http://www.caterersearch.comLatest hospitality news from CatererSearch. CatererSearch has all the latest hospitality news from the hotel, restaurant, pub, bar and contract catering sectors.en-gb2006 Reed Business InformationThu, 02 Jul 2009 16:15:00 GMT60http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328505/work-on-arora-hotel-at-brit-oval-will-begin-next-october.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328505/work-on-arora-hotel-at-brit-oval-will-begin-next-october.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comSurrey County Cricket Club today announced that work on a new four-star hotel and stand at its Brit Oval ground in south London will begin next October.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:15:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328504/gordon-ramsay-holdings-profits-drop-almost-90.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328504/gordon-ramsay-holdings-profits-drop-almost-90.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comProfits at Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) plummeted nearly 90% last year as the celebrity chef rapidly expanded his restaurant business across the globe. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:41:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328503/chef-given-second-chance-after-smashing-up-restaurant.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328503/chef-given-second-chance-after-smashing-up-restaurant.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comA chef who smashed up a restaurant in a fit of anger is to be given a second chance because his cooking skills are so highly rated. Roy Parr, 50, saw red when he was told that the the Café Bridge in Gateshead where he worked, and had invested some of his own money, was to close down. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:07:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328502/st-austell-brewery-buys-four-punch-taverns-pubs.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328502/st-austell-brewery-buys-four-punch-taverns-pubs.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comSt Austell Brewery has agreed a deal to buy the freeholds of four South West pubs from Punch Taverns. The purchase of the four pubs, three in Cornwall and one in Devon, will increase St Austell Brewery's pub estate to 173. The deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, is due to complete “in early July”. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:02:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328501/cleanliness-tops-price-for-budget-hotel-guests.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328501/cleanliness-tops-price-for-budget-hotel-guests.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comCustomers will continue to use budget hotels in order to save money, but cleanliness remains key according to a new study by market research organisation, Maritz. Nearly half (46%) of the 1,022 guests surveyed online said that they are more likely to stay at budget hotels today ...Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:30:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328500/french-restaurants-drop-prices-after-vat-cut.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/02/328500/french-restaurants-drop-prices-after-vat-cut.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comFrench restaurants have dropped their prices after a government tax reduction came into effect this week. Value-added tax (VAT) in France was yesterday cut from 19.6% to 5.5%, in a bid to boost consumer spending and create thousands of jobs. The move follows a decade of lobbying ...Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328486/compass-group-secures-5m-bryanston-school-extension.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328486/compass-group-secures-5m-bryanston-school-extension.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comCompass Group’s Chartwells division has won a £5m total turnover contract extension at Bryanston School in Blandford, Dorset. The five-year extension starts in September will see Chartwells continuing to provide student catering and managing the on-site bar, café and the conference and banqueting Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:45:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328485/wetherspoon-to-open-six-new-pubs-this-month.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328485/wetherspoon-to-open-six-new-pubs-this-month.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comHigh-street pub operator JD Wetherspoon today revealed it will open six new pubs during July. On Friday (3 July), The Sawyer’s Arms opens in Exeter. On 17 July, The Queen’s Hotel, incorporating a Wetherspoon lodge, opens in Newport, while The Cordwainer opens, on the same day...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:37:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328484/galvin-city-restaurant-to-be-called-la-chapelle.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328484/galvin-city-restaurant-to-be-called-la-chapelle.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comLondon chef-restaurateurs Chris and Jeff Galvin have confirmed that their City of London restaurant will be called Galvin La Chapelle. The restaurant is due to open in late autumn 2009 in the grade II listed St Botolph’s Hall in Spital Square. Its name is a nod to the Rhone wine Hermitage La Chapelle...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:38:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328479/nearly-70-uk-hotel-operators-are-financially-shaky-warns-analyst.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328479/nearly-70-uk-hotel-operators-are-financially-shaky-warns-analyst.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comMore than two thirds of the UK’s hotel operators are in financial danger, analyst firm Plimsoll Publishing has warned. Plimsoll rated each of the UK’s largest 1,000 hotels companies into one of five ratings based on their overall financial performance: strong, good, mediocre, caution and danger. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:54:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328478/paul-heathcote-takes-longridge-restaurant-off-the-market.