whole new variety of creative, inventive and surprising dishes.

While 55% of people eat breakfast at home every day, almost half (49%) eat breakfast out of home, according to Mintel. Indeed, recent research from Lamb Weston reveals that 2.6 million adults in the UK now eat out of home between 10am and 12pm, up from approximately 1.3 million adults in 1974. Furthermore 20% of those who take breakfast out-of-home do so once a week or more.

Breakfast is an almost universal occasion, claimed to be the most important meal of the day with up to 95% of UK adults partaking of the meal. Over the past couple of years breakfast has been the main contributor of visits growth in the eating out market, due to increased penetration and choice as well as frequency of use.

Unsurprisingly, bacon came out on top as the most essential element of a Full English, with 69% of Brits wanting this on their plate. Sausages took the number two spot with 66%, followed by toast (62%), baked beans (57%) and a fried egg (53%). We’re choosing fried mushrooms (42%) over grilled (38%) and hash browns (44%) over chips (19%). When it comes to sauce, it’s tomato ketchup (29%) that we’re reaching for, closely followed by brown sauce (23%). However, these aren’t the only sauces we’re adding to our fry-up. 5% of Brits would happily add BBQ sauce or mayonnaise to their Full English, while 3% would opt for chilli sauce.

Toby Baker, Marketing Director UK & Australia, Nestlé Cereals, said: “Consumer research tells us that Brits want more variety and convenience at breakfast time. Our new Box Bowls provide a tasty breakfast choice for almost every day of the week, pre-portioned and ready to eat straight from the box. “Box Bowls have also been designed to fit around ever busier lifestyles – they can be enjoyed at home, or while out and about. The toughest decision you’ll face is which one to choose.”Consumers are eating more fruit (up 8.5%), porridge (up 7.4%) and eggs (up 2.7%), confirming the trend towards more ‘natural’ breakfasts

HEALTH CONSCIOUS

However, signs are pointing towards a generational shift in breakfast eating habits. The older generations are more likely than younger cohorts to eat breakfast at home every day and also have a lower repertoire of foods typically eaten.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic one in four consumers in the UK enjoyed having breakfast outside of their home – which is why it has been identified as a key growing trend for caterers. High street casual dining chains, pubs, bars and fast-food outlets historically linked with lunch and dinner dining have responded to the increase in consumer demand by adding breakfast offerings to their traditional fare to try and earn a share of this lucrative market.

According to data from foodservice baker Kara, Britons spend on average £13 billion a year dining out for breakfast, and with current growth at just under 1% its making headlines as the fastest growing eating out day-part in the total Eating out Market. As consumers lifestyles get consistently busier, we’re continuing to see the blurring of meal times with many consumers now undertaking a ‘brunch’ option or an all day heartier breakfast when dining out.

Kara data also revealed that 40% of Millennials are now choosing to avoid gluten dishes, with only a small number having to switch to gluten-free for medical rea-

As the nation becomes more health-conscious than ever before, we’re also seeing an increase in healthier breakfast options. 61% of Brits said they enjoy a bowl of yoghurt and granola for breakfast, while 59% like a smoothie. 36% of those in our survey have made their own overnight oats, a new trend sweeping the nation, while 33% have enjoyed the millennial favourite, avocado and poached egg on toast.

According to research from market insights experts Kantar sales are up year-on-year on items like cereal bars (2.2% growth to £444.5 million), porridge (up 4.8% to £247 million) and marginally on ready-to-eat cereal (value of sales is up 0.7% to £1,318.1 million).

When it comes to food and drink choices, decisions

All elements of the box bowl are recyclable – from the specially designed inner bag that holds in moisture, to the unique cube-like outer carton.

In contrast, more fragmented routines appear to be taking root among the younger generations. They are more likely to eat breakfast out of home, many doing so while on the go, and to eat a wider range of foods for breakfast. Additionally, the young’s propensity to snack is also impacting on breakfast eating, seeing them graze on smaller breakfast items throughout the morning rather than eating one big breakfast.

BREAKFAST BEVERAGES Out of home breakfast visits have been fuelled by a

market-wide focus on coffee. 25% of coffee is consumed at breakfast and 16% as part of a morning snack, so many operators have introduced a credible coffee range as a way of maintaining customer loyalty.

While fruit juice came out as the most popular drink across the board, there were some variations when it came to hot drinks. According to studies, men prefer white coffee (68%) while women would rather have a cup of English Breakfast tea (70%).

The increasing popularity of brunch has also led to a rise in brunch-friendly cocktails. And when it comes to cocktails, Brits are ordering a Bloody Mary (24%) before anything else, closely followed by a Bellini (23%) and a Mimosa (18%).

With the coffee culture showing no signs of slowing down and a greater demand for premium product as consumers develop a more discerning coffee palette, Roger Heap from Swiss owned Jura says hoteliers should be serving quality coffee. “JURA manufactures premium, Swiss-made bean-to-cup coffee machines that are ideal for commercial use – producing from 50, up to 200 cups per day. The JURA WE8 is perfect for a small hotel offering as it’s capable of producing around 35 speciality coffees per day. This machine features 12 programmable specialities, from a latte macchiato to a flat white. It also has a 3l water tank capacity and a 500g bean container capacity with an aroma preservation cover. For optimum convenience, the WE8 is compatible with the JURA Coffee App, so

GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY So there you have it, breakfast as an opportunity to be seized. Nigel Phillips, Lamb Weston’s National Sales Manager Matt Scott says: “The UK breakfast and brunch market is experiencing a big boom, with 58% of people now seeing it as the most important meal of the day and as a crucial element of a venue’s offer. The times and occasions for breakfast and brunch are also evolving with breakfast no longer viewed as a functional meal to start the day but as a sociable, indulgent occasion.

“Breakfast is a large and innovative market, presenting a great opportunity for casual dining venues and pubs to diversify their offer and grow. Operators need to shape up their offers to capitalise on this significant opportunity."

www.uk.jura.com 01282 868266 www.nestlecereals.co.uk

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CLH Digital

Issue 25

Festive Ordering

Christmas, But Not As You Know It Delight Your Diners This Christmas with LillyPuds Bidfood shares festive food predictions for a ‘Christmas with caution’, as it launches its 2020 Christmas range

for fancy product innovation, but instead, that in these uncertain times, many of us are looking for touches of comfort to make us feel good.

Whether that’s festive favourites, winter-spiced options, or mince pie variations and Christmas puddings to tempt consumers.

STAYING SAFE THIS SEASON

Foodservice supplier Bidfood, have launched its 2020 festive range, whilst also exploring consumers’ feelings around how they envisage their Christmas looking this year, through a recent Bidfood survey.

According to the findings, this year we can expect a ‘traditional Christmas with caution’, involving socially distanced small gatherings, single serve food or personal buffet platters, as well as celebrating truly British traditions.

SUPPORTING LOCAL AND CELEBRATING BRITISH One of the consumer behaviours that has come out of the pandemic has been the rise in desire to ‘support local’ – from supporting local producers and businesses, to spending on UK experiences and British getaways. Whether it is due to the consumer’s desire to support the UK economy, or lockdown reducing international business and travel, people are really focusing on celebrating Britain and what it has to offer.

Just over a quarter (26%) of consumers are looking forward to a Christmas meal that upholds true British tradition with all the trimmings – whether they dine in or venture out. The research illustrates that really, this isn’t a year

When asked about the research, Lucy Pedrick, Head of Insights, said: “48% of consumers ranked ‘feeling safe’ as their top priority when dining this year, so it is important for operators to blend good food and drink, with a safe environment to create a memorable experience.

Now supplying direct to consumer, Bidfood’s offering this year has been designed with both operators and consumers in mind, acknowledging the increasing concerns of the general public amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.”

As well as being physically safe this season, Bidfood is still looking at ways to be environmentally safe, with their entire cracker range this year being more sustainable than ever! Each cracker is easily recyclable, is free of single-use plastics and contains no glitter; the range also includes a number of crackers that support The Trussel Trust, with proceeds donated directly to the charity.

Discussing the range, Vicky Tripp, Campaigns & Activation Manager, said: “It is important that, despite this years’ challenges, operators do not forget the importance of dietary requirements and consumer demand for vegan and gluten free options.

“With this in mind, Bidfood has launched a range of options to appeal to those conscious consumers, from classic vegan wellington slices, as well as our gluten free and vegan Premium Selection mirrored chocolate truffle torte, which we’re particularly excited about.”

See the advert opposite for details.

Following many years of making puddings for friends and family, LillyPuds was created in October 2015 by Alison Lilly to introduce a tried and tasted Christmas pudding recipe to diners.

LillyPuds brings to market a festive delight that is easy to eat, light on the palate and with all the traditional spices and flavours to be expected of a Christmas pudding.

The fruit and spice mix is blended with a local real ale, brandy, fruit juice and zest instead of using mixed peel. The increased fruit content and reduction of cheap fillers such as flour and sugar to the mix produces a dessert that is easier on the palate after a heavy indulgent Christmas lunch.

The range includes the Great Taste award-winning Premium Traditional (120g and 140g), Great Taste Gluten Free 120g and the Vegan/Gluten Free 120g puddings. The Premium Traditional and Gluten Free puddings are suitable for vegetarians and do not contain dairy ingredients. Loyal customers include West End 5* hotels and gastro pub chains throughout East Anglia. Products are available nationwide for delivery direct. www.lillypuds.co.uk/foodservice E: hello@lillypuds.co.uk T: 07792223301

Enhance Your Menu with Clearwater’s Frozen Lobster Meat Enhance your menu with Clearwater’s frozen Lobster Meat. Produced using a specialized high-pressure extraction system, this raw lobster meat delivers the same superb taste as live lobster, without any of the hassle, offering versatility and convenience for today’s foodservice operators. With no pre-cooking or shucking required, Clearwater’s sustainably fished Claw & Knuckle Meat comes in a 227g vacuum-packed pouch, which is ready to cook. The pouch can be inserted into boiling water or left to poach for several minutes, before serving in a recipe. Perfect for including in risottos, pasta dishes or even in a lobster roll.

For more details contact windsorsales@clearwater.ca

Wicked Wolf - Multi-Award Winning Artisan Gin Launched in September 2015 under the banner “The Spirit of Exmoor® ’, Wicked Wolf® Exmoor Gin™ is a premium craft gin made from 11 botanicals, distilled and blended on the banks of the picturesque River Lyn, North Devon.

Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin uses the combination of 11 exotic botanicals producing complex layers of citrus and pepper notes, finely balanced with the distinct flavours of juniper and coriander, resulting in a mature, premium spirit. Hibiscus, cardamom and kaffir lime leaves have been artfully blended with these traditional aromatics creating a full-flavoured, smooth gin.

Pot distilled in a copper alembic still, Wicked

Wolf Exmoor Gin is filtered, bottled and labeled by hand in exclusive 100-litre batches.Each aromatic is prepared by hand, infused and distilled separately resulting in 11 individual distillates which are then skilfully blended. This allows for complete control over the strength of each flavour, and enables consistency across each batch.

The gin is multiple filtered producing a 42% ABV, smooth, full-bodied and elegant spirit.Wicked Wolf Gin is best served with ice and lime over a sprig of thyme, but is equally at home neat with a block of ice or mixed with a quality tonic.

For further information visit www.wickedwolfgin.com

Technology and Software

Issue 25

CLH Digital

ROUND - The UK's Favourite Order & Pay App Since the re-opening of pubs and restaurants on the 4th July, the ROUND app has served and supported hundreds of thousands of customers across the country to order safely, securely and easily in its community of ROUND venues.

In August, ROUND supported venues with a seamless ‘'Eat Out to Help Out' solution within the app, and helped over 40,000 diners save 50% on their orders!

Customers can now also tip staff directly via the app, in addition to pay via Google Pay and Apple Pay, with many more exciting features to be announced shortly.

Why join ROUND? • Increased monthly spend of 29.9% by customers when

using a mobile order & pay app, according to a CGA report • £0 set up and £0 monthly fee - just a small % transaction fee • New and improved simple set up process • Complimentary tablet so you can easily manage the mobile orders Getting started is easy. Your venue could start taking mobile orders within a matter of days.

To get started, or find out more, simply visit www.round.app and tap ‘get started’.

Hotels, Inns and B&B’s are Migrating to Caterbook for Free!

For 20 years, the Caterbook brand has been a trusted tures based on their needs. name in accommodation software, providing innovative • Responsive, customisable booking engine embeds on your solutions to simplify your workload. Since the easing of own website. lockdown restrictions, our technology has been empow• Configure and assign unique per-rate deposit and cancelering accommodation businesses to re-open their doors, lation policies. whilst keeping staff and guests safe.

• Housekeeping report shows type of room clean (daily, • Minimise staff / guest interactions with paperless online departure etc), with any linen and towels required each day. check in and check out.

• Batch create, email or print all the day’s invoices in a sin- • Industry standard reporting metrics of RevPAR, Average Daily Rate etc. gle click.

• Post food & drink items from your EPOS to the room bill • Take payments in real time using our built in PCI compliant payment gateway. for settlement on checkout.

• Channel Manager links to booking.com, Expedia and • Use yield management to automate pricing changes many regional DMO’s. based on availability.

To help get hospitality back on it’s feet, we are offering • Create and schedule custom guest email and SMS mesour Caterbook software for FREE until 1st January 2021 sages.

• Additional individual staff user accounts included as stan- (see our website for details). dard, with activity logging.

Call 01840 298298 or visit www.caterbook.com and • Role based access control restricts staff privileges to feasign up for a risk free 14 day trial account.

