Tuesday 13 October: The Adil Group becomes KFC's largest UK partner with 22-site acquisition

The Adil Group expands to 135 sites with a major KFC acquisition, while Neos Hospitality enters an 'accelerated growth phase' after doubling group EBITDA. 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: Neos Hospitality enters 'accelerated growth' as EBITDA doubles; Simmons Bakery maintains margins despite inflationary pressure; Domino's franchisee Palico sees turnover hit £115.7m; Powerleague EBITDA climbs 8.8% on padel court rollout; Zetland Capital narrows hotel losses to £1.2m; Eden Hotel Collection warns of 'norm' for late bookings Acquisitions & investment: The Adil Group hits 135 sites with 22-restaurant KFC deal; Chestnut restructures balance sheet with £13m debt conversion; Rocket Padel secures £6.8m for London expansion; True Pub Co director buys two sites and Hammersmith freehold; Lucky Voice sold to Swedish group in pre-pack deal New openings & closures: Daniel Craig to open The Horseshoe in Clerkenwell with Nick Jones.; Bread Ahead makes regional debut with 60-cover Harpenden site.; Flight Club Exeter confirmed for December launch in former Revolution site.; Stack Wigan to open in former Debenhams with six food traders.; Merchant Pubs & Bars reopens Glasgow BrewDog site as 99 Hutcheson Street.; Japanese concept Kibou opens 200-cover Birmingham restaurant.; GlenWyvis Distillery enters administration and halts production. Promotions & people moves: Pasta Evangelists names Nicola Saraceno as CEO as Alessandro Savelli exits.; Popeyes UK appoints David Padbury as franchise director.; Maslow’s hires Barzin Javanshiri as chief executive.; Joe & The Juice names Mark O’Mahoney as UK finance director.; Wilson Vale appoints Rodney Payne as managing director.; Iconic Hotels & Resorts hires Michelle Walder as group director of operations.; Isobel Childs steps down as chief growth officer of Black Sheep Coffee. Trends & market data: IMF warns UK inflation will stay above target until 2027; Retail sales growth slows to 1.3% ahead of Budget; UK 10-year gilt yield dips to 5.41%; Drinks sales fall 1.1% as cautious spending bites Other industry news: Government rules out new warehouse taxes in October Budget; Andy Burnham proposes energy and food standard deals with EU Sources Propel Hospitality Info - Propel Tuesday News Briefing Langton Capital - Trading, pub closures, food security, BrewDog, Costa, Neos & other The Caterer - Daniel Craig to open pub with Soho House and Flat Iron founders The Morning Advertiser - Chestnut strengthens balance sheet after loan note conversion City AM - UK economy to suffer second highest inflation in G7 Restaurant Online - Zula Burger to open second London site in Spitalfields The full rundown, with a link to every original story, is at ops-club.com/news/2026-10-13. 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 With the IMF predicting inflation will stay above 3% through 2026, have you stress-tested your menu pricing for another 18 months of rising input costs? Chestnut is pivoting from acquisitions to investing in its existing estate - is your capital better spent on a new site or on adding high-margin bedrooms to your current ones? Retail sales are stalling as consumers wait for the Budget - do you have a 'Plan B' for your November marketing if the Chancellor's announcements further dent consumer confidence?