Independent Operators

In bloom: the NWTC has opened the latest branch of award-winning concept the Florist at Watford’s intu shopping centre

The Florist opens at £180m intu expansion

By Stuart Stone

The New World Trading Company (NWTC) opened the latest branch of its award-winning bar and restaurant concept the Florist at intu Watford on 22 April.

Upcoming event: the next MA500 is on 16 May in Manchester

MA500 study tour for Manchester unveiled

By Nikkie Sutton

Next month, Manchester will play host to the MA500 business club conference and study tour and we can now reveal the vibrant venues included.

Big plans: Tiny Rebel's new site is across the road from its existing one

Tiny Rebel expands into 60,000sq ft site

By Nikkie Sutton

Welsh brewer and operator Tiny Rebel has announced it will be moving part of the business into a new site to accommodate its growing team and equipment.

Coming up: the next MA500 business club meeting is taking place on Thursday 16 May in Manchester

MA500 Manchester line-up revealed

By Nikkie Sutton

The second MA500 event of 2019 is shaping up nicely and we can now announced the stellar line-up for the conference at the Principal hotel in Manchester.

Floating business: Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies

Loungers to join stock market

By Nikkie Sutton

Multiple operator Loungers has announced its plan to float on the London Stock Exchange’s market for smaller, growing companies – Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Portfolio addition: the King’s Arms in Dorchester was acquired by Stay Original in 2016

Stay Original pumps £5m into historic pub

By Nikkie Sutton

Multiple operator Stay Original has invested £5m into the refurbishment of a pub that is famed for its literary links to novelist Thomas Hardy.

Experienced operator: Victoria Hunt has runs pubs in Norfolk since 2007

Victoria Hunt: my life in the trade

By Victoria Hunt

Multiple operator Victoria Hunt runs two busy pubs in Norfolk – the Lodge Griddle & Grill in North Tuddenham and the Fox at Lyng. She reveals how she got to where she is today.

Beer focus: Manchester has more than 80 breweries in and around the city

Manchester MA500: a city united

By Nikkie Sutton

The next MA500 business club meeting will be taking place in Manchester this spring (Thursday 16 May).

International Women's Day: Business leaders, in association with Plan B

International Women’s Day

The women who lead in the on-trade

By Nicholas Robinson

There are too few women at the top level in business across the world and the UK. While pubs and bars can't escape that fact either, here we tell the stories of nine women at the top in the on-trade.

Looking ahead: some 68% of all business leaders were optimistic about the prospects for 2019

Pub bosses cautiously optimistic about future

By Nikkie Sutton

Confidence levels in hospitality are varied in early 2019, with business leaders in the pub sector showing cautious optimism about what the next 12 months will bring, research has found.

Right or wrong: three operators talk pros and cons of tenanted and leased pubs

Multiple operators spill the beans on tenancies

By Nicholas Robinson

His first experience of a pub tenancy left Mark Robson, co-founder of Red Mist Leisure, “feeling scarred”, having been advised to remain guarded and to keep any sniff of financial success from reaching the site's landlord.

Looking ahead: UKHospitality boss Kate Nicholls says the future is uncertain

MA500

Kate Nicholls: is Brexit worth it?

By Nikkie Sutton

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls will be revealing where we are at with Brexit and what the pub sector should expect with the various scenarios on the horizon, when she addresses MA500 at Stamford Bridge, west London, this week (13 Feb). Here...

Street talking: the MA500 crowd will hit the pavements of Clapham for the study tour at this month's event

MA500

MA500 London study tour

By Nikkie Sutton

The all-important study tour for the MA500 business club in London this month (February) can now be revealed.

Smooth integration: NewRiver confirmed it had acquired Hawthorn Leisure for £106.8m last year

NewRiver completes Hawthorn Leisure integration

By Nikkie Sutton

Retail estate investment business NewRiver has announced it has finished the integration of the Hawthorn Leisure pub and leisure business, eight months after its acquisition.

In ‘great shape’: City Pub Group announced that turnover increased to £45.6m in 2018

City Pub Group increases annual turnover by 22%

By Stuart Stone

The City Pub Group has revealed total turnover of £45.6m for the 52 week period to 30 December 2018 – a year-on-year increase of approximately 22% – in its latest trading statement.

Tenth site: Red Mist Leisure has announced its newest site in Farnham, Surrey (image: Colin Smith, Geograph)

Tenth site for Red Mist Leisure

By Emily Hawkins

Up and coming pub company Red Mist Leisure has purchased its tenth site, which will open its doors in Farnham, Surrey next month.

Profit building: operators advise on how best to utilise Instagram for their business

Making your business ‘Instagrammable’

By Nikkie Sutton

With leading operators due to discuss how they make Instagram work for their businesses at the next MA500 meeting, we take a look at what social media experts advise on how to maximise the photo-sharing platform.

Waste reduction: Pete Rayner (left), Nick Burns (middle) and Clare Clark (right) discuss how pubs can reduce their waste footprint

MA500

How can your pub cut back on waste?

By Stuart Stone

Businesses are under increasing pressure to cut back on waste and recycle more. Nick Burns from Robinsons Brewery, Clare Clark from the Roebuck in central London, and Pete Rayner of Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) look at the options for pubs...

Agent of change: Steve Burnett from Poppleston Allen addresses noise complaints at the MA500 conference in Sheffield

MA500

How can your pub handle neighbours from hell?

By Stuart Stone

Steve Burnett from specialist licensing solicitors Poppleston Allen discusses the introduction of the agent-of-change principle and how it can help pubs hush hellish neighbours.

Star site: the NWTC boss Chris Hill sees Sheffield as a vibrant place that is full of character and energy (image credit) thinkstock.co.uk/tupungato)

The MA500 crowd is coming to Sheffield

By Nikkie Sutton

Multi-award-winning business The New World Trading Company opened one of its Botanist sites under two years ago in Sheffield – where the MA500 meets in September – and chief executive Chris Hill reveals the peaks and troughs of operating in the city.

Going multiple: Cambscuisine now has nine sites in its portfolio

The lowdown on Cambscuisine

By Nikkie Sutton

Crowdfunding to expand one of its brands, multiple operator Cambscuisine highlights the changing market and how to stay afloat in Cambridge.

Feedback is key: communication was the top response when young people were asked what they value from a manager

MA500

Lazy Gen Z stereotypes ‘not backed by research’

By Claire Churchard

The popular stereotype that young people are lazy and narcissistic is not backed up by research, according to Josephine Hansom, director at YouthSight, speaking at MA500 in Cardiff.

Drinking resurgence: successful wet-led pubs understand what the consumer wants according to Craft Union's Frazer Grimbleby

MA500

What’s behind the resurgence in wet-led pubs?

By Claire Churchard

Demand for wet-led pubs is growing and is being driven by consumers looking for quality drinks and a welcoming social environment, delegates at the MA500 event in Cardiff heard today.

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