Introducing Toggle Introducing Toggle, a powerful gift card platform bursting with features to help you make the most of earning pre-visit revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Toggle offers high customisation with the freedom to sell not just gift cards, but experiences, special offers, products like at-home kits and more. Toggle handles everything

to do with your gifting; offering digital gift cards as well as beautifully designed physical ones that we can send on your behalf through our fulfillment service.

Our expert customer success team is on hand to help you set up with lightning speed, introduce you to the platform’s features and ensure that you’re maximising on its tools by releasing new feature updates and campaign ideas.

Toggle seamlessly integrates with Zonal, Access, Comtrex, Datasym and a host of other platforms. Sign up today and be selling tomorrow. Visit usetoggle.com for more information.

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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CLH Digital

Issue 25

Technology and Software

Contactless, Branded Hotel App For Deliver Critical Information To Your Frontline Workers Your Guests - Set Up In Minutes

Vamoos, the App for Hotels, makes it so simple for you to keep your guests, staff, and hotel safe, all while delivering the same magical experience they’re used to with better customer service than ever before.

Through your own, branded hotel app, you will be able to:

- Create a full hotel directory with all the information your guests need at their fingertips - Instant message back and forth with guests so

reception needn’t be open - Encourage more bookings for activities, table reservations, tours, and much more - Accept virtual Do Not Disturb requests which guests can manage themselves - Share a list of local points of interest that your guests can visit that are open and safe - Allow guests to check themselves in and out remotely And what’s more, your own app can be set up and shared with guests in just minutes!

Don’t believe us? Sign up for your free 1month trial and see for yourself, and join the hundreds of other hotels around the world who have taken their guest experiences to new heights.

Visit our website on vamoos.com for more information and to sign up, or contact the team on info@vamoos.com.

Park Plaza, Deploys the Virtual Remote Control The speed of technology's evolution is a hot topic at Airwave's HQ and indeed, drives our business, making life exciting.

However, Airwave's technicians saw a much more literal sense of speed recently, when discussing the notion of a "virtual remote control" in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Simply speaking, the VRC would allow guests to bypass the in-room TV remote, instead using a smart device (phone or tablet) to control the TV. A quick phone call to software developer partner Otrum, and it seems that great minds think alike! Otrum had not only hatched the same idea, but speedily developed VRC software to work alongside Otrum hotel TV systems.

After a short period of testing, Airwave approached key client Park Plaza with a sparkling new product to be trialled at their

two operating sites - London Westminster and Amsterdam Victoria.

"Park Plaza Westminster's location opposite St.Thomas' hospital has seen it remain open to accommodate NHS staff" said Wayne Bowring, Head of Hospitality Sales, "we were naturally keen to propose a product that could help, even in a small way, prevent the spread of infection."

"Further aiding the mitigation of the virus, Otrum's Virtual Remote Control can be implemented remotely" said Julian Arnold, Technical Director "and this we did! remotely upgrading each hotel's TV system server, ahead of pushing new software onto each guest-room TV." To find out more about the Virtual Remote Control, visit ww.airwave.tv/3996/VirtualRemote-Control or see the advert on page 3.

OurPeople is a team communication and engagement platform revolutionising the way management teams within the hospitality sector communicate with their employees.

Its technology connects staff in real-time, ensuring the right people are receiving the right communication at the right time.

Primarily working within industries with a high number of deskless workers, the OurPeople platform allows secure and targeted communication to ensure employees are engaged, informed, and have the insight they need to do their jobs safely and properly, while increasing productivity levels at the same time. Each offering is bespoke for your team, whilst being safe, secure, GDPR compli-

ant and fully within company control.

OurPeople bridges the gap to ensure you can get critical, up-to-the minute information to staff who may not have access to standard communication platforms during their daily work. The solution is more than just a messaging app however, it is your secret weapon to cut through the noise and deliver critical communication.

Contact us to find out how OurPeople can help your business streamline the way it connects with the deskless workforce, removing unnecessary chatter and increasing productivity.

Visit www.ourpeople.com

Wi5 Mobile Order & Pay Solution for Your Business Wi5 is the industry-leading mobile Order & Pay solution for hospitality, that allows customers to easily place orders and pay for them on their own devices for both Order to Table and Pickup.

We’ve invested heavily in our design and technology to ensure that we have the most intuitive, reliable and secure software solution on the market. There are now lots of solutions out there that offer some form of mobile ordering, but unless it’s a brilliant experience for both customers and staff, it will ultimately fail. Wi5 delivers a frictionless mobile experience without the

Quadranet Restaurant Intelligence Quadranet have been on a project to promote Restaurant intelligence. Intelligence is the collection of information to advance business. Covers have been the one measure used in restaurants for years, but now many more measures are available to management.

Our booking system not only counts the number of covers booked, but from what source and by which promotion, including social media. We also give information on diners spend and items consumed.

We let restaurants talk to their customers through a generic app, alternatively an API is available to use in the restaurant’s own app.

Loyalty, discounts and push notifications are all pushed through the app. Our restaurants prefer to think of members rather than customers.

need for a cumbersome login process or downloading any apps, and we’ve made it as easy as possible at every step of the way.

For businesses, we’ve made it simple to set-up and manage, whilst still providing the advanced functionality vital in the longterm for enterprise and SMEs alike, such as POS-integration. We’re also proud to be the only mobile Order & Pay solution to maintain the highest levels of security through ISO/IEC 27001 certification, the globally recognised standard for information security, meaning both operators and customers can depend on us.

See the advert on this page for further details.

Inhouse efficiency is also important. Rising staff costs must be countered by better efficiency. We have a time and attendance model that records hours. These hours can be compared to takings. Also, kitchen screens not only increase kitchen efficiency, but calculate the sum of standard minutes for dishes produced, compared to actual hours paid.

Covid has accelerated the move to customers placing their orders on an app or website. Pay at table is also offered to diners who have little time, especially at lunch, and don’t want to wait for the credit card machine at the end of their meal.

Disparate facts on their own, become intelligence in the new reporting suite combining monetary, time and resource measures to take your winning business to the next level.

See the advert on page 22 or visit www.quadranet.co.uk

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New Insect Prevention Air Curtain The Hospitality Sector Needs To

JS Air Curtains is launching a new air curtain, the Fly, specially designed for insect control. It is a hygienic alternative to plastic strip or chain link curtains.

any gaps that might allow insects to enter. Adjustable aluminium aerofoil shaped air blades can direct the airstream to create a tight seal across an entrance.

By creating a high-velocity air barrier across a doorway, flying insects are prevented from entering food preparation areas in butcher shops, supermarkets, hospitals and nursing homes, as well as food production premises. This allows doors to remain open, reducing the risk of surface contamination through staff or customers needing to touch doors or handles.

As well as insects, the air curtain can also discourage rodents from entering an entrance. Research has shown that rats, mice and other furry intruders do not like the sensation an air curtain creates on their fur and will avoid passing under a fast moving barrier of air. Dust, pollen and airborne pollutants are also minimised, to help maintain a safe and healthy indoor environment.

Suitable for installation directly above a doorway, it is offered in five lengths from one to three metres and in four different power outputs to protect doorways up to four metres high. Fly air curtains should always by fitted to completely cover the entire entrance with a barrier of air, thus preventing

KYDEX Puts Safety First

To make hospitality spaces safer and reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, many businesses have turned to innovative materials with hygienic properties built in.

In this critical time for the sector, which is reeling from the damage caused by Covid-related shutdowns, any product that can help in the fight against the virus is worth consideration.

While regular deep cleans with heavy duty chemicals will help, specifying and installing new surfaces that are Image credit: Aristech Surfaces. resistant to bacteria and viruses will offer improved protection to staff and customers.

KYDEX is one such product. It contains Microban, which provides antimicrobial protection. This halts the growth of bacteria and a broader range of viruses, organisms, protozoa, and fungi such as mould or

JS Air Curtains provide expert advice and supply an extensive range of air curtains for all commercial and industrial applications. You can find out more at www.jsaircurtains.com.

mildew. This makes it significantly better for high-use surfaces when compared with an anti-bacterial product, which only prevents bacteria from growing on the surface.

As an advanced thermoplastic, KYDEX can be moulded into any shape and matched with any colour – perfect for branded environments. While well known for its use in healthcare environments such as hospitals, it is also heavily utilised in the leisure and hospitality sector. It can often be found in a wide range of objects including furniture, counters (such as bar tops and reception desks), and doors, as well as in food preparation areas and washrooms.

As a homogeneous product, any damage to the top layer does not negatively affect its anti-microbial properties or visual impact, which makes it perfect for high-traffic areas. Its ability to withstand tough cleaning products, without any staining, fading or surface damage, also make it perfect for a postCovid world.

To find out more please go to https://bit.ly/3jK3Dre or see the advert on page 30.

Heed New Cleaning Techniques

With hotels, restaurants and cafés all now reopen to the public, establishing a thorough cleaning regime is crucial for the safe return of guests. The HoReCa sector has seen one of the biggest upheavals in its practices since the pandemic began; closing its doors, furloughing staff and installing new safety equipment and ongoing cleaning procedures to kill all virus’ whilst providing a safe environment for both customers and staff.

Cardiff-based Genesis Biosciences has developed a unique anti-microbial, surface sanitiser that is proven to be effective against Covid-19 and is free from any harmful chemicals.

Genesis’ Sanitiser – part of its Evogen Professional range – delivers safe, high performance cleaning and disinfection of all types of hard surfaces. The utilisation of

natural, biodegradable active ingredients offers an eco-benign alternative to many of the harsh chemicals commonly used for sanitisation.

Genesis Biosciences is one of the few companies in the UK to have gone through rigorous external anti-viral testing to validate its surface sanitiser’s effectiveness against all enveloped viruses, including COVID-19 and other coronaviruses and has supplied more than 60 tonnes of product across Europe since the beginning of March. The sanitiser is available 1,000L IBC, 200L, 20L, 5L and 500ml concentrates offering a cost effective and environmentally responsible antiviral solution for all applications.

To find out more about the Evogen Professional cleaning range, or to purchase direct, visit www.evogenprofessional.com.

A Tool In The Test And Trace Arsenal Is Here An entrepreneur who wanted a better way for businesses to collect details of customers for the NHS Test and Trace requirements has developed an app – ‘COVID Collect’.

Carl Blanchard of C3 Software in Bournemouth, Dorset, designed the system after writing down his details in pubs on sheets of paper.

Understanding it was potentially capable of spreading Covid-19 and in breach of GDPR rules, he designed his superbly simple to use app.

Any venue, sports club or premises that requires visitors to register for the Test and Trace system can now use ‘COVID Collect’.

Data can be inputted on a device either by the customer or staff – it is then safely stored and can be sent to Test and Trace if required, details are deleted after 21 days to comply with GDPR and Test and Trace regulations

The data can be inputted using contactless technology, customers simply generate and scan a QR code with their details on.

Carl said: “When I had to write my details down on a piece of paper, I saw a problem that had to be solved.’’

“Using a pencil means Covid could be spread and it would be easy for someone to take a photo of all the names and numbers on the list, which would be in breach of GDPR regulations.’’

“Inputting the data takes seconds – the details are stored safely and can be communicated to Test and Trace if necessary.

“All businesses that require customers or visitors to give their details can use this app and it can be up and running in minutes.’’

“People already using it say it drastically reduces the burden of administration and frees up a lot of time.’’

COVID Collect is designed to be part of a business’s range of measures to help keep everyone safe.

For more information or to purchase visit C3’s website at: www.c3software.co.uk/covidcollect/

Hygiene, Health and Safety

We Have The Technology To Keep Your Business Safe!

The FaceCam from Fusion is a technology breakthrough. Designed to accurately capture face recognition, temperature and mask data, this technology detects and alerts whether an individual has a fever and if wearing a mask is required will alert user if no mask is present. Software will also email management should a fever reading be taken.

The software provided with FaceCam does allow for reporting. You can use these reports to set a date range and see everyone who has come into the building (and at what time) and what their temperature was at that time. The software can recognise enrolled staff members or alternatively record guests

and visitor photo along with detail of times and dates both in and out of the building By asking the member of staff that you’d like to enrol on the FaceCam stand them in front of the device and have their temperature taken. First take the reading without a mask on. After they’ve been enrolled the device will have no problem identifying them with a mask on.

Watch our short video on our web site to see it in action. Message or call the Fusion team if you'd like to learn more or book a demonstration 01133 979 555. https://fusion4care.com/facecam/

Use Colourful Visual Communication Aids to Increase Safety, Productivity and Revenue in the Hospitality and Catering Sector

As the new industry landscape unfolds post-Covid, it’s critical for establishments in the hospitality and catering sector to adapt and evolve to meet the changing legislation and environments, whilst keeping their staff and customers safe. Throughout all of this, operating at maximum output is crucial in order to generate revenue and profits, and so productivity and efficiency matter.

Beaverswood, a visual communication specialist, has developed a full range of smart and effective solutions that will help you to operate effectively and efficiently, in the safest manner.

Considering all the aspects of running a business, looking after its customers, complying to government guidelines and keeping everyone safe, Beaverswood has developed a comprehensive

range of floor markings, perspex screens, seat markers and outdoor stencils, as well as impactful visual communication tools such as; labelling, signage and colourful noticeboards, which will help the hospitality and catering sector perform to the best of its ability.

Beaverswood states there is a definite correlation between highly effective visual aids and revenue performance. “Not only do you make your customers feel safer, you enable your workforce to work smarter and therefore quicker”, says Product Manager Jim Roberts. “In turn, this means establishments can optimise their productivity, which positively impacts the amount of money they put through their tills’.

