Northern Restaurant & Bar 2013 Top 50 unveiled

Fifty top hospitality professionals have been honoured as the best in their industry in the North of England, as part of the 2013 Northern Restaurant & Bar show, being held at Manchester Central. The second NRB Top 50 list was chosen by panel of industry experts from the Russell Partnership. Winners were recognised for their influence, [...]

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Colliers International boost hotels team with new Director

Colliers International has appointed Paul Barrasford as a director in its London and South East hotels team. Paul joins the company with 15 years’ experience following previous roles at Savills and Christie & Co. Julian Troup, Head of UK Hotels Agency at Colliers International said: “Paul brings a wealth of hotels experience and [...]

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Ribble Valley Inns appoint Chief Executive

Wayne Chapman has been appointed Chief Executive of Ribble Valley Inns (RVI); it has been announced by joint Managing Directors of RVI, Craig Bancroft and Nigel Haworth. Craig Bancroft said, “We are thrilled that Wayne is joining Ribble Valley Inns. It is exciting times and Wayne’s expertise will be vital in the growth of Ribble Valley [...]

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The sky’s the limit: Richard Haworth targets airlines

Bolton-based linen manufacturer and supplier – Richard Haworth – has launched an aggressive business growth strategy that will see it targeting airlines in a bid to expand on previous successes in that sector. Virgin Atlantic has utilised Richard Haworth’s linens in its Upper Class airport lounge in Heathrow for over five years, so this is a [...]

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Interstate Hotels & Resorts enters UK with acquisition of Sanguine Hospitality’s management business

The management arm of the hotel development and ownership company Sanguine Hospitality has been acquired by the US-based global hotel management business Interstate Hotels & Resorts. Interstate will take over the management of 10 hotels across the UK, including properties under Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Express, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton and Days Inn [...]

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Travelodge begins £57m room refurbishment programme

Travelodge has started a £57m refurbishment programme  to transform the look of 30,000 of its rooms over the next 18 months. The company, which said it would refit 50 rooms every day until the work was completed, hopes to have completed a makeover of 5,000 rooms by the end of May. The first seven hotels to be [...]

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Guest Editor: Richard Morrell

The Guest Editor this week is Richard Morrell, General Manager of PH Hotels’ Cranage Hall in Cheshire and Joint Chairman of the East Cheshire Hotel Association. There is no escaping the fact the we are still experiencing tough times in the hospitality industry; looking back over my 30 year career in hotels I can scarcely remember [...]

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Guest Editor: Raj Ruia

How great it is to see so much positivity in the hospitality industry this week! It’s such a welcome change to see a wave of good news after what’s been a dismal start to the year for other sectors – most notably retail. The big stories that grabbed my attention in the last seven days [...]

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Gordon Ramsay Holdings’ profits back in the black

Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has enjoyed a turnaround in fortunes after a tough few years, as its pre-tax profit for the year to August 2012 leapt to £2m from a loss of £4.3m in the previous year. GRH saw its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rise to £4.9m over [...]

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Travelodge announces £223m brand investment for 2013

Budget hotel group Travelodge has announced a £223m investment in the brand, following the group’s financial restructuring last year. Plans include the 14 new hotels, 420 jobs, a customer-focused new room concept and a £57m refurbishment programme across the 528-strong Travelodge portfolio. In August 2012, the company entered a Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in a bid to [...]

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