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328478/paul-heathcote-takes-longridge-restaurant-off-the-market.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comChef restaurateur Paul Heathcote has taken his flagship Longridge restaurant in Preston, Lancashire, off the market after four months. Heathcote had put the former two-Michelin-starred restaurant up for sale in March after 20 years to focus on growing his more casual restaurant business ...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:44:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328477/property-overlooking-st-andrews-golf-course-up-for-sale.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328477/property-overlooking-st-andrews-golf-course-up-for-sale.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comHotel operators are being offered the chance to buy the iconic Hamilton Hall property overlooking the first tee and 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. Hamilton Hall was originally developed as the “Grand Hotel” of St Andrews and was acquired in the 1950s by St Andrews University ...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:21:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328476/birmingham-council-moves-to-restrict-balti-name-to-the-city.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328476/birmingham-council-moves-to-restrict-balti-name-to-the-city.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comBirmingham City Council has launched a campaign to protect the famous Balti name by preventing Indian restaurants outside the city from using it. The very first Balti dish, which is named after the pot it is cooked in, is believed to have been served by a Pakistani immigrant called Mohammed Ajaib ...Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:05:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328456/sodexo-secures-red-tractor-certification.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/07/01/328456/sodexo-secures-red-tractor-certification.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comSodexo has been awarded Red Tractor status at 450 of its sites spread across the education, healthcare and defence sectors. The award means all milk, cream, fruit and vegetables used at those sites will meet Red Tractor standards and will be fully traceable from field to fork.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328429/scottish-newcastle-pub-enterprises-places-20-pubs-on-the-market.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328429/scottish-newcastle-pub-enterprises-places-20-pubs-on-the-market.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comScottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises has placed 20 freehold pubs on the market through property agent Fleurets. The pubs, located across the UK, include nine with a food business and six with letting rooms. The sites are directly owned by the pub company and their sale is part of the company’s bid ...Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:59:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328428/palms-food-and-prices-disappoints-critic.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328428/palms-food-and-prices-disappoints-critic.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comTracey Macleod finds hefty prices and disappointing food at the newly-opened Palm restaurant, the first British outlet of the 27-strong New York steakhouse chain. The Independent’s food critic laments the quality of the food and wonders whether this can really be the food on which an empire was built? Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:44:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328426/revpar-drops-by-6.4-in-london-and-12.8-in-the-regions.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328426/revpar-drops-by-6.4-in-london-and-12.8-in-the-regions.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comHotel revenue per available room (revpar) dropped by 6.4% in London and by 12.8% in the provinces in the week ending 13 June 2009, according to figures from hospitality research company STR Global. London revpar fell to £107.67, down from £115.01 in the equivalent week of 2008. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:40:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328425/pubs-n-bars-breaches-banking-covenants-as-it-slides-into-the-red.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328425/pubs-n-bars-breaches-banking-covenants-as-it-slides-into-the-red.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comPubs ‘n’ Bars made a loss of nearly £9m last year and breached it banking covenants as a fall in the property market led to the re-evaluation of the value of its pubs. In the year ended 31 December 2008, the company made a loss of £8.9m compared with restated profit of £341,960 in 2007. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:54:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328421/black-blue-launches-seventh-london-restaurant.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328421/black-blue-launches-seventh-london-restaurant.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comRestaurant group Black & Blue has launched its seventh London outlet with the acquisition of the Archduke wine bar on the South Bank. The company, which operates five Black & Blue restaurants across central London as well as Mortimer’s Grill in Bloomsbury, took over the Archduke last week ...Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:17:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328415/capital-pub-boss-backs-competition-inquiry-into-beer-ties.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328415/capital-pub-boss-backs-competition-inquiry-into-beer-ties.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comThe chief executive of Capital Pub Company today called for the business model of the major pub companies to be referred to the Competition Commission. In May, MPs on the Business and Enterprise Committee slammed the major pub companies and the beer tie ...Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:29:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328414/restaurants-most-fined-sector-for-illegal-workers.