For more information visit the full range of visual communication products at: www.beaverswood.co.uk

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Swiftclean - Air, Water and Fire Compliance In a post lockdown world, as well as food and COVID safety, it is essential to safeguard indoor air quality, water cleanliness and fire safety.

Airborne fat, oil and grease, released by cooking, accumulates in layers in your kitchen extract ductwork, hood and canopy, creating a potential fire risk. This grease must be removed regularly by expert technicians, in compliance with TR19® Grease, which is issued by BESA. A simple wet-film test tells us if a clean is due post lockdown.

If you don’t comply with TR19 Grease®, and there is a fire, your insurance provider may refuse to pay out and you could be prosecuted for negligence.

Similarly, you must protect your water system’s cleanliness and protect it from legionella outbreaks by complying with L8, issued by the Legionella Control Association.

If you had to shut down due to COVID, your water system should have been recommissioned and flushed through. If your risk assessment is out of date, you must get it updated. Again, you could be prosecuted for negligence if you haven’t complied.

Your indoor air quality should also be safeguarded by complying with TR19®, the leading guidance on ventilation system hygiene, also issued by BESA. Clean ductwork means cleaner, healthier air.

Visit www.swiftclean.co.uk

Astreea - The Pedal Hand Sanitiser Introducing the Astreea® pedal hand sanitiser.

Touchless, fully mechanical and made entirely from medical stainless steel, this revolutionary dispenser requires no assembly, electrical outlet, or maintenance. It’s designed for both indoor and outdoor use, making it ideal for any public space.

The Astreea® dispenser is different from typical plastic wall or post-mounted products. Its seamless steel body and mechanical operation make it almost indestructible. Units are maintenance-free, arrive fully assembled, and use any hand sanitiser product, making them an ideal solution during

these uncertain times.

• • • • •

12 month warranty • Anti-theft • Hands-free Genuine usage increase where installed Medical stainless-steel construction No electrical outlet needed Visitors see you are proactively making site safe • Highest quality materials • Universal use, can be filled with any hand sanitiser To learn more, visit www.astreeauk.co.uk or contact info@astreeauk.co.uk See the advert on page 2 for details.

trck.to Track & Trace Solution

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

Airship, the hospitality technology specialist launched trck.to, their Track & Trace solution back in July in aid of a swift and safe reopening for thousands of locations including football clubs, theatres and churches as well as bars, pubs and restaurants.

As news from Government this week means that Track & Trace will be mandatory in the UK hospitality sector from September 18th, the demand for safe and secure Track & Trace will be higher still.

A key benefit of Trck.to is that when customers check in, they’re

given the option to opt in to receive the operator’s marketing emails. On average, operators are seeing a 25% opt in rate, with some as high as 50%, giving businesses a much-needed boost as they reopen.

Operators already signed up to Trck.to include: Caffé Nero, Camden Town Brewery, Costa Coffee, Crussh, Greggs, Hotel Chocolat, Leon, Mildreds, Mission Mars, Ole & Steen, Pret a Manger, Roadchef and Vagabond.

Visit usetrck.to to sign up now.

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Monika Automates Hygiene Tasks for Staff and Customer Safety

Automation is an increasingly attractive option in today’s commercial kitchen. Although we are all conditioned to wash our hands, thoroughly and frequently, and improve hygiene in general, it can be hard to uphold such measures in a busy environment where pressures are greater than ever.

This is where an automated food safety system can help. MonikaPrime can be programmed to give audible as well as visual reminders when a hygiene/infection control task is due – for example to clean down equipment, change cloths and even to alert staff to wash their hands or take customer contact details. By choosing to set an alarming and flashing ‘beacon’, staff can be in no doubt that a task is due and are more likely to complete it on time.

Repeat or one-off checks can be

programmed, with verification by a line manager to ensure completion to a sufficient standard if required.

UK Director of Sales Rag Hulait commented: “You can use MonikaPrime to drive and double check compliance with food safety and hygiene requirements set within your business. And if you add automated equipment temperature monitoring, you remove the need for staff to move around taking manual fridge and freezer temperature readings, touching surfaces that may be contaminated.”

The MonikaPrime system also comes with easy to use software that gives you visibility of staff and equipment performance, so you can see areas for improvement on the way to confident compliance.

For more information please contact Monika on 01664 420 022, rag@monika.com or visit www.monika.com.

WaterCare Proudly Introduce the New iX Water Range iX Water filters are the first truly eco-friendly, 100% recyclable cartridge filter in the market, offering Insert Refill Technology to provide a genuinely sustainable and cost-effective alternative to mainstream cartridge water filters. For use on coffee machines, water coolers, ice machines, vending machines, and catering applications. The iX range offers a comprehensive product in a cost effective, efficient, flexible, and stylish package.

measurable control.

WaterCare are extremely aware of the negative impact that waste plastic has on the environment, plus with the uncertainty of where the hospitality industry will be in the next 12 months following Covid-19 pandemic, WaterCare have created a product and program designed to not only reduce your costs significantly, but also recycle 100% of the expired media inserts and return these back into the marketplace – keeping costs & waste down, whilst creating

WaterCare are passionate about providing cost effective, eco-friendly solutions to water treatment. Their NEW, improved iX range of water filters, along with our Replace & Return Program provide an easy, responsible, and cost-effective alternative to current one-way systems.

The iXWater range now has a newly designed head for ease of maintenance. The iXWater head has quick shut off, flush valve and an optional digital flow meter.

The head also has a variable bypass to allow some untreated water to be dialled back into the water supply which is essential for better coffee extraction and taste.

Discover the full iX Water range at www.watercare.co.uk/ eco-friendly-water-filters/ or call 01279 780250 to speak to a sales representative.

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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ATP Leads The Way For Hotel Cleaning Effectiveness As hoteliers navigate the swings between lockdowns and reduced capacity, and reopening floors, preparing rooms, and accepting more guests, they will need to take extra steps to ensure the safety of those guests and the employees who serve them.

Key to that safety will be ensuring that sleeping rooms, conference areas, lobbies and lounges are cleaned and sanitized. While sanitising surfaces is just a small part of combatting the prevalence of COVID-19, hotels need to prove to guests that their facility is safe place to stay.

Too often, monitoring of cleaning effectiveness has relied on visual inspection. This, of course, cannot detect unseen microbes. Cleaning and sanitation monitoring technology that uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy-releasing molecule found in every living cell, has been adopted by hotels and

other industries to monitor cleaning effectiveness. ATP monitors provide, in as little as 10 seconds, quantitation of the overall ability of cleaning chemicals and crews using them to clean a surface.

One study estimates that 33 percent of the ATP picked up by monitoring is microbial in origin. Surfaces will vary according to sources of contamination and frequency of contact but reducing ATP levels often is enough to reduce infection. Hygiena’s EnSURE™ Touch ATP Monitoring System uses the UltraSnap™ test to collect samples from virtually any surface, delivering actionable, reliable results in seconds. Its portability and ability to upload to SureTrend cloudbased software lets you track and trace progress, without leaving the room!

See the advert on page 19 or visit www.hygiena.com/hospitality

Doesitall’s Alcohol Free Hand Sanitiser is ECO-FRIENDLY as Our Formula is Alcohol Free

Doesitall hand sanitiser has a naturally occurring formulation with active ingredients that kills 99.99% of viruses and bacteria.

Doesitall’s Alcohol Free, Anti-Viral & Anti-Bacterial hand sanitiser is a ready to use, high performance hand sanitiser solution. It is suitable for use on the hands, to remove potentially harmful viruses & bacteria.

Benefits of using Doesitall hand sanitiser:

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

• Includes hand softening agents and is beautifully scented leaving your hands soft with a pleasant aroma • Eco-friendly, due to our all natural formulation process, with active biological ingredients used as opposed to alcohol • Our naturally occurring ingredients are readily biodegradable and have no aquatic toxicity, thus they offer a greener alternative to conventional alcohol products

and minimise environmental impact Our hand sanitiser is fully laboratory tested and has passed BS EN 14476:2013 + A2:2019 standards concluding it is effective against 99.99% of viruses and bacteria including SARS + CoV-2. (Covid-19).

Doesitall Hand Sanitiser is NonFlammable. It contains naturally produced active ingredients which is better for the environment. Our dual action virucidal formula prevents the chance of anti-microbial resistance occurring. Our 5L Eco refill system allows you to refill your own re-usable sprayers saving on harmful plastic waste.

Protect your staff and customers, use Doesitall’s Alcohol Free Hand Sanitiser with clinically proven confidence!

See the advert below or visit www.doesitall.uk

Hygiene, Health and Safety

Clean Air for a Safe Environment

During these uncertain times, we must be equipped with the right tools to fight contaminates. Axair offer state of the art air cleaning systems for any indoor environment to help improve air quality and prevent the spread of disease.

Wellisair is a patented air disinfectant air purifier with the innovative technology to disinfect, purify and clean the air and surfaces with nature’s mechanisms removing 99.9% of all hazardous elements.

How Does Wellisar Work?

Wellisair uses technology that generates and expands hydroxyl radicals (OH) that by oxidation eliminates virus, bacteria, allergens, moulds, odours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) up to 99.9%.

OH is a powerful purifying substance that is generated naturally by sunlight, ozone, and moisture in the air, and it harmlessly disappears along with other air pollutants. Once the oxidation process has started, the effect called “respiratory explosion” occurs, which consists of a series of cascade reactions that produce more hydroxyl radicals, this accelerates the process of eliminating viruses and bacteria. Wellisair produces the same chain effect that efficiently purifies and disinfects the air and surfaces of an area up to 60m2.

The Wellisair is available to buy online at www.axaironline.co.uk.

To find out more about our clean air solutions please email sales@axair-fans.co.uk or call 01782 349 430.

Viroblock™ Bedding - 99.99% Effective Protection The Fine Bedding Company are leading suppliers for the bedding industry with over 100 years of manufacturing experience. Their united purpose is to create better products for a better night’s sleep, priding themselves on their quality and sustainability commitments; continuously striving to have a positive impact on people and the planet.

The hospitality sector has been impacted more than most by the measures taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, The Fine Bedding Company has developed a revolutionary new bedding collection to provide guests and hoteliers with peace of mind as the sector begins its long awaited return to normality.

It’s been found that Coronavirus can live on textile surfaces for up to two days, and sleeping on a pillow previously occupied by an infected individual could increase the risk transmission. Their latest collection, including pillows, pillow protectors and mattress protectors, uses ground-breaking Viroblock™ technology which has been tested to be 99.99% effective against

SARS-COV-2 within 30 minutes of contact, the virus that causes COVID-19, alongside other common viruses, bacteria and yeasts in as little as 5 minutes.

The entire collection has been tested to remain durable and effective for at least 15 washes at 40°C and has been certified as safe and sustainable, with all Viroblock™ ingredients being cosmetic grade, bio-based, OEKOTEX® certified and recycled.

Contact the team to find out how their latest collection can provide you and your guests with the reassuring comfort of complete hygiene. Alternatively, shop their entire hospitality bedding collection at www.finebeddinghotels.co.uk with an exclusive 10% off offer for Caterer readers using code SLEEPINCOMFORT at the checkout.

Contact information: Website – www.finebeddinghotels.co.uk Email – hospitality@finebeddingcompany.co.uk Phone - +44 (0)161 864 5632

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AcryBright Clearly Protecting Your Staff Protective screens and sneeze guards have become common place thanks to the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, in a rush to get barriers in place, many businesses purchased materials without thinking about the longer term implications around quality and performance.

These clear screens are going to be in place for some time to come. They will need to survive rigorous cleaning regimes with high-strength cleaning chemicals. These chemicals can cause damage, from small surface scratches through to potential warping or clouding of the screen.

This kind of damage not only reduces the hygienic properties of the product but also affects its visual appeal, which can have a negative impact on the customer experience.

Image credit: AcryBright

Hillbrush Antimicrobial Hillbrush is the UK’s largest manufacturer of cleaning brushes and specialist hygienic cleaning tools.

Throughout the food supply chain there are significant risks of cross-contamination, no more so than within the factory environment where raw materials and ingredients come into contact with surfaces throughout production. COVID-19 will mean that cleaning regimes will need to be even more rigorous, not only to minimise the risk of cross contamination from pathogenic bacteria, such as Campylobacter and

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

AcryBright is a cell cast acrylic which provides optimum optical clarity and rigidity. Due to its ease of fabrication it is ideal for personal protective screens and has superb in-service durability too.

AcryBright's chemical resistance and good surface hardness offer greater durability in service, withstanding cleaning regimes over and over and still maintaining its optical clarity. And should there be an accidental scratch, it can be refurbished with a polish back to a gloss finish.

It is an excellent choice of material to provide protection for retail workers, counter and reception staff in stores, hotels, as well as office environments.

To find out more please go to https://bit.ly/2EV7YsL or see the advert on this page.

E. coli, but also from Coronavirus transmission between co-workers.

Using cleaning equipment that is fit for purpose and effective sanitising of equipment between use is one line of defence to prevent bacterial contamination. But a second line of defence that is increasing in popularity is the reduction of the threat of cross-contamination and the use of antimicrobial cleaning tools within the food production environment. Antimicrobial tools also increase the lifespan of cleaning tools and understanding of what equipment is needed for each cleaning task to ensure optimum results.

Antimicrobial cleaning tools are specifically designed to prevent the growth and reduce the risk of bacterial cross-contamination, minimise foreign body contamination and support HACCP and 5S best practice with colour-coded segregation. While antimicrobial cleaning tools should not replace a regular cleaning regime, they enhance it, adding the additional level of protection that everyone is seeking in a post-COVID landscape.

