Monday 19 October: Simmons Bars names Jason Thorndycraft as CEO to lead London expansion

Simmons Bars appoints Jason Thorndycraft as CEO, while the Chancellor prepares a Budget that could lift 75,000 small businesses out of the business rates net. 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: Byron losses hit £1.5m as burger brand struggles for momentum; Molson Coors warns pub profits at risk as drinkers shift to retail; AG Restaurants sees profits rise despite turnover dip; Crerar Hotel Group returns to profit but warns on labour costs; London & Regional Hotels slips to £3m loss Acquisitions & investment: Leonardo Hotels buys The Bristol for £11.5m rebrand; Dubai family office rescues Lythe Hill Hotel from administration; Canalside Ventures paid £775,000 for Thai Express UK New openings & closures: Raising Cane’s secures fourth London site in Dalston; Wagamama opens second roadside site at Cobham Services; Solina pasta brand introduced to Cardiff by Walcot Group; Blend Family sets November date for Elephant Exchange food hall; Urban Greens to open seventh London site this week; Bad Bird fried chicken debuts at Boxpark Wembley; Auntie Anne’s opens third container site in Ashford; Oxygen opens 19th activity centre in Crawley Promotions & people moves: Simmons Bars hires Jason Thorndycraft as CEO; Individual Restaurants names Rob Carroll as technology director; Brother Marcus appoints Maureen Sandbach as interim people director Trends & market data: Budget to lift 75,000 small firms out of business rates; Recruitment friction sees 84% of candidates quit applications; UK profit warnings hit two-year high on energy shocks; Nightclubs lost at twice the rate of wider hospitality Other industry news: Whitbread CEO slams 'unanticipated' £200m rates bill; VAT petition with 400,000 signatures delivered to No 10; CMA urged to probe Live Nation's 'market dominance' Sources Propel - Propel Monday News Briefing Propel - Update: Byron losses widen The Caterer - Byron reports £1.5m loss The Caterer - Leonardo Hotels snaps up the Bristol hotel The Caterer - Lythe Hill Hotel & Spa sold to Dubai family office Restaurant Online - Raising Cane’s lines up fourth UK site Hospitality & Catering News - Areas UK Opens wagamama at Cobham Services City AM - UK company profit warnings surge The Morning Advertiser - Nightclubs ‘left behind’ on business rates The full rundown, with a link to every original story, is at ops-club.com/news/2026-10-19. For longer conversations with the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast at ops-club.com/podcast. Three things to think about If the business rates threshold rises to £18,000, have you modelled exactly which of your smaller sites will drop out of the net and how that cash could be reallocated to wages? With 84% of candidates abandoning applications due to friction, when was the last time you tried to apply for a job at your own company on a mobile phone at 11pm? If you are running a restaurant brand, are you seeing the same volume shift to retail that Molson Coors is reporting, and does your mid-week pricing reflect that competition?