DELIVEROO PUSHES INTO BOOZE
TAKEAWAY delivery business Deliveroo has started an alcohol delivery service in partnership with wine merchants Majestic Wine and craft brewer and bar owner BrewDog, as well as a host of independent businesses. It follows successful trials by Deliveroo that it started in March.
The new service will see Deliveroo’s bike couriers delivering drinks from eight Majestic Wine locations in London and 20 BrewDog bars across the country, including sites in Manchester.
Deliveroo has also teamed-up with smaller independent suppliers, including craft brewer Honest Brew and London wine bar and shop Vagabond Wines, as part of the initiative.
The drinks service marks yet further expansion of Deliveroo, which is competing with the likes of Just Eat and the recently launched UberEATS for market share.
At the end of May, the firm announced it would courier food for national chain Pizza Express. It was a coup for Deliveroo, as the move meant the pizza chain would axe its own delivery service.
Pizza Express joined a number of other chains, including Wagamama, in using Deliveroo’s services, although the pizza business is the biggest brand yet to join the delivery firm’s platform.
CHRISTIE’S LOSES TRANSACTIONS FOLLOWING BREXIT
PROPERTY agent Christie Group has reported a “small number of transactions” were lost as result of the EU referendum result. It stated that in the light of “softer than previously anticipated trading in its professional business services division”, operating profit for the year ending 31 December 2016 was “likely to be lower than previously expected”. It added that within its agency business a “small number of transactions were lost on announcement of the European referendum result, after which point the business sales market is continuing to function”. It stated: “While our first-half revenue to 30 June is expected to be broadly in line with the corresponding period last year, we anticipate a growth in second-half revenues year-on-year. Nevertheless, after recouping the expected first-half loss referred to by the chairman at the June AGM, this growth in second-half revenues is now expected to be insufficient to achieve the level of full-year profit that was previously anticipated. A fuller update will be provided with the release of the interim results, expected to be issued on Monday 12 September 2016”.
BRITISH ‘TAPAS’ RESTAURANT OPENS IN HULL
A NEW restaurant concept offering tapas-style plates of British produce has opened in Hull. Chris Uttley has launched No 6 Kitchenette in Newland Avenue. Diners are able to pre-order from the menu online ahead of arriving at the restaurant. The menu also includes craft pizzas with toppings such as Beverley chorizo, Ribblesdale goats cheese and herby Portobello, as well as charcuterie and an artisan cheese board. There is also a selection of craft beers, specially selected spirits, cocktails and wines. Uttley told the Hull Daily Mail: “We are just in the process of creating a market menu. So whatever takes our fancy in the veg market, fish market and butchers, we will do something exciting with it. We wanted the restaurant to have a real sharing feel, where people can graze over plates of food, and this location is great to achieve that. It’s important to be a familiar face, and that’s what you get in Newland Avenue.”
£4.5M COMMISSIONERS QUAY INN OPENS IN NORTHUMBERLAND
NORTHUMBERLAND’S newest inn, a £4.5m pub with rooms on Blyth’s redeveloped Quayside, has opened.
The Commissioner’s Quay Inn was purpose-built by Northumberland County Council’s economic development company Arch and is operated by The Inn Collection Group. Boasting 40 bedrooms across four floors, The Commissioners Quay Inn is well located for the Tall Ships Race, which comes to Blyth next month.
The Inn Collection Group is the biggest private bedroom provider in Northumberland, with more than 200 bedrooms across its north east estate. Its portfolio includes North East Tourism Pub of the Year The Bamburgh Castle Inn in Seahouses, The Lindisfarne Inn at Beal, and The Hog’s Head Inn at Alnwick. The group also operates The Seaton Lane Inn near Sunderland, The King’s Head Inn at Newton under Roseberry, and the newly acquired Kingslodge Inn in Durham.
VEENO TO OPEN FIRST SITE IN SCOTLAND
ITALIAN wine cafe Veeno will open its first Scottish venue – and eighth in total – in Edinburgh next month. The company, led by Nino Caruso and Andrea Zecchino, is bringing the brand to Rose Street on Saturday 6 August 2016, creating up to 20 jobs. As well as wine, cocktails and Italian beers, there will be a food menu with platters of Italian meat, cheese and bread, and desserts.
Veeno opened its first venue in Manchester in 2013 and now has sites in Bristol, Harrogate, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and York. Last year, the company revealed it was planning to expand to 80 sites by 2020.