For more information on Hillbrush’s range of antimicrobial cleaning products visit https://www.hillbrush.com/uk/hygiene/Anti-Microbial/

Hygiene, Health and Safety

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CLH Digital

A Clean Start - Integrated Sanitising Solutions

With over 50 years of experience, ICE is the UK’s largest independent provider of industrial cleaning machines.

We bring a simple, reliable brand and offering to the industry with straightforward equipment purchase, rental, service and approved-used solutions designed to meet the needs and demands of every customer, however small or extensive their budget.

We have a huge range of scrubber dryer and sweeping machines suitable for all types of environments, from

standard robust equipment or high-end machines equipped with the latest technology, to robotic floor cleaning machines.

Our ICE Co-Botics line is the industry’s first comprehensive range of robotic cleaning machines. We believe these innovations will help shape the way cleaning operations and functions are carried out in the future, but in a collaborative and cohesive way.

The equipment has been designed to integrate into cleaning team operations, picking up the manual and repetitive tasks, which will then allow operators to focus on hygiene and sanitising activities to promote cleaner and safer environments. It’s not about replacing people it’s about embracing technology to deliver higher cleaning standards, infection control and ‘proof of clean’.

Other innovations include our new sanitising and fogging equipment, which effectively sanitise and disinfect floors and the surrounding air, ensuring a safe and hygienic working environment.

Contact us: 0800 389 3869 enquiries@ice-clean.com www.ice-clean.com

EAIS - The Ideal Solution T

EAIS are your one stop solution for all of your storage and handling needs. Our vastly experienced and award winning team are on hand to support our distributors and to help them overcome any challenge that they may face.

We offer 16 different types of racking to choose from including chrome, nylon, stainless steel solid, perforated & wire as well as lift-out systems. All of these are available in wide range of sizes which will help to maximise every area of a busy commercial kitchen. Follow this up with a huge range of trolleys and transportation system you will find all that’s needed to support all types of commercial catering applications. We are proud of our ability to hold vast stocks of racking and

trolleys, allowing us to accommodate urgent next day delivery requests if required.

In addition to standard products one of our strengths is our flexibility. Our on-site in-house manufacturing facility allows us to offer bespoke items to our customers. Therefore if our standard product doesn’t quite tick your box our engineers and designers will work closely with a client to ensure the correct bespoke solution is offered.

As well as supply only we can also offer an efficient and economical installation service with our highly experienced and qualified teams of fitters.

For more information please visit our website – www.eais.co

East Anglian Installation Systems Ltd

EAIS Ltd @EAISUK

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising East Anglian Installation Systems Ltd

e.a.i.s_uk

TTHE H E IDEAL SOLUTION SOLUTIO N East Installation Systems Systems East Anglian Anglian Installation

Tel: 01553 765205 Fax: 01553 768464 www.eais.co Tel:

rer and Supplier of products products supplied both to the Foodservice EAIS is a leading Manufactu Manufacturer re looking for only meet the customer’s demands, but their expectations as well. Whether you a are storage shelving, rracking acking systems and trolleys, trolleys, or healthcare healthcare shelving and medical ttrolleys rolleys or food storage bespoke design p roducts. EAIS will be your Ideal Solution.

Solution. even bespoke products.

East Anglian Installation Systems Ltd

EAIS Ltd @EAISUK

East Anglian Installation Systems Ltd

e.a.i.s_uk

m, sOldmedow Oldm O Road, Ha rdwick Industrial Estate, King’s LLynn, ynn, No r folk PE30 4JJ East Anglian Installation Systems Hardwick Norfolk

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Tough On Germs But Gentle On Hands - Save Money On Highly Concentrated, Certified Hand Sanitiser

With many people still apprehensive of returning to their everyday lives, there has never been a more important time to ensure the health of staff and customers.

Hygiene is key to building staff and consumer confidence, increasing footfall and boosting dwell time – all resulting in increased revenue and profitability. We know that hand sanitisation is vital to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and as a result, most pubs and restaurants are ensuring that they offer hand sanitiser to customers on arrival at their establishment. Surveys have shown that consumers feel more comfortable eating out if antibacterial products were provided for free.

There are many brands of hand sanitiser on the mar-

ket, with some as low as 60% alcohol. Medical grade sanitisers usually start around 70%. At 75% alcohol, Lonstin highly concentrated Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitiser gel is quick and effective at killing 99.9% of all bacteria. The certified, rinse-free, non-sticky gel has been specially formulated with antibacterial ingredients, which are effective at eliminating MSRA and E.coli, while leaving hands gently cleansed and refreshed. Providing everyday protection for your staff and customers.

Take advantage of fast delivery and save money with great case or bundle deals from as little as 63p each (ex VAT).

To find out more and order your certified hand sanitiser go to: www.handsanitiserproduct.com

KINEPROTECT Ensures Safe Social Spaces cubicles and enclosures and sister company of leading plumbing brand, Saniflo, has re-purposed its French factory to design and launch a new range of high quality glass protection screens and panels to ensure the safety and welfare of staff and the public.

Using existing stocks of scratchAs the hospitality sector opens up resistant glass the new Kineprotect to visitors and customers following range includes table mounted lockdown many organisations are options in 75cm and 100 cm heights installing protective screens and pan- and a choice of five widths from 80 els to eliminate any risk of virus to 160cm. A useful countertop transmission. option features a wider space at the bottom to pass drinks and consumShower brand, Kinedo, a highly regarded European manufacturer of ables. A choice of highly portable,

floor mounted options includes tall, self-supporting panels are available in a range of widths.

Manufactured from 6mm tempered glass the screens and panels will not warp or discolour and are easy to clean and maintain. Highly durable, the Kineprotect range provides an upmarket, professional solution that won’t diminish the aesthetics of the hospitality environment. All items are available for quick delivery and can be ordered online https://kinedo.co.uk/kineprotect-glass.

More information is available from the technical sales team on 020 8842 0033 or email: info@kinedo.co.uk.

Sanozone. The Easy Way To Sanitise Your Indoor Spaces SANOZONE, which delivers the most efficient sanitisation performance in indoor spaces, is now available from Barbel.

Manufactured by Vitaeco S.r.l., the world famous manufacturer of the highly regarded HotmixPro thermal blender range, SANOZONE sanitises rooms of many sizes in enclosed HRC sites, hotels, restaurants, bars, conference rooms and similar establishments where totally reliable and regular sanitisation is needed.

SANOZONE is particularly suitable for hospitals and care home areas, where absolute cleanliness is mandatory, and in areas where it is difficult or impossible to deliver effective sanitisation throughout.

The SANOZONE range of machines use Ozone (O3)

technology, a gaseous form of Ozone that fills the room, reaching every corner of the space, santising surfaces and critical hard-to-reach corners homogenously, consistently and safely. The SANOZONE range of sanitisation machines are all equipped with the latest technology and customised disinfection programmes to suit your specific requirements.

The running costs are considerably lower than any traditional disinfecting programmes and most importantly, there is no manual labour involved.

For further information about the SANOZONE range, please contact Barbel on 01629 705110, email info@barbel.net, or visit the website at www.barbel.net

Outdoor Spaces

Commercial BBQ Smokers Release an Energy Efficient Robata Grill Wood burning equipment specialists Commercial BBQ Smokers have created the Robata Low Energy Grill, a modernised take on the impressive, multi-level, multiuse machine. Created with energy efficiency in mind, this expert made equipment offers up to 75% in energy savings, when compared to other brands.

Robata Grills are well-known and loved for the fast and theatrical way in which a chef can cook food upon them. Customers enjoy watching their meal cooking on this impressive machine, and are sure to return time and time again for the delicious result.

Meat, poultry and fish comes off of the robata grill succulent on the inside, with a beautiful smoky crisp

to the outside. Vegetables are made to perfection with that much desired flame grilled edge. This grill is extremely versatile, able to cook a variety of dishes from juicy steak, to chicken and veg skewers, to charcoal baked potatoes.

The Robata Low Energy Grill contains three grill stations, two refrigeration drawers and two hot drawers for keeping food warm, without drying it out.

All that is needed is three ¾” gas connections and an approved canopy for proper ventilation. The Robata Low Energy Grill can be used both indoors and outdoors.

Email: sales@commercialbbqsmokers.co.uk Telephone: 0161 684 4377 or see the advert on page 44.

Sunshade Services Specialist Bespoke Outdoor Structures Sunshade Services specialise in the design, manufacture & installation of outdoor structures directly aimed at the hospitality sector. There are many things to consider when deciding which type of structure may best suit your needs including appearance, materials, safety, coverage required, planning issues and cost to name but a few.

Having a totally flexible approach allows us to offer what we feel is the best all round solution to suit your individual needs.

Every structure designed by us can be individually tailored to suit your requirements but allows us to meet any design requirements or site restrictions that may be placed upon.

Many of our structures can also be expanded upon in a modular fashion to allow further or extended coverage of large or awkward shaped areas allowing you to limit your capital expenditure as required.

Please either call us on either of the numbers below or email your enquiry to info@sunshadeservices.co.uk & one of our sales team will get back to you as soon as they are free Contact us for your free no obligation quotation & start saving now.

T: 01782 398848 / 07807 063734 e: info@sunshadeservices.co.uk

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Worried You’ll Lose Revenue When You Can No Longer Use Your Outside Space For Extra Covers This Winter? ing. Integrated gutter systems make this addition to your business a fully functional all-weather solution.

Social distancing isn’t going anywhere so you’re probably wondering how you can keep all those extra covers you’ve placed in your outside space when the bad weather arrives? Installing an outdoor structure from Broadview Shading Solutions could be the answer.

Offer extra covers on busy days, guaranteed functions throughout the Summer whatever the weather, and a year-round additional party space. Separate entrance doors enable clients to use this as an exclusive area for special events. And when the sun does make an appearance, simply open the retractable roof, slide back the side panels and you’ve got an enviable al-fresco dining area once again – the best of both worlds!

The outdoor pergola structures with retractable louvred roofs can be enclosed with sliding glass or retracting zip screens to create additional enclosed space for the Winter.

Optional extras such as LED lighting and electric heaters mean the space can be used all year round. The custom structures from Broadview can be designed to fit any space and create the perfect addition which is both practical and aesthetically pleas-

To learn more and to book your free design consultation, get in touch with Broadview today on 01202 679012.

See the advert on page 36.

Creating Covered External Space with Canopy Solutions Base Structures are a UK market leader in the design and installation of fabric structures. Using the highest quality fabrics, Base can create beautiful canopies to provide weather protection for dining, drinking or relaxation areas.

With the rise of the UK staycation and ongoing need for social distancing, now is the perfect time to adapt and use outdoor space wisely. Using either bespoke or ‘off the shelf’ canopies, Base Structures expertise ensures a creative design that is sensitive to its environment but also maximises space to retain profitability.

The options are extensive from covered outdoor seating for restaurants and bars, to entrance canopies, queuing shelters, waiting areas and covered hygiene stations to provide the best possible experience for everyone.

might need a bit of advice in getting their premises or facilities COVID-secure or ready for different configurations or layouts in 2021.

For a friendly chat about your circumstances and what can be done to make the best of the space you have available, contact Base Structures today.

Base Structures can offer a full service from concept to installation and work with different budgets and are always keen to discuss the options with people who

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www.basestructures.com

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Outside Structure Solutions

We at Outside Structure solutions specialise in the design and installation of bespoke exterior structures such as canopies, garden pods, retractable roller walls and gazebos.

We cater for both residential and commercial markets creating usable outside space which is specific to your requirements as well as budget. All our products and installations are designed and built to the highest of standard giving the desired finish that will pass the test of

time. Our firm belief is quality over quantity, offering only the highest quality products and customer service at a price that is fair.

For further information or to request a quotation, please contact our specialists, who will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

Call 01480 413050 or visit www.outsidestructures.co.uk

Garden Furniture In Stock Now!

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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In these troubled times, many of you will be looking for garden furniture to enable you to spread out more outside, to meet Government requirements re social distancing. Look no further than LeisureBench Ltd. for quality commercial grade outdoor products.

We have a huge range in stock now, thanks to our 50,000 sq. ft. of storage space. We have A Frame and round picnic tables, that includes heavy duty pressure treated designs, benches, parasols, chairs, tables, dining sets, Rattan furniture and much much more.

You are sure to find something that suits your requirements.

Make sure you order now while stocks last and take advantage of our trade only volume

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discounts.

Any purchase over £500 will save you 5% off our trade prices, £1000 plus orders, 10% off and £1500 plus orders will save you a massive 15% off.

On top of that readers of this magazine can claim an extra 5% off selected products, by using the discount code CATERER19 when ordering on our web site at the check out.

LeisureBench Ltd offer a speedy delivery throughout the UK. To view our full range of outdoor furniture, visit our website at www.leisurebench.co.uk.

You can also contact our dedicated sales team by emailing sales@leisurebench.co.uk or by telephoning 01949 862920.

Outdoor Spaces Lanai Outdoor

the space below, which is extremely pleasant in summer.

Whether adding sun protection or protecting your customers from inclement weather, we have a range of solutions for all types of businesses including:

Lanai Outdoor offer a range of Outdoor Glass Rooms, canopies, retractable awnings and verandas to make the most of uncovered or unused outdoor space. For terraces and patios, it means having the opportunity to host many people, always and at any time in a space that is spectacular, sheltered and comfortable.

