Friday High Five – hospitality, the Budget, and a deal to savour
Everyone knows how tough it is in the hospitality sector right now. There was a palpable sense of disappointment this week that no specific measures were introduced in John Healey’s Budget to alleviate the pressure many bars and restaurants find themselves in.
But, I have a slightly different take on the sector as a whole.
Habits are changing in so many different ways, abstinence is up, health and fitness awareness has increased.
As the actor Vinny Jones said in an interview recently, “drinking is a young man’s game”, which is partly why he doesn’t do it any more. I don’t either. But my sons tell me one of the reasons they don’t go out as much is because it’s become so expensive. Also, the leisure industry has picked the pockets of young partygoers in other costly ways, such as aggressive gambling adverts and inducements to get more people betting, and more expensive tickets for sports events and concerts. All of which is another huge chunk taken out of depleted wage packets.
I could also mention changing stimulant consumption habits, and the widespread social acceptance of illegal drug taking.
Tackling the perils of drugs and gambling would surely have the longer term benefit of helping the traditional leisure industry.
None of that is to say that the hospitality sector is doomed. A piece of news this week proves that with the right concept and a highly effecient operating model it is possible to run a hugely profitable business in hospitality. Mission Mars, which runs Rudy’s and Albert’s Schloss, has been sold for what I imagine is a big chunk of change.
No-one seems to know much about the buyer, a Luxumbourg-based fund manager looking after Saudi money, but they will see the potential to scale Rudy’s to double its size. Schloss is probably a big city product, but when it does work it is an absolute money machine. The evidence of the successful Manchester beer hall is that they seem to have cracked daytime and evening concepts.
Have a great weekend, however you wish to spend it.
