Friday 23 October: Summer sales jump fails to fix profit squeeze as operators face 82% tax rate

Trade bodies warn that rising energy and food costs are swallowing revenue gains, while the government prepares a crackdown on unfair dismissal for new parents. Collated, not reported. Ops Club did not break these stories, the trade press did. This is a signpost to them. Scripted and read by AI from the Ops Club written edition. The stories are the trade press's, the selection is ours. In this briefing Results & trading updates: Vapiano UK eyes expansion as earnings climb 16%; The Berkeley and The Connaught narrow losses to £10m; Norfolk McDonald’s franchisee hits £98.4m turnover; Balfour Hospitality to pivot away from 'challenging' pubs; IHG reports 5.3% global RevPAR growth in third quarter Acquisitions & investment: Crerar Hotels portfolio hits the market for £90m; Parkdean Resorts commits £70m to 2027 upgrades New openings & closures: Honest Burgers shuts its only Smash & Grab site; MeatLiquor founder to bring Pablo’s to London; Three Sheets duo to open Berryman’s in Dalston; Itsu secures flagship St Pancras International site; Professionals at Play to debut Love, Jackie in Leeds; Prezzo confirms new sites for Norwich and Leeds; Noodle Inn signs for Birmingham and London sites; Three Uncles opens eighth site in King’s Cross; Nonna Italian bakery opens in Covent Garden; Ruff indoor golf signs 10-site Scotland franchise deal Promotions & people moves: Laura Mills joins The Wolseley Hospitality Group as MD; Preferred Hotels & Resorts names Roberta Possenti as European SVP; Safestay appoints Paul Cummins as executive chairman; Beautiful Pubs Collective hires Ben Scandrett Trends & market data: Summer sales boost fails to lift hospitality profits; London pub rates jump 24% in new valuation list; Christmas hospitality spend forecast to hit £13.3bn; Hospitality wages fall 1.4% in August Other industry news: New parents to get stricter dismissal protection; Healey promises £800m red tape cut for small firms; UKHospitality warns of 82% effective tax rate; Bread Ahead secures future at Borough Market Sources Propel - Propel Friday News Briefing Propel - Summer sales boost fails to ease hospitality profit squeeze Langton Capital - IHG, Just Eat, Parkdean, Sept Tracker, business rates, VAT & other The Caterer - Crerar Hotels portfolio up for sale for £90m The Caterer - UKHospitality pushes for ‘material tax cut’ at 2026 Autumn Budget Restaurant Online - Three Sheets duo to launch martini, wine and oyster bar on Kingsland Road Restaurant Online - Bread Ahead secures its future at Borough Market The Morning Advertiser - Pubs set for festive footfall rise as Christmas hospitality spend expected to hit £13.3bn The Morning Advertiser - Pubs hit by DesignMyNight booking system outage City AM - Healey slash red tape save firms 800m a year Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade - Stronger protections for pregnant women and new parents against unfair dismissal Hospitality & Catering News - The Wolseley Hospitality Group appoints Laura Mills as Managing Director The Morning Advertiser - Four in five hospitality businesses say costs are holding back investment The full rundown, with a link to every original story, is at ops-club.com/news/2026-10-23. For longer conversations with the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast at ops-club.com/podcast.