• • • • • •

Sporting Clubs wedding venues bars & coffee shops restaurants hotels retail shops Contact us via our website www.lanai-commercial.co.uk or email commercialsales@lanai-outdoor.co.uk

Your event space becomes invaluable to you.

Featuring the Lanai Commercial IRIS pergolas have such slender and elegant lines that they harmoniously fit into any space, from period buildings to late night bars & clubs. The IRIS outdoor room conceal technologies that ensure their perfect functionality. The basic model has a cover with adjustable louvres: when in a horizontal position, they provide protection against the sun and rain; when open, they create a light breeze in

German Sausages: The King of the Campfire When it comes to hearty foods roasted over an open flame, there is little—maybe even nothing—that can compete with the mighty sausage. Whether speared with a shaved branch or sizzling in a skillet over a barbecue fire, they are the meaty symbol of campfire cookouts and The Sausage Man is here to deliver a mouth-watering selection of the champions.

The fiery franks have been a staple of the humblest kind of alfresco dining, but that does not mean they are ever short on flavour or versatility.

Take the intensely smoky Krakauer sausage, with its distinct orange-brown colour and mouth-watering bacon pieces. Not only is it reminiscent of all the

wonderful smoky flavours associated with outdoor cooking, but it packs a juicy punch of flavour that’s easy to add to any campfire dish.

Of course, it’s perfectly delicious on its own, but chop it up and skewer it with a few chunky vegetables of your choice and you’ve got a delicious skewer or even a medley you can enjoy with rice. Quick, easy, delicious; you’ve got yourself a simple, delicious meal that’s perfect on a camping trip with friends or family—without skipping the quality of a real, authentic German sausage!

Visit www.sausageman.co.uk for details or to order.

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Outdoor Spaces

Café Culture - Pavement Profit

We are an independent supplier serving the outdoor restaurant trade with supplies for outdoor seating areas. We have some large clients including Gondola group along with many smaller cafe bars, restaurants and public houses.

made menu holders, waiter stations and planters all to you requirement. If we can help you do drop a line to sales@cafeculture.biz

We design and manufacturer our own windbreaks and use the best materials available. For anyone looking long term that saves you money as you won’t be replacing cheap internet imports next season. It’s one area where it doesn’t pay to buy budget as the continual bumps and scrapes outdoor goods receive combined with the harsh British climate really needs something tough enough for the job.

We also supply Markilux awning which are some of the best made in the industry and Uhlmann parasols another top rated German brand.

Bespoke goods are also a speciality with custom

CambridgeStyle Canopies

CambridgeStyle Canopies have an enviable reputation in the hospitality sector for providing shade and shelter solutions for pubs, hotels and restaurants across the UK. We specialise in offering the right covering solutions to maximise your useable outdoor space with our range of made-to-measure aluminium outdoor canopy systems.

Our product range includes: • Wall mounted non-fragile or glass roof canopies with up to 6m projection and unlimited length • Free standing canopies with up to 12m projection and unlimited length • Solisysteme Bio Climatic Pergolas with the latest Somfy

technology and up to 7.1m post span • Zip Screens and Sliding Glass doors • Heating and lighting upgrades for all canopy systems Contact us to discuss your needs and arrange a site survey so we can help identify the right solution for your business. We have all the necessary accreditations within the construction sector and provide a no quibble 10-year guarantee on all products to give you peace of mind. Together we can help get business going again!

Emails office@cambridgestyle.org or visit www.cambridgestylecanopies.co.uk

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

CambridgeStyle Canopies have an enviable reputation in the hospitality sector for providing shade and shelter solutions for pubs, hotels and restaurants across the UK. We specialise in offering the right covering solutions to maximise your useable outdoor space with our range of madeto-measure aluminium outdoor canopy systems.

Our product range includes:

• Wall mounted non-fragile or glass roof canopies with up to 6m projection and unlimited length • Free standing canopies with up to 12m projection and unlimited length • SoliSySteme Bio Climatic Pergolas with the latest Somfy technology and up to 7.1m post span • Zip Screens and Sliding Glass doors • Heating and lighting upgrades for all canopy systems

Contact us to discuss your needs and arrange a site survey so we can help identify the right solution for your business. We have all the necessary accreditations within the construction sector and provide a no quibble 10-year guarantee on all products to give you peace of mind. Together we can help get business going again!

CambridgeStyle Canopies Ltd 01353 699009 | office@cambridgestyle.org | www.cambridgestylecanopies.co.uk “WE’VE GOT IT COVERED - NOBODY DOES IT BETTER”

Previous Clients Include:

Outdoor Spaces

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Increase Your Business Capacity with A Temporary or Semi-Permanent Structure Creating extra space within a garden centre can often be a long drawn-out process but you can achieve this in just a few days by installing one of our temporary or semi-permanent structures.

Our extensions fix seamlessly onto your current building or alternatively they can be used as a standalone structure.

The structures can be fully operational and ready to accommodate your customers in just a few days with little to no disturbance to the day to day running of your business.

One of the major benefits of using their Space Building System is it negates the need for expensive ground works prior to installation. Designed and manufactured in Wiltshire, the building is delivered to site in kit form and is built from the ground up, regardless of the terrain. The only requirements are a small crew and a forklift.

With 100% of the structural elements being re-usable, the environmental impact is negligible.

See the advert below or visit www.worldwide-structures.com

We design and manufacture freestanding canopies that are perfect for covered outdoor dining and event areas for restaurants, hotels, pubs and clubs.

Maximise Your Outdoor Space, Whatever The Weather, With Our Innovative Range Of All Year Round Canopies!

At Inside2Outside Ltd we are experts in the design, fabrication and installation of eye-catching tensile canopies that transform your outdoor dining facilities.

Our 30 years of experience means we can approach space differently and innovatively and our excellent customer service ensures you get exactly what you need. A full project management service is offered. Check out our website for our full range at www.inside2outside.co.uk.

There are many canopy companies in the UK but few compare to us in terms of longevity and versatility, standards of engineering, visual appeal and customer service.

Our best-selling Qube canopy roofs are made from advanced tensile membrane fabric which is translucent yet provides shade and blocks all harmful UV rays. Our frames are made from aluminium, which is strong, longlasting and will not rust. These are available in a range of colours. Further details are on our website www.inside2outside.co.uk We recently launched a range of thin film solar canopies and solar shade structures. These solar canopies provide an opportunity to create extra, permanent, all-weather spaces for your activities whilst reducing your electricity bills and your carbon emissions. By signing up to the government's electricity Feed-in-Tariff you can even generate an income from your outdoor

Control the Summer surge at your restaurant, hotel or bar, and spread the profits throughout the year with a covered dining area that can be used all year round, whatever the weather.

structure.

With our unrivalled experience and product range you can be sure of finding an all-weather shading solution to suit your needs.

We recently helped Fairlawns Hotel & Spa in Birmingham create a new outdoor entertaining area by project managing the installation of a large retractable terrace area.

“The installation has really exceeded our expectations.

The retractable canopy covers a huge area and has allowed us to create a great link between the buildings and our gardens. We wanted to have flexibility with cover retraction and through constructing in 3 modules we have achieved just that. We are really enjoying the area and it provides a great point of difference for wedding and party guests, especially with the demand for outside weddings but unreliable of the weather” Hotel Owner.

Contact us on 01480 498297 to arrange for one of our sales advisers to pop out and have a chat about your shading requirements. We can offer tensile canopies, retractable terrace covers, outdoor dining structures, garden patio covers and covered walkways.

Visit www.inside2outside.co.uk or call 01480 498297

Phone: 01480 498297 Email: info@inside2outside.co.uk Web: www.inside2outside.co.uk

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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Products and Services

Rio, The Top 10 Canned Drink, Loved By Dining in the New Normal with Sustainable Your Customers and a Must Stock! and Hygienic Wrapped Wooden Cutlery It was back in 1994 that Hall & Woodhouse, the 243year-old Dorset based family brewer famed for its Badger Beer, launched a new, real fruit juice based soft drink called Rio. The brand proved an instant hit with consumers thanks to the high quality, super-fruity, unique tropical flavour which transports taste buds straight to sunny climes and happy times!

Today Rio is a Top 10 Carbonated Adult Soft-Drink Brand in the UK* with consumers drinking over 1m litres** every month, and as a result Rio outperforms the Adult Soft Drinks market with 50%*** of total Rio sales going through the Foodservice & Catering industry. Not only that, but you won’t find Rio in Supermarkets because at Hall & Woodhouse we want to champion independent business’ by offering something different that your customers won’t find in the grocers!

The regular Rio Tropical variant contains 10% real fruit juice and lightly sparkling spring water and Rio Tropical

Light is an alternate variant with no added sugar, with both available in 330ml can and 500ml PET bottle.

There are 3 great reasons for you as a catering and hospitality business to stock Rio: 1. It will help all of us to keep backing smaller, independent business’ by offering them something exclusive that the supermarkets don’t have!

2. Rio is a Top 10 Adult Soft Drink Brand and is growing faster than the market so it’s guaranteed to outperform other products in your range.

3. Rio’s taste is unique and is the number one reason why consumers love it.

Stocking Rio will help put cash in your till and smiles on the faces of your customers. What are you waiting for?

See the advert on page 17 for details.

Visit www.drinkrio.com *Convenience IRI data to December 2019 ** Hall & Woodhouse ex-factory sales volumes 2019. *** Booker Sales Out data Feb 2020.

JURA JX10 - Speciality Coffee From A Pro The JX10 impresses with its versatility, user-friendliness and individuality. Offering 31 different speciality coffees, this master of its art covers both the full range of coffees finished with milk and milk foam and the entire spectrum of black coffees.

Easy to understand modern graphics mean that even first time users will be able to navigate to exactly what they want. Different speciality coffees can be programmed and given names according to your needs.

Maintenance of the JX10 is just as easy as operation. Integrated rinsing and cleaning programmes, used in combination with original JURA maintenance products, ensure TUV certified hygiene and cleanliness. Even the milk system in the JX10 is cleaned automatically at the touch of a button.

The machine also has a JURA Smart Connect integrated allowing state of the art automatic coffee machine operation via Smartphone and the free J.O.E.* app. Available accessories include Waste Water and Ground Eject, a Nayax Cashless System, a Cup Warmer Professional and a Data Communicator.

The machine comes with a 12 month on-site warranty, parts and labour and prices start with the JX10 Package of machine with Cooler Housing and 2.5ltr Cool Control at £3050.00.

MODEL shown is JX10 in platinum with Cooler Housing and Cool Control inside.

Visit uk.jura.com for further information.

All bars have cameras – nowadays local authorities would not grant licensing without the essential, wide ranging security they can provide. But make no mistake, they cannot protect a bar operator from under-ringing. If you are offered ‘clever’ video with print overlay showing what is being entered on the till, it will probably also include fast scanning to view each time Vodka, house lager or whatever is sold. You will be told ‘if you are aware you have a stock issue with a specific product, then that is a useful feature’ – right? No actually - that is wrong!

Fact is, if a bar operator has a stock issue with a specific product, the problem is because that product is dispensed but not sold. And this is where (EPoS) till connected dispense management provides information that cameras cannot. In a bar with hundreds of low value transactions the bar operator needs to know when a drink is dispensed but not registered – and cameras cannot inform anyone about that.

Beer or spirit monitoring dispense management must be fully connected to the EPoS system or it will not provide a full picture. With a timed record of every sale and dispense, and real time registration of drinks entered on customer accounts (bar, table or hotel room ‘tabs’), you can have an automated stock check every sixty seconds.

With a draught beer display resolution of a tenth of a pint, surplus and waste are also separated from measures which are not sold. And all events are shown graphically in a bar chart. So when you have the technology to highlight you lost two house lagers, a Guinness and a double vodka at 15:17, whilst also showing who was working in which bar at the time, if you want to remove any further doubt, then you might have a look at your video.

Searflo – it’s nothing like any PubCo sponsored alternative.

Visit www.searflo.com, enquiries@searflo.com or call 07528 819842 or see the advert on page 11.

Celebration Packaging’s EnviroWare® wooden cutlery is now available hygienically packed in a plastic-free wrapper.

“With the current heightened focus on hygiene, resulting from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we are pleased to offer one of our popular sustainable product ranges with an added hygienic benefit,” says Celebration Packaging Managing Director Nick Burton. “Our well-proven high quality, smooth wooden cutlery range is now available hygienically wrapped.”

The EnviroWare® wooden cutlery range consists of a knife, fork and two sizes of spoon. Each piece is available individually wrapped, plus

Viessmann Refrigeration At Viessmann Refrigeration, we understand that effective, reliable and hygienic refrigeration underpins the efficient performance in any hospitality environment where large volumes of foodstuffs and beverages need to be kept at a constant chilled temperature and meet the HACCP safety regulations.

The unique features of the Viessmann cold rooms includes panels with overlapped joints which are cam locked so there is no requirement to use silicone meaning our cold rooms can be extended from a nominal standard width to any length by adding floor, ceiling and wall modules to suit your specific size requirements plus this system prevents formation of dirt

there is a popular meal kit option containing a knife, fork, spoon and 22cm square brown paper napkin. The cutlery is made from wood from sustainable forestry and has full FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) chain of custody accreditation, while the unbleached paper wrapping is plastic free.

“Many consider Celebration as the sustainable foodservice cutlery experts,” says Nick Burton. “We won a silver award for our EnviroWare® paper cutlery in the Innovation Challenge at the lunch! show at London’s ExCel last year. The judging panel said: “The EnviroWare® paper cutlery is a real contender for the future of foodservice cutlery”.

For further information visit www.celebration.co.uk

and water. An Anti-Microbial coating prevents the transmission and spread of potentially harmful bacteria and makes cleaning easier and more hygienic.

