Foodservice pricing reached its lowest point for 12 months in February with most food and beverage categories showing no or minimal year-on-year inflation.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic causing major disruption to global supply chains and prompting shutdowns of some industries and consumer sectors, it is likely that pricing will be volatile in the coming months.

The Restaurant Group has raised £57m through a share placing aimed to provide the company with “sufficient” liquidity to continue to operate through the coronavirus crisis.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the group, which is behind household names including Wagamama and Frankie and Benny’s, issued a “pessimistic scenario for the current financial year”, which assumed all restaurants and pubs will remain closed until the end of June and with the possibility that only 400 of its 600 sites will reopen.

Government grants are not being delivered quickly enough to businesses that have seen their revenue decimated by Covid-19.

Trade bodies representing the hospitality industry have said there is danger more jobs will be lost if grants are not received quickly and extended to those businesses with a rateable value above £51,000, who currently are being asked to use loans to shore up their businesses.

Lookers Group, one of the leading UK motor retail and aftersales service groups, has revealed the 27 most idyllic road trips in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

We scoured the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to bring you the most scenic, adventure-seeking and family-friendly routes. We even factored in how much it will cost you for fuel.

Whether you are looking for a family break or a solo journey of discovery, there’s a route to match your needs.

Here at Lookers, we pride ourselves on quality and we’ve created routes for days out, weekend breaks and even half-term staycations.

The 4-star Mercure Sheffield Parkway hotel has scooped two accolades at this year’s SCR Hospitality Awards, including the ‘Unsung Hero’ and ‘Top Team’ awards. The awards celebrate the very best of the hospitality industry in the greater Sheffield area.

SCR Hospitality is a membership led, not-for-profit organisation covering the Sheffield City Region, and works to support and attract business and leisure tourism to the region. The annual awards recognise the best in service across hotels and venues , acknowledging the huge contribution hotel workers make to the city’s thriving economy.

Aparthotel Adagio, the European leader in aparthotels, has scooped the coveted ‘Best Use of Social Media’ accolade at the Serviced Apartment Awards 2020.

The Serviced Apartment Awards are the only awards created for and by the serviced apartment and aparthotel industry, celebrating excellence at individual, team and corporate level. This year’s awards ceremony, which was hosted by Les Dennis, took place at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel Kensington, London, on the evening of Thursday 12 March 2020.

The UK, at this present moment, has 69 different cities, some more popular than others. London has a population of approximately seven million, whereas the UK’s smallest city, St Davids, in South-West Wales, plays home to a mere 1600 people. As each of these 69 cities attempt to edge each other out on the leaderboards of best city to visit, they are all becoming a stand-out destination for tourists.

In 2019, the sign of a good city is how much it can offer in terms of catering for each type of visitor. Accessibility has proved to be a major talking point over the past number of years, particularly with the development and growth of Trip Advisor. No matter where a guest goes, they should have the right to enjoy themselves and indulge in the sights like everyone else.

Park Plaza London Riverbank has officially opened the capital’s first hotel room designed by families for families. Complete with chalk-board walls, neon lights and personalised experiences, the suite is available now.

The central London hotel is introducing its Ultimate Family Suite, in partnership with kids bedroom retailer, Room To Grow, following research* that revealed 40 per cent of children are “bored” on holiday, and that almost three quarters (71 per cent) of adults believe that hotel rooms are designed with grown-ups in mind, rather than children. This prompted the hotel to create a ‘design team’ that included guests – and children – who have been involved in the curation of the room.

With the first Indian dumpling all-you-can-eat menu of its kind, Soho Wala are upping their game for the especially hungry with an offering comprised primarily of Momo; steamed dumplings rich with savoury infusions and spiced goodness.

The Momo Wala menu will be available seven days a week from 12:30pm – 5:30pm and priced at £25.00pp.

If you’re an employer, you’ll keep a close eye on your finances — but just how much are staff breaks costing you? takeaway food boxes and disposable catering specialist, Inn Supplies, breaks down the costs:

The regulations

Before we begin talking budgets, let’s discuss how many breaks your employees are entitled to.  If your employees work for longer than six hours in a day, they are entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes. In addition, workers who smoke are entitled to cigarette breaks.

The ultimate bunch of roses

Fresh from a year that saw them rebranded as the very best in quality organic decadence, Conscious Chocolate have created the ultimate in dreamy indulgence for Valentine’s Day in 2020.

Lightly decorated with dried, perfumed rose petals, The Love Gift Box contains a dozen chocolate hearts in the infamous, best-selling, Love Potion No.9 flavour. Beautifully packaged, the collection is the ideal gift for anyone looking for sweet vegan goodness and perfect for turning up the heat (before the chocolate melts…).

The multi-award-winning Champagne House, Lanson has teamed up with Malmaison and with Charingworth Manor in The Cotswold, to ensure your Valentine’s Day celebration is a memorable one.

Carefully crafted under the watchful eye of Cellar Master, Hervé Dantan, Lanson’s Père et Fils has to be the one you opt for on this special occasion.

For those looking for an extra special romantic night, Lanson have this fabulous Champagne Père et Fils, with the Malmaison Hotel group, running from February 13thto February 29th inclusive.
Why not make Lanson Père et Fils your choice – it’s certainly the Malmaison’s Champagne choice as part of their “Drunk in Love” Valentine’s Promotion.