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Daily Mirror
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Struggling pubs and cafes to get lifeline under new rules - and you can help
Struggling pubs, cafes and clubs around the country could be rescued under new a new law to let locals take them over Struggling pubs, cafes and clubs around the country could be rescued under new a new law to let locals take them over - in a big victory for the Mirror's Save our Pubs campaign. Changes to the Devolution bill, to be revealed on Monday will give community groups first refusal when cherished community hubs are put up for sale - giving locals the power to prevent high streets becoming ghost towns. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said: "Pubs, clubs and other social hubs are the beating heart of communities right across the country. 'But every day more and more of them are shut down and sold, leaving people isolated and high streets like ghost towns. 'As part of our Plan for Change, we want to see these places thrive again. Our commitment to devolution is built on the belief that local people know what's best for their areas. 'That's why our upcoming English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will give residents the power to rescue the venues they love - and build a brilliant future for them." The changes in the Bill will mean when an Assets of Community Value goes on sale and a community group attempts to buy it, they will have a strong chance of succeeding. Changes to rules around sports clubs and venues will also provide a clearer, quicker pathway for local communities to take ownership of them and reduce their risk of closure under the Community Right to Buy programme. Monday's announcement is a victory for The Mirror, which has been campaigning for more support for community groups who want to buy their local pub to stop it from closing and proper recognition for pubs that are the heart of our communities. More than 400 pubs in England and Wales called last orders last year as landlords struggled with rising running costs and falling spending by cash-strapped pubgoers. Industry experts CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners found 3,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs risk closing in 2025. The Mirror's campaign also calls for a fighting fund for hard-hit boozers.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TGI Fridays Leicester Square flagship shuts down
The flagship Leicester Square branch of the TGI Fridays US themed dining chain has been shut down. The ribs, steak and milkshake venue was originally one of 51 earmarked to stay open following a rescue takeover by Breal Capital and Calveton UK last October. However, the keys have now been returned to the landlord and the site is now closed for good, according to the Propel hospitality website. The closure leaves TGI Fridays with no outlets in centrtal London though it is still operating at Westfield Stratford City, the O2 in Greenwich and at Wembley Park TGI Fridays invested £3.5 million in opening the Leicester Square site, which was located beneath Capital Radio, at the end of 2015. It was described by the brand at the time as the 'Fridays jewel in London's crown', after a huge refit to create an open kitchen and large four-sided stand-alone bar. Breal Capital and Calveton, which acquired D&D London in 2023, paid £9.55 million to acquire the bulk of TGI Fridays UK out of administration through a new vehicle, the Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group last Autumn. The deal saw 51 out of the 87 TGI Fridays across the country acquired, with circa 2,300 jobs saved. The flagship had seating for 260 indoors and 60 outdoors. News of the closure came as new figures showed how Britain's hospitality sector demonstrated remarkable resilience last year despite the challenges of rising costs and faltering consumer confidence. The latest Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA by NIQ and global consulting firm AlixPartners shows a total of 99,120 licensed pubs,, restaurants and hotels were operating in December 2024, almost unchanged from the 99,113 in December 2023. It follows two years of contraction in 2022 and 2023, when the licensed sector shrunk by 4.5% and 2.9% respectively. There were 4,078 closures and 4,085 openings over 2024—a turnover equivalent to 11 venues a day. CGA by NIQ director Karl Chessell said: 'Given all the challenges that were thrown at hospitality in 2024, stability in site numbers shows the impressive resilience of operators. However, we continue to see a rapid churn of sites as the sector adapts to consumers' changing habits, while hundreds of net closures in the final quarter of the year emphasise that the burden of costs—made even heavier by the Autumn Budget—is threatening hospitality's fragile renewal. 'The long-term confidence of leaders, entrepreneurs and investors is solid, but January has already brought further closures of venues that clung on through Christmas. With economic uncertainty lingering, many more hospitality venues remain extremely vulnerable.' Sign in to access your portfolio