Viessmann offers a wide range of energy efficient and durable refrigeration solutions including wall mounted, ceiling mounted and split systems so we can be flexible depending on your individual needs and site conditions.

We recently introduced a remote monitoring system which will alert you to any issues in real time and prevent any stock losses.

If you are looking for a cold room offering with full flexibility in configuration and design for hygienic and safe storage conditions then look no further.

See the advert on page 5 or +44 (0)1952 457 157 uksales@viessmann.com cooling.viessmann.co.uk

Meet the Hands-Free Alcoholic Drinks Vending Machine from VendEase What Is Possible With Video Surveillance - And What Is Not *Registered.

A new touch- free alcoholic drinks vending machine from VendEase enables the newly opened hospitality industry to offer a bar service that keeps staff and customers safe post lockdown.

VendEase has announced an innovative, age verified, alcoholic drinks vending machine, which is set to help the hospitality industry keep people safe and socially distance as hotels, pubs and cafes open their doors in a new, post lockdown landscape.

The machine from VendEase minimises guest contact points and enables safe distancing by allowing purchases to be made via a mobile phone. The customer scans a QR code, which then produces a visual interface that can be operated from their screen. The drink is then

Take a Fresh Look at the UK’s Best-Selling Pork Snacks ‘Original Scratchings’ – MR PORKY’S BEST-SELLING SCRATCHING: RENAMED AND WITH REFRESHED PACKAGING. Previously called ‘Crackles’, the leading scratching in supermarkets has been re-named ‘Scratchings’ in line with consumer feedback, but the unique, triple-cooked recipe is unchanged and packs retain their distinctive gold look. Pack sizes and RRP: 65g RRP £1 / 6pk (6x16.5g) RRP £2

Tayto, the UK’s leading supplier of pork snacks1, has announced a refresh of all its brands with new-look packaging plus some exciting new products and formats.

Producing mouth-watering scratchings since 1960, Mr Porky is No. 1 brand, with a 44% share7 and is going from strength to strength, growing at 5.1% YoY*. The new Mr Porky range now comprises of three products: ‘Mr Porky Hand Cooked Scratchings’ - A NEW PRODUCT With a delicious Great Taste 2 Star award-winning recipe, this new, premium product is hand cooked in small batches to be the ultimate pork scratching! This pack had the highest purchase intent of any pack in the consumer research and promises to become a top-seller. Pack sizes and RRP: 65g RRP £1.49 / 40g RRP £1

‘Crispy Strips’ - THE LIGHTER PRODUCT WITH UPDATED PACKAGING. This Great Taste award-winning pork snack has a lighter bite designed to attract new, younger consumers and create new pork snacking occasions.

Pork scratchings tend to be consumed in the evening, especially at the weekend, so this lighter eat opens up daytime and on-the-go snacking without compromising on the crunch and taste of a scratching. Pack size and RRP: 35g RRP £1 Tayto also boasts another Great Taste 2 Star award winning brand Midland Snacks - which is delivering outstanding growth at +28% YoY** . The pinnacle of the traditional scratching, this is ultimate pub snack and is Tayto’s best-selling pubcard! These finest quality, traditional pork scratchings are hand cooked to taste as good as they look - with a traditional crunch and flavour that creates that special pub feeling which has stood the test of time. The updated packaging retains a traditional look that showcases this much-loved, artisanal British delicacy.

For those looking for a lighter alternative to a traditional scratching,

dispensed into a delivery tray that has been treated with a special sterilising coating that also prevents bacteria and viruses taking hold.

The touch-free machine uses a piece of software that allows for age control, meaning drinks cannot be bought by anyone who is underage. Guests are issued with a PIN code or a dedicated fob that unlocks the alcoholic selections in the machine.

VendEase already supplies UK hotels with vending units that provide everyday essentials, snacks and ready meals and the new touch free alcoholic drinks machine can also be used to dispense these items, allowing outlets to keep profits from alcohol sales.

The 42” HD Screen on the unit can also be used to interact with 3rd party service providers (gym’s, ticket sales, car parking, tourist attractions etc), which provides an additional revenue stream over and above alcohol sales.

Visit www.vendease.co.uk for further information.

Tayto’s The Real Pork Co. offers consumers and retailers the opportunity to widen their meat snacking repertoire. By double-cooking the finest rind - by hand - in small batches, The Real Pork Co. has created snacks with all the taste of a scratching but with a lighter texture. Crunch is the lightest eat – a delightfully airy pork puff. Crackling is a modern twist on a scratching but with a lighter, bubbly texture opening up pork snacking to those who are looking for an alternative to a traditional scratching. Both are smothered in a mouth-watering seasoning with no nasties (free from artificial flavours, colours, MSG and gluten). The new-look, premium packaging has been specifically designed to target younger, more affluent consumers who are looking to expand their snacking horizons.

MERCHANDISING ADVICE Pork scratchings are synonymous with the pub and really are the ultimate pub snack. With 83% of pork snacks being consumed with a drink4 they are a ‘must stock’ item. Matt explains, “As licensed venues begin to rebuild their trade, maximising the revenue from each customer is vital. Adding a bag of scratchings to a drink can deliver around 50p per transaction - and they are VAT free! To maximise sales, pubcards should be prominently displayed behind the bar and Tayto can also supply bar runners and beer mats to help prompt customers to purchase. Given that space is at a premium in many bars, stick to proven brands such as Mr Porky - the nation’s favourite - and our best-selling pubcard - Midland Snacks Traditional Scratchings.”

The new range will be rolling out across On-trade, all major mults and Convenience over the next few weeks.

The packs may look different, but the terrific taste and quality aren’t changing – that unique taste can be passed on to generations to come! * IRI Market Place | Total GB | Total Crisps, Snacks & Popcorn | Value | MAT to 170520 |44.4% brand share ** IRI Market Place | Total GB | Total pork Snacks | Value | MAT to 17 May 20

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CLH Digital

CFG Capabilities Inspire Customer Confidence Thousands of pubs, bars and restaurants up and down the UK have safely reopened thanks to the quick thinking and supply chain capabilities of the Contract Furniture Group (CFG). As the pandemic spread and lock down forced many to down tools, the team at CFG sprang into action to design, source and manufacture the range of PPE screens, sanitiser stations and safety signage it knew would be needed to get the hospitality sector back in business.

The first few weeks of lockdown subsequently felt out of step with the rest of the country for the UK’s leading supplier of contract furniture, as CFG managing director Richard Bellamy confirms: “As most of the nation’s businesses effectively prepared to go into hibernation, we were frantically working to create products we knew would be essential to get this sector trading again. While others were forced to wind down at work, we were winding up the product development and production activity for our social and

sneeze screens. We quickly added sanitiser stations, masks, signage and various other essentials to the range, so remained in full flow. It turned out to be a good thing we moved so quickly as demand soon outstripped supply and at times it was a real challenge to keep up with orders.

“With so many venues now using our PPE range to keep customers safe, we’re starting to get back to our core business of designing, fitting and furnishing pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.

Hopefully it won’t be long before the sector is buzzing again.”

Contract Furniture Group has served the hospitality industry for over two decades. The size of its range and project capabilities remain unrivalled, and the firm still promises to never to beat any quote for products of the same quality. Visit www.ContractFurniture.co.uk to learn more, or call the team on 0115 965 9030 to discuss your contract furniture needs.

Drakes Bar Furniture - UK Bar Furniture Supplier

We pride ourselves in providing the best quality items at great prices with fantastic customer service and can supply bespoke tailored made furniture such as booths, tables, seating or ‘off the peg’ items.

Drakes Bar Furniture not only sell chairs, stools, tables we also design build and install all types of fixed seating, pews and booth seating for pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants and clubs.

When fitting out a premise the seating is almost paramount for a successful space. Fixed seating, booth seating or banquette seating as its also called can come in variety of colours, finishes, types and styles.

Below are just a few examples showing what we have done in the past.

With clever planning, seating gen-

erates a great flow for customers and staff around a pub, restaurant, cafe or club. It can be used to divide areas, create new spaces in a room and offer intimacy allowing for the perfect social meet up.

The beauty of bespoke fixed seating is that we can make the most of and take advantage of your space and features. We can come to your venue and measure up, give you advice and show you examples of our past work, finishes, types and styles.

We have a wide range of Bar Furniture, including tables, stools, chairs, outdoor beer garden, fixed seating and banqueting furniture.

If you require a bespoke quote either call us on 01422 839 690 or you can send us an email.

See the advert below for details.

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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CLH Digital

Get the Ultimate in Outdoor/Indoor Versatility with Trent’s Plaza Furniture As pub and bar managers continue to make the most of their outdoor space in the wake of the pandemic, finding durable, functional and stylish outdoor furniture for socialising and dining has never been more important.

Trent Furniture’s Plaza range, which includes a chair, armchair and table ticks all these boxes and more as it’s chic and contemporary style means it is equally at home in an indoor setting. Durable synthetic black rattan is hand woven around rust-resistant aluminium to create water and UV- resistant furniture designed to withstand the great British weather year after year.

As the sturdy but lightweight Plaza range is suitable for use both indoors and out, it will soon become the hardest working furniture in your bar or restaurant.

However, when you do need to store it, it is easily stackable and won’t take up much space.

With the Plaza range, durable good looks are costeffective too. The chair is £39.90, the armchair is £46.90 and the hardened glass top table is £89.90.

For more information about Trent Furniture’s extensive range of contact grade outdoor furniture please call 0116 2986 286 or visit www.trentfurniture.co.uk.

Commercial BBQ Smokers Release an Energy Efficient Robata Grill Wood burning equipment specialists Commercial BBQ Smokers have created the Robata Low Energy Grill, a modernised take on the impressive, multi-level, multiuse machine. Created with energy efficiency in mind, this expert made equipment offers up to 75% in energy savings, when compared to other brands.

Robata Grills are well-known and loved for the fast and theatrical way in which a chef can cook food upon them.

Customers enjoy watching their meal cooking on this impressive machine, and are sure to return time and time again for the delicious result. Meat, poultry and fish comes off of the robata grill succulent on the inside, with a beautiful smoky crisp to the outside.

Vegetables are made to perfection with that much desired flame grilled edge.

This grill is extremely versatile, able to cook a variety of dishes from juicy steak, to chicken and veg skewers, to charcoal baked potatoes.

The Robata Low Energy Grill contains three grill stations, two refrigeration draw*Image is a visualisation. ers and two hot drawers for keeping food warm, without drying it out. All that is needed is three ¾” gas connections and an approved canopy for proper ventilation. The Robata Low Energy Grill can be used both indoors and outdoors.

Email: sales@commercialbbqsmokers.co.uk Telephone: 0161 684 4377

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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Design and Refit

Issue 25

Capricorn Contract Furnishings Capricorn Contract Furnishings are now firmly established as one of the country's largest stockist and supplier of quality contract furnishings to cafes, bars, restaurants, pubs, clubs and hotels.

Capricorn are based in a 40, 000 square feet showroom and distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Exeter in Devon. From within the distribution area we are able to offer a next day delivery service on thousands of products including tables , chairs , stools

and lounge furniture.

Customers are encouraged to visit our large showroom to view an extensive range of furniture ideally suited for the leisure market.

Here you can relax and let Capricorn help and advise you with your requirements.

Opening hours for the showroom are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

For more information or a Capricorn Contract Furnishings catalogue and price list contact Brian Pengelly on 01395 233 320, or visit www.ccf-ltd.uk.

Sims - The First Port Of Call For Banquette Seating We are a family run business with 3 generations of commercial furniture manufacturing experience. Unlike other suppliers we manufacture all our seating inhouse, no importing, no subcontracting. We have full control over every aspect from design to installation to ensure every product leaves our workshops punctually and to our reputable high quality.

Proudly offering 2 versions of Banquette Seating, firstly our “Premium Made to Measure” Banquette Seating which is built to your exact design, shape and size, then installed by our professional installation team.

You can have anything from floor to ceiling

designs to seating that perfectly follows the walls in a period setting.

Secondly our “Modular Banquette Seating”

Ambimedia Audiovisual Solutions Ambimedia Ltd are working hard to provide our clients with audiovisual solutions which allows them to adapt to future needs, in the wake of the recent pandemic. Our Certified Technology Specialists have been working closely with manufactures to develop our product range in order to meet changing demands.

ENHANCING OUTDOOR SPACES In order to enhance outdoor areas in pubs and restaurants, we have provided solutions including outdoor high brightness

TV’s, outdoor sound systems and extended WIFI and CCTV networks. Whilst the future of how venues can operate indoors is unknown, enhancing outdoor spaces has been a key area of growth within the industry.

HAND SANITISERS WITH BUILT IN DIGITAL SIGNAGE DISPLAYS Most venues which you visit these days have hand sanitiser stations as you enter the building and we have gone one step further,

which is freestanding, set size units for you to mix and match to best fit your space.

Manufactured and delivered to your doorstep ready for you to layout. Made to the same high standards as our premium range without setup costs, site visits and installation fees.

Saving you up to 50% on competitors seating.

Also, we offer a range of furnishings – tables, chair and bedroom furniture. To request a brochure or to discuss your requirement further please contact our sales team on 01945 450957 email Sales@simscf.com Web www.simscf.com

providing digital signage displays within the hand sanitiser stations allowing venues to provide information to customers in addition to product advertising.

DIGITAL MENUBOARDS & DIGITAL SIGNAGE Our award winning digital menuboard solution allows customers to instantly manage content on their screens from a PC or tablet.