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/30/328414/restaurants-most-fined-sector-for-illegal-workers.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comRestaurant operators made up the vast majority of employers fined for using illegal workers since tougher laws were introduced last year, new Home Office figures have revealed. The laws introduced in February 2008 have led to a record 233 firms being prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants ...Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328413/mystery-surrounds-future-of-italys-michelin-starred-gambero-rosso.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328413/mystery-surrounds-future-of-italys-michelin-starred-gambero-rosso.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comMystery surrounds the future of Michelin-starred restaurant Gambero Rosso in Italy, after it emerged that it has been closed for several weeks during the busy summer period. The restaurant in San Vincenzo Tuscany is owned and operated by chef Fulvio Pierangelini and was voted 12th best in the world...Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:55:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328408/hoteliers-offered-the-chance-to-buy-historic-building-in-city-of-london.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328408/hoteliers-offered-the-chance-to-buy-historic-building-in-city-of-london.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comHotel operators are being offered the chance to take on a landmark City building adjacent to the Bank of England after the property was put on the market. The former Midland Bank headquarters, located at 27-35 Poultry and 5 Princes Street, features a vault that was used as Fort Knox in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:08:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328407/tragus-accused-of-threatening-staff-over-cash-tips-for-more-hospitality-stories-see-what-the-weekend-papers-say.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328407/tragus-accused-of-threatening-staff-over-cash-tips-for-more-hospitality-stories-see-what-the-weekend-papers-say.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comA round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry. News includes: Gunman shoots two people in Harry Morgans restaurant; Marston's investors rebel against “spurious” rights issue; Eel, pie and mash shops under threat ; Mardan Palace hotel owner attracts fury of Russian Prime Minister Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:26:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328406/hospitality-leaders-defend-hotel-star-rating-system.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328406/hospitality-leaders-defend-hotel-star-rating-system.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comHotel industry leaders have leapt to the defence of the star rating system after Jurys Inns last week called for it to be scrapped as it was “no longer relevant” to today’s customer. The budget hotel chain said its research proved that public no longer rated the 101-year-old star rating system...Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328400/michael-caines-restaurant-in-canterbury-gets-poor-food-hygiene-rating.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328400/michael-caines-restaurant-in-canterbury-gets-poor-food-hygiene-rating.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comThe Michael Caines restaurant at the four-star Abode Hotel in Canterbury was given a one-star food hygiene rating, putting it below an elderly day centre café. The two-Michelin starred chef's restaurant at the property, run by head chef Mark Rossi, was ranked below the city's Age Concern day centre ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:51:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328399/series-of-delays-push-savoy-reopening-back-to-march-2010.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328399/series-of-delays-push-savoy-reopening-back-to-march-2010.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comThe general manager of the Savoy today admitted that the iconic London hotel will not reopen until March next year, after a series of “unexpected developments” in the £100m refurbishment. The project has been plagued by delays, already slipping from May to the autumn and Kiaran MacDonald ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:37:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328397/friday-wrap-a-round-up-of-the-weeks-hospitality-news.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328397/friday-wrap-a-round-up-of-the-weeks-hospitality-news.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comI'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways; And no message could have been any clearer; If you wanna make the world a better place; Take a look at yourself and then make a change. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:18:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328389/tourism-crucial-to-uk-recovery.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328389/tourism-crucial-to-uk-recovery.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comBritish Hospitality Association (BHA) chief executive Bob Cotton this week warned that the industry needs to do more to make politicians understand the value of tourism as he delivered his speech at the BHA's annual luncheon Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:52:00 GMThttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328372/robin-hutson-and-michelin-starred-chef-alex-aitken-to-open-boutique-hotel.htmhttp://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328372/robin-hutson-and-michelin-starred-chef-alex-aitken-to-open-boutique-hotel.htmfeedback@caterersearch.comRobin Hutson, the founder of Hotel du Vin, has joined forces with Michelin-starred chef Alex Aitken to launch a £30m boutique country house hotel in the heart of the New Forest, Caterersearch can reveal. Lime Wood, a 30-bedroom five-star hotel in Lyndhurst, is set to open at the end of October ...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:43:00 GMT