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

Show Notes

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?

What is Hospitality News Briefing?

UK hospitality news, collated every weekday morning in about five minutes.

We summarise the trade press first thing so you don't have to. Each briefing
covers the results, the deals, the openings and the people moves that matter to
operators, with every story credited out loud to the publication that reported it.

We collate, we don't report. The full rundown, with links back to the original journalism, is at ops-club.com/news.

Scripted and read by AI from the Ops Club written edition. The stories are the trade press's, the selection is ours.

Three things to think about before you get on with your day, then you're done.

From Ops Club, the community for hospitality operators. For longer conversations with
the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast (https://ops-club.com/podcast)

Find us at ops-club.com for more.

Good morning. This is the Hospitality News Briefing, from Ops Club. Episode eighteen, Tuesday the thirteenth of October. Here is what the UK trade press reported this morning, collated for operators.

The Adil Group has become the largest KFC partner in the U K and Ireland after a twenty two site acquisition, as Neos Hospitality enters a new growth phase following a doubling of its group profits.

Starting with the numbers, Neos Hospitality has moved into what it calls an accelerated growth phase. Propel reports that the group saw revenue jump fifteen per cent to forty five point seven million pounds for twenty twenty five. The business now operates forty sites. Venue profits surged by one hundred and thirty three per cent to nine point eight million pounds. This followed heavy investment in rebrands and conversions. The group plans three more rebrands before the end of the year. It shows that repositioning an estate can improve conversion rates even in a tough climate.

Also in Propel, Simmons Bakery has managed to maintain its margins despite inflationary pressure. Turnover at the forty four site brand rose five per cent to thirty four point nine million pounds for the year to March twenty twenty six. Pre tax profits held steady at five point two million pounds. The business put two point three million pounds back into its estate and vehicles. It finished the period with thirteen point seven million pounds in net assets.

Propel has four more quick updates on trading. Domino's franchisee Palico saw turnover hit one hundred and fifteen point seven million pounds in twenty twenty five. Pre tax profit rose slightly to three point four million pounds. Powerleague saw profits climb nearly nine per cent to seven point seven million pounds. New padel court installations contributed one point eight million pounds in extra revenue. Zetland Capital narrowed its hotel losses to one point two million pounds. Turnover rose to twenty five million pounds helped by a seventy million pound refinancing deal. Finally, Eden Hotel Collection says late bookings are becoming the norm. Customers now expect total flexibility and last minute cancellations.

On to who is buying what. The Adil Group now has one hundred and thirty five sites after its twenty two restaurant deal with KFC. Propel reports the acquisition of First Rate makes them the largest KFC franchisee in the country. The sites are spread across Manchester, Liverpool, and North Wales. The group wants to grow its KFC portfolio by another twenty per cent over the next five years. KFC predicts the U K chicken market will be worth six billion pounds by twenty thirty five.

Over at Chestnut, the East Anglian pub group has restructured its balance sheet. The Morning Advertiser reports the group converted thirteen million pounds of loan notes into equity. They also raised a further four million pounds to stabilise finances after rapid expansion. C E O Philip Turner says the group is now more robust. They'll focus on the existing estate rather than new acquisitions in twenty twenty six.

Elsewhere in investment, Rocket Padel has secured six point eight million pounds for two new London sites, according to Propel. Also in Propel, True Pub Company director Gerard Flynn has bought two sites and a freehold in Hammersmith for a new guesthouse. In a pre pack deal reported by Langton Capital, Lucky Voice has been sold to the Swedish group Moyagi. Three London sites will stay open while three others close due to rising costs.

There are several new openings and closures to note. The Caterer reports that Daniel Craig is opening The Horseshoe in Clerkenwell with Nick Jones. Propel reports that Bread Ahead is making its regional debut in Harpenden, and Flight Club has confirmed an Exeter launch for December. According to Restaurant Online, Stack Wigan will open in a former Debenhams with six food traders. Propel also reports that Merchant Pubs and Bars has reopened a Glasgow BrewDog site as Ninety Nine Hutcheson Street, while Kibou has opened a large restaurant in Birmingham. Finally, Langton Capital reports that GlenWyvis Distillery has entered administration and stopped production.

A few people moves this morning from Propel. Pasta Evangelists has named Nicola Saraceno as C E O. Popeyes U K has appointed David Padbury as franchise director, and Maslow's has hired Barzin Javanshiri as chief executive. Joe and the Juice has a new U K finance director in Mark O'Mahoney. The Caterer reports Wilson Vale has appointed Rodney Payne as managing director. Back to Propel, Iconic Hotels and Resorts has hired Michelle Walder as group director of operations, and Isobel Childs has stepped down from Black Sheep Coffee.

Looking at the bigger picture for the market, City A M reports that the I M F expects U K inflation to stay above target until twenty twenty seven. It's forecast to average three point three per cent in twenty twenty six. While growth is forecast at one point three per cent, the environment of higher interest rates will continue to squeeze margins.

Also in City A M, retail sales growth slowed to one point three per cent as shoppers hold back before the Budget. Langton Capital reports that the ten year gilt yield, which is what it costs the government to borrow for a decade, dipped slightly to five point four one per cent. They also note that drinks sales fell one point one per cent in the two weeks to the third of October.

To finish, a couple of notes on government policy. Langton Capital reports the government has ruled out new warehouse taxes in the upcoming Budget.

The full rundown is at ops dash club dot com, where every story links back to the publication that reported it. Today's pulled from Propel Hospitality Info, The Morning Advertiser, Langton Capital, The Caterer, Restaurant Online and City AM - a signpost to their reporting, not a replacement for it. Scripted and read by AI and published without a human check, so check the original before you act on anything. For longer conversations with the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast. That is your briefing. Have a great day.