Choose from over 700 menuboard templates and over 3000 images or upload your own and publish the content to your TV’s. Visit www.signmenu.co.uk and signup for a free account. We also have a full digital signage package available where we can manage the content on your behalf – please contact us for further information.

T: 01246 906958 E: info@ambimedia.org W: www.ambimedia.org

Design and Refit

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CLH Digital

Adveco AD: Tough, Highly Efficient Commercial Water Heating

Commercial hot water and heating specialist Adveco introduces a new generation of sleekly designed, tough and efficient modulating commercial floor-standing gas condensing water heaters that can be connected directly to a chlorinated mains water supply and will resist the naturally corrosive nature of soft water.

Used in conjunction with a buffer vessel, the AD range of water heaters is designed to meet high semi-instantaneous hot water demands typically seen in hotels, leisure & sports centres, stadia and spas.

Bill Sinclair, technical director, Adveco said, “The titanium-stabilised stainless-steel construction of the AD range’s heat exchangers is the perfect response to counter the concerns of corrosion in soft, or softened water applications. Compact, lightweight yet

still powerful, the AD’s patented space-saving design makes it equally applicable to both new projects or renovation work where a lack of space would traditionally stall or quickly drive up costs of a project.”

The range offers models with one to four 70 kW heat exchangers, optimised to supply up to 160 litres/minute of domestic hot water (DHW). The AD can also be configured to operate in a cascade of up to eight water heaters. Models with multiple integrated heat exchangers offer load balancing for optimal long-life operation and inbuilt redundancy guaranteeing continuity of service. Premix burner technology ensures the AD requires less gas, making it more costeffective, plus helping to reducing harmful NOX and CO emissions.

T. 01252 551 540 e. enquiries@adveco.co www.adveco.co

Noble Russell’s Bespoke Furniture For The Return Of Gymkhana Restaurant

Gymkhana, the jewel in the crown of JKS restaurant group has returned redesigned and all new, Phoenix like from the extensive fire of summer, 2019.

With the realisation of the extent of damage from the fire the team at Gymkhana decided to not only rebuild but embark on an extensive program to redesign the space, carefully retaining the atmosphere and look of this much-loved restaurant.

As per-fire, Gymkhana is split over two floors with the two distinctive interior designs refined. The ground floor is resplendent in tones of Jade green and polished dark timber and rich printed fabrics with the lower ground floor referencing subtle elements from northIndian architecture and a vivid colour pallet of peach and Kashmiri chilli red.

With an established and trusted relationship between Noble Russell and JKS restaurants NR were contacted within days of the fire to help where possible, rescuing items to be reused from the original interior and then

undertake the development and specifications for all the new furniture.

Working closely with the JKS inhouse team technical design and prototypes were produced of chairs, stools, banquettes seating and tables. These were developed and with further refinements, made into a fitting family of furniture with a rich tapestry of colours textures and details, all made to a high quality of manufacture.

The custom-made furniture was completed and installed by Noble Russell’s professional team on time and within budget, ready for the restaurant’s 2020 opening – Noble Russell is a contract furniture company specialising in the creation of exceptional bespoke products. They have dedicated themselves to over 27 years of furniture design and production, providing customers with the highest quality service.

More information on Noble Russell can be found on their website: noblerussell.co.uk

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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Design and Refit Liverpool Hotel Bed Specialist Restfull Nights Appoints Graham Carberry as Sales Director Liverpool-based bed manufacturer Restfull Nights is marking the end of lockdown with the appointment of new Sales Director Graham Carberry.

Specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of beds, mattresses, sofa beds and comfy chairs to the hotel and contract sector, Restfull Nights counts some of the biggest names in the hotel business among its clients and is looking forward to supporting the industry in its post Covid19 recovery. Graham will steer the company’s sales and marketing efforts and will also lead on the launch of an exciting new product range later in this year.

Graham’s experience spans 32 years in the bed industry with the Silentnight Group, and has covered manufacturing, product development and sales; giving him unique industry insight which will prove invaluable in his new role. Managing Director, John Law, says: “We’re delighted that Graham will be joining the Restfull Nights team. We have worked alongside Graham on a number of projects in the past, and his experience both of the sector and the sales function is second to none. He is perfect for the role and ideally placed to

Brave New World I have been really pleased to speak again to our restaurant and pub customers as they gradually begin to open their doors and entertain customers. Naturally, they all face new challenges, and we are doing our best to assist.

Using candles, and in particular, oil candles, can be more useful than ever now. When number of tables and diners are reduced, candles create ambience and atmosphere on those tables that are used and help create normality. They can also be used to show which tables are available for use, so rather than remove

help us drive the company forward whilst maintaining our core values.”

It is these core values that most inspire Graham as he takes up his new role, as he explains: “Restfull Nights is a company that still believes in the personal approach to business; where relationships are built around quality of products and the standard of service available. The hospitality business is all about caring for your customer and I truly believe that Restfull Nights is the only manufacturer within the industry today that maintains this approach with a 100% focus on the customer.

“Restfull Nights will say ‘yes’ when larger brands say ‘no’ because the volumes or product types do not fit with their business model or they add complexity to their retail-focused businesses. Restfull Nights’ mission statement is that ‘quality doesn’t have to be expensive’ but I would also add that you shouldn’t have to pay extra for customer service. It is this combination of commitment to service and flexibility that I find so inspiring, and these core values will remain central to the company’s future growth.”

For further information on Restfull Nights’ range of products and services, head to www.restfullnights.co.uk tables, you can just remove chairs, thereby increasing distance between people, but not making the restaurant look empty.

And there are enough extra cleaning regimes required now, that you don’t need any extra mess from wax candles to be dealt with. Oil candles create no mess, and no waste. They also last for the whole of service, unlike t-lights, reducing the number of times staff may need to visit a table.

Many people have used the lockdown to revamp, refurb or freshen up the restaurant, so now is the perfect time to upgrade to oil candles, from as little as £2.99 each.

To see our full range, and request a sample, visit www.clearcraft-catering.co.uk or call me, Mike, on 01279 731621

Square One Interiors

Making furniture from scratch also had its benefits, as Jamie soon found that businesses would approach him with specific needs and requirements, meaning that he was able to provide a fully bespoke service, as well as Starting out in his garden shed, Jamie never thought offering design and advice. that his new range of reclaimed furniture would become Since his humble beginnings in the garden shed, Jamie as successful as it has over the past 2 years. Having had a and the company have now history in design and furniture work with hospitality operadesign, an idea was born and tors, pubs, bars and hotels, as he decided to run with it. He well as some large contract loved the idea of a rustic lookfurniture companies and high ing, industrial range which was street names. Our portfolio also eco friendly and sustainand workforce are growing able. He soon found that a and we are very excited to be modern twist was also achievworking on some fantastic able, by using bright colours projects moving forwards, so on the steel frames, as well as watch this space! several different wood finishes For more information visit which would compliment the www.squareoneinteriors.co.uk overall design.

CardsSafe - Protecting Assets ®

The CardsSafe® system is specifically designed to securely retain customer credit, debit and ID cards while the cardholder runs a tab or uses a service.

CardsSafe® has revolutionised the way hospitality and leisure businesses manage their assets. It protects against theft and walkouts, streamlines services and reduces losses, which means it pays for itself!

There are numerous benefits of using CardsSafe® for your business and over 5000 outlets in the UK agree!

• CardsSafe® reduce costs and losses, makes card fraud is virtually impossible and ensures that equipment is returned • CardsSafe® is affordable and pays for itself! From just £9.95 (net) per unit per month + a one off admin charge.

• CardsSafe® ensures peace of mind and

protects against fraud and theft • CardsSafe® increases staff trust and improves the work environment • CardsSafe® is easy to use with minimal training and quick to install • CardsSafe® is PCI & GDPR Compliant to standards 9.6, 9.9, 12.2 and 12.6 and protects card data from identity fraud and theft Please visit our website and create your own account quickly and securely.

Or for more information, please contact the CardsSafe Customer Service Team.

WEB: www.cardssafe.com Phone: 0845 500 1040 Email: sales@cardssafe.com

Design and Refit

Engraved Table Numbers and QR Discs Facilitate Social Distancing as Pubs and Restaurants Re-Open The hospitality sector has begun to open its doors after the long lock down faced with a major challenge to maintain social distancing. Government guidelines stated that from 4th July pubs and restaurants should encourage the use of contactless ordering from tables and should adjust their service approach to minimise staff contact with customers.

It’s a huge ask and one which Brunel Engraving, one of the country’s leading commercial and industrial engraving specialists, has been working on to kick start the industry.

Brunel has made a substantial investment in additional state of the art engraving equipment in order to produce individually etched table numbers and QR code discs which will provide clear markings and information for the public in order to satisfy the requirement for social distancing.

The individually engraved table numbers and discs will enable customers to link to Apps or menus, reducing staff contact and eliminating the requirement for hard copies of menus.

“We are working hard to keep the British hospitality industry going through these difficult times and we have invested heavily in new equipment to ensure that we can

SD Screens

SD Screens is a new division of Sims Contract Furniture and our solution to support the hospitality sector in recovering from the aftermath of a global pandemic. Our aim was to manufacture a high quality, British made solution at a fraction of the price of our competitors.

During lockdown we developed a range of Social Distancing screens to enable commercial premises to open their doors with ease, allow customers to return in a safe environ-

answer the increasing demand for our engraved products”, said Martyn Wright, managing director of Brunel Engraving and founder of the company.

“Many pubs and restaurants have been undertaking major renovations during the lockdown period and we have assisted with their efforts to maintain social distancing by supplying table numbers, QR code discs, signage, PPE Visors and distancing floor stencils which will be used in the new public areas as businesses open their doors to the public once again.”

Established over 30 years ago, Brunel Engraving is a pioneering engraving specialist which leads the way in technical innovation. The company has ISO9001 accreditation and its highly skilled team of professional engravers is trained to the highest standards in the UK. In addition to rotary engraving Brunel offers laser engraving, chemical etching, anodic print, dye sublimation print, flatbed UV print and wide format UV print.

For further information please contact: Martyn Wright, Managing Director, Brunel Engraving Company Limited Tel: 01275 871720 Email: info@brunelengraving.co.uk Website: www.brunelengraving.co.uk ment with some boasting up to 95% capacity.

The range is available in 2 different sizes, in 3 colourways with an optional wing to complement our well established Modular Banquette Seating range. Made from real wood, stained to your preferred choice of 3 colours and coated using a polyurethane lacquer, the screens are easy to wipe clean making turnaround time in-between covers an easy task.

The screens arrive to you preassembled, all you need to do is screw on the feet and you are ready to open your doors.

To order or to discuss your requirements please contact our sales team on 01945 450957, email us at sales@simscf.com or buy online at www.sdscreens.co.uk

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Property and Professional

Historic Liability Under Leases – Authorised Guarantee Agreements (AGAs)

sidered to be in a more buoyant state. However, Covid-19 has brought a new set of concerns to many unsuspecting tenants.

It has been widely reported that restaurant chains such as Yo! and PizzaExpress assigned many of their leases to operators who have since gone out of business; Byron Burger and the Azzurri Group to name but a few. Businesses that have managed to survive have found themselves caught by AGA provisions for rents payable on sites that they no longer

By Roberta Organ, a senior associate in the Real Estate team of law firm Cripps Pemberton Greenish (www.crippspg.co.uk) use.

WHAT IS AN AGA? assigned, and irrespective of the fact that they no longer had any interest When selling (assigning) a commercial lease, there is a common misconception that the outgoing tenant will dispose of the property free from any further liability for payment of rent or any other obligations it may have had under the terms of the lease.

However, this is rarely the case. Commercial leases usually contain a provision for the outgoing tenant to enter in to an authorised guarantee agreement (AGA) to guarantee the performance of the incoming tenant (assignee) in paying rent and adhering to their obligations.

WHY HAVE AGAS BECOME STANDARD CLAUSES IN LEASES? Prior to the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act), the common law position was considered disadvantageous towards tenants who would find themselves still on the hook to pay rent and meet dilapidations claims regardless of how many times that lease had been

in or dealings with the property.

The 1995 Act sought to try and regularise the position by introducing AGAs to ensure the eventual release of tenants (and guarantors where applicable) from their obligations. The aim was to strike a balance between the landlord taking on the risk of an assignee whose financial covenant strength might be weaker, but without imposing too heavy a financial burden on an outgoing tenant for the defaults of numerous other tenants during the lease term.

HOW LONG DOES AN AGA LAST AND ARE THEY COMPULSORY? AGAs last from the date that the lease is assigned up to the date of any subsequent assignment, or until the end of the term (whichever is the earliest). Time limits can be attached to AGAs, but it is advisable to expressly set these out in the lease to avoid future dispute.

AGAs are not compulsory. Landlords should only require an AGA if the assignee is considered to be a bigger risk financially than the outgoing tenant. The wording of an AGA clause should make this clear and landlord’s should only be able to insist on AGAs if it is reasonable to do so.

AGAS AND COVID-19 Prior to the current global pandemic, tenants were not so concerned about the implications of agreeing to AGAs when the market was con-

Phoenix Specialist Risk Solutions Much like the mythological bird, Phoenix Specialist Risk Solutions was born from the ashes of an industry which has grown tired and disassociated from the people it is designed to protect. Phoenix is built to be different, our main focus is you.

We have built our business with care at the core of everything we do. We strive to offer a quality personalised service which is tailored to each individual’s needs — we listen to you, get to know you and aim to support you every step of the way.

Your business is in most cases the biggest risk and the biggest asset you will ever have

The enforced closure of the hospitality sector in the height of the UK’s lockdown has taken its toll as those affected by AGAs are not only having to find the money to pay rent on their active sites, they are also having to prepare for the possibility that landlord’s will look to enforce the terms of these AGAs on sites they have ‘sold off’. This will undoubtedly have a crippling effect on many businesses with claims in lost rent estimated to be in the millions.

It is inevitable that landlords are going to have to pursue arrears and recover some of the debt owed, especially ahead of the next quarter date (29 September) which just precedes the government’s suspension on landlords’ rights to forfeiture for non-payment of rent.

WHAT SHOULD TENANT’S DO NEXT? In order to mitigate risks, tenants should now: 1. understand their current liability for any previously transferred leases and any implications this might have on their business; 2. be vigilant when deciding to assign leases and in particular consider the covenant strength of any new tenant and understand whether or not a landlord’s request for an AGA can be resisted; and 3. negotiate any assignment provisions carefully and remove any landlord’s automatic entitlement to an AGA where possible.

If you have any concerns about authorised guarantee agreements or would like more information, then please contract Roberta Organ at roberta.organ@crippspg.co.uk.

from the initial days of worrying about business levels and cash flow through to staff and HR issues and then back to business levels and cash flow, a revolving cycle. Within your business you will also have your trusted partners, your accountants and bankers, do you include your insurance broker? If not why not?

Commercial insurance should not just be about the lowest possible price, it should be with someone you can work with and trust, someone flexible to the changes your business faces and someone who can advise you of which covers you may like to consider and not just the ones which you are legal required to have. Does your business description on your policy actually match your business, are your sums insured reviewed and adequate, do you have seasonal stock increases? Have you declared the accurate turnover and wageroll?

We work with you to help you establish and maintain an insurance program which meets your needs and provides the best value for money.

See the website on the back cover or visit www.phoenixsrs.co.uk

Hotels In ‘Staycation’ Destinations Are Attracting A Surge In Attention From Investors

T H E W E S T C O U N T RY S P E C I A L I S T S

The changes brought about by COVID-19 have extended the reasons for buying a hotel to a diverse range of investors, according to Colliers International TAUNTON, SOMERSET

DEVON/CORNWALL BORDERS

DORSET VILLAGE

Attractive Licensed Cafe & Restaurant Trading on a Predominately Day Time Only Basis Main Restaurant 45+ & Al Fresco Seating For 32 Impressive Town Centre Business All Serious Offers Considered

Immaculate Detached Village Guest House 5 Quality Ensuite Letting Bedrooms Superior 2 Bedroom Owner’s Accommodation Commercial Kitchens, Car Park & Gardens Profitable Lifestyle B & B Business

Substantial And impressive Character Inn Located In Highly Sought After Dorset Village Bar/Dining Area (50+) & Restaurant (32) 4 Stunning Letting Rooms & 3 Bed Owner’s Set In Over ¾ Acre With Extensive Car Parking

LH £35,000

2040

SOUTH DEVON COAST Exceptional Waterfront Licensed Café & Restaurant Impressive & Stunning Trading Location Main Café & Restaurant Seating 60+ Commercial Catering Kitchen & Ancillary Facilities Located In A Popular & Highly Sought-After Town

LH £75,000

2117

FH £650,000

6004

EAST DEVON Well Regarded Free Of Tie Bar & Restaurant 3 High Quality Ensuite Letting Rooms Spacious 5 Bedroom Owner's Accomm Trade Areas Seat 94+, Commercial Kitchens Extremely Well Equipped and Well Presented

LH £45,000

4784

FH £675,000

4798

EAST DEVON COAST Attractive and Well-Regarded Licensed Restaurant Busy Trading Position In Popular Coastal Town Main Restaurant Seating 42+ Customers Operating On Deliberately Restricted Opening Hours Strong Levels Of Trade & Potential For Daytime Opening

LH £45,000

2109

The trend for UK ‘staycation’ breaks has resulted in a spike in trade in hotels located in popular tourist destinations, according to global real estate advisor Colliers International.

Julian Troup, head of UK Hotels Agency at the global real estate advisor, said changes in tourism brought about by COVID-19 were bringing new opportunities to the UK hotels industry in the form of a diverse range of prospective purchasers.

“A significant spike in trade in hotels located in areas popular for ‘staycations’ has been observed by our teams throughout the UK, in most popular tourist destinations throughout the UK,” he said.

“All the signs are that this trend is set to continue, and that hotels in locations which benefit from ‘staycation’ holidays will attract a healthy level of interest in the months to come.

TAUNTON, SOMERSET Stunning Waterside Licensed Restaurant Impressive Sales Of £540,410 Net Of VAT Refurbished Restaurant Areas Seating 74 Customers External Seating for 30, Well Appointed Kitchens Outstanding Town Centre Opportunity

LH £95,000

2115

SOMERSET TOWN Impressive & Well-Appointed Guest House Stunning Property With 9 Quality Letting Rooms Owner’s 3 Bedroom Cottage, Gardens, Parking Exceptional Home & Income Opportunity Extremely Profitable & Easy To Run B&B

FH £799,950

THINKING OF SELLING? CALL FOR A FREE VALUATION

6007

NORTH CORNWALL Award Winning Free Of Tie Pub & Restaurant 4 Quality Letting Rooms & Superior 5 Bed Owner’s Trade Areas Seating 90 & Comm. Kitchens Recently Refurbished Throughout Stunning High Turnover Business Opportunity

LH £99,950

4800

01392 201262 www.stonesmith.co.uk

“These hotels offer buyers a great place to live, work and make profit. They should attract more funding support and, based on the impressive trading figures and forecasts we have seen, in most cases will provide buyers with a solid return on investment.”

While investors were being attracted by the strong fundamentals of the ‘staycation’ market; developers were interested in the opportunities offered by welllocated hotels which could be changed to residential use, subject to planning permission. Meanwhile, lifestylers were seeking an escape route from the ‘rat race’.

Mr Troup explained: “An increasing flow of opportunistic investment buyers have been contacting us, pre-

sumably attracted by anticipated pricing adjustments taking place among hotels with a greater reliance upon corporate and events trade. There are still numerous well-heeled cash buyers out there, as well as plenty of overseas buyers and investors in waiting.

“We have also been receiving a noticeable increase in alternative use enquiries from developers and other types of operator. If planning rules are relaxed, we expect to see certain hotels also attracting interest for alternative use “There has always been a steady stream of lifestyle purchasers. However, all the signs are that more people will decide they want to consider a complete lifestyle change, cannot face returning to work, and want to have an opportunity to control their own destinies.

“With many wishing to leave living and working in cities, buying a hospitality business in a location of their choice is a real alternative, particularly where the move is enforced in the event of redundancy or having to downsize. In the last recession we saw many examples of new to the industry buyers who took advantage of being able to invest redundancy monies as well as releasing equity from their house sale.”

“National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, plus destinations offering leisure attractions will all prosper. This is already evidenced with clients experiencing a strong spike in domestic leisure hotel trade – and also by the queues that can be seen at weekends on motorways leading to holiday areas, such as the M5 to Devon and Cornwall,” he said.

“UK hotels have been proactive in responding to public anxiety about COVID-19 by providing demonstrably safe, clean accommodation featuring heightened cleaning protocols and standards. Those businesses with extra space will benefit as they will be better able to provide social distancing and greater comfort, but all hotels are reconfiguring to ensure that social distancing can be maintained.

“Hotels will adapt their offering to the changing times in which we are living, and business will return. With all this in mind, we anticipate movement in the transactional marketplace will start again as early as Q3 of 2020.”

Property and Professional

Issue 25

CLH Digital

51

For Sale: Impressive Detached Character Guest House - Chard, Somerset Commercial property specialists Stonesmith, are delighted to be marketing the sale of the Watermead Guest House - an imposing and handsome detached property, originally built in 1875 as a Victorian gentleman’s residence. This extremely well appointed and well presented property retains classic features that you would expect from a period house of this style and quality, and has been well maintained and improved by our clients during their 23 years of ownership.

Successfully run as a guest house for over 40 years, the main property was substantially extended during the 70’s and 80’s to include the impressive family sized owner’s cottage style accommodation. This most profitable business currently offers 9 well appointed Letting Bedrooms (8 Ensuite, 1 with Private Facilities), Residents Lounge, Breakfast Room, Conservatory, Fully Equipped Kitchen and superior quality Self-Contained Owner’s

Accommodation with 3 double bedrooms. Externally, the property is set well back from the main road with prominent signage. A driveway leads to a Private Car Park for 9 vehicles, with additional parking available adjacent to the house. Quadruple Garage with Store Area, attractive and extensive Rear Garden being fully enclosed and incorporating Lawned Areas, a Patio Area with a wooden Stable/Store, and a further wooden Storage Shed and lean-to Store.

Watermead Guest House is presented in excellent order throughout and currently trades as a quality and award-winning bed and breakfast.

The freehold business is on the market for an asking price of £799,950. Full property details are available on our website: www.stonesmith.co.uk and viewings arranged by calling 01392 201262.

New Weekly Figures Analysis & Reporting Service

David Hunter has been in the business for over 30 years, and with his vast amount of experience has become an expert in ensuring that businesses reach their full financial potential.

For years he’s provided a bespoke Mentoring & Consultancy service to a select few, and he has always provided with that, free-of-charge weekly figures analysis and reporting … yes, weekly.

David has now come up with a way of making his amazing Mentoring & Consultancy service more accessible

to the wider market, and for a lower monthly fee.

Instead of being charged for monthly consultancy, you can now access David’s knowledge and expertise via his already-established and very well-used weekly figures reporting system. He will send you weekly reports on how your business is doing and will throw in FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE AT ALL, four half-day on site Mentoring & Consultancy visits per year (or two full days, depending on location). He will also always be at the

end of a phone for you, or email, if you needed him, and he also has access to legal experts as well as a ‘’tried and trusted’’ Bowden Group Alliance colleague who can advise you … again FREE OF CHARGE … on how to save money on your utility bills.

If you have a Pub, Restaurant or Hotel business which is facing financial or operational challenges … why not let David have a look, and help you maximise your full potential. There is no cost to David having a look at your figures, and letting you know what COULD be achieved.

Call David Hunter confidentially on 07831 407984 or on 01628 487613.

Roslyns - The UK's Leading Provider of Business Services to the Hospitality Industry

Roslyns are the UK's leading provider of business services to the hospitality industry. Established in 1992, we have built a solid reputation on high levels of service and attention to detail.

We have a specialist team covering all aspects of service from accounts and payroll to stocktaking and business plans. Our clients range from small catering

operations, cafes, restaurants and pubs to hotel chains and pub companies.

We offer transparent fees with an instant quote available through our website.

To find out more you can go to www.roslyns.co.uk or email support@roslyns.co.uk

ANDREW GREENWOOD BUSINESS TRANSFER AGENT PROFITABLE FISH & CHIPS TAKEAWAY, AMIDST RESI PDE OF SHOPS, OUTSKIRTS OF GOSPORT, HANTS. Retirement sale – Estb. by Vendor 23 years ago. Eye catching shop, superbly fitted with 4 pan Florigo range. Rear potato prep rm. S/C & sep. metered 2 bed maisonette above. Gas CH. Yard with parking. T/O on application. High GP. Open 6 days & closed at 8/9 pm. Scope for website & deliveries. - £350,000 + S.A.V. Freehold (Ref. C.3805) 3.00 AM FULL ON-LIC. ‘FRINGE’ THEATRE & THEMED SPORTS BAR PREMISES, CLOSE TO THE GUILD HALL, IN CULTURAL QUARTER, CITY CENTRE, SOUTHAMPTON. Offering a rare opportunity. Suitable for many styles of trade. Ground flr themed Sports Bar has eye-catching folding door frontage, with pavement seating for 50. The bar has a standing capacity for 120 people & includes a fully equipped commercial catering kitchen (3-phase). First flr ‘fringe’ Theatre is decorated in style of a bygone music hall & has capacity for 177 people (standing). The first flr also has 2 bars & 2 staff bedrooms. 10 yr lease from March 2015 at £35,000 p.a. plus VAT. – OIRO £40,000 (Ref. F.3810) LOCK-UP DAYTIME COFFEE & RESTAURANT WITH UNEXPLOITED FULL-ON LIC, JUST OFF HIGH STREET IN CENTRE OF AFFLUENT NEW FOREST MARKET TOWN OF LYMINGTON, HAMPSHIRE. Character Grade II Listed Bldg in sunny courtyard. Offering a freshly prepared, ‘healthy eating’ menu. Suitable for many styles of cuisine. Furnished in a contemporary style with seating for 22 & courtyard seating for 30+.

Rec. Gross T/O approx. £193,000 p.a. GP 61.5%. Open 8 am to 4 pm/5 pm. Closed Sunday. NB. Lic to 11 pm. SCOPE. 7 year lease from Sept. ’16 at £12,000 p.a. + VAT - New lease avail. – £125,000 + S.A.V. (Ref. C.3804) SOUGHT AFTER GUEST HOUSE, AMIDST PLEASANT RESIDENTIAL AREA, CONVENIENT FOR CITY CENTRE, SOUTHAMPTON. Wellmaintained, semi-detached property. Gas CH. D/G. 10 well appointed letting rooms for 19 guests & desirable 2 dble bed owners quarters.

South facing rear garden. Retirement sale – same hands 20 yrs.

Recorded T/O £100,000 p.a. (ex VAT). B&B only. - £675,000 FREEHOLD. (Ref: GH.3797)

www.andrewgreenwood.com

romsey (01794) 522228