Latest news with #ShepherdNeame
The Independent
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Michelin-starred pub hit with poor hygiene rating after mould found in fridge
A Michelin-starred gastro pub visited by celebrities has been hit with a poor hygiene rating in their latest inspection. Award-winning establishment The Sportsman, near Whitstable in Kent, has been issued a food hygiene rating of two out of five after several issues were spotted in the kitchen. The concerns raised by the Food Standards Agency included 'dirt and mould on the ceiling in the walk-in refrigerator', and pickled cucumber being stored in a 'heavily stained jug'. The report also cited dirt and mould 'inside a door within an under-counter refrigerator', and members of staff eating in the kitchen, wearing leather bracelets and having cloths over their shoulders. The pub's site owner, Shepherd Neame, said the pub took 'immediate action to address all issues identified' in the report and management has since applied for a rescore in the near future. The agency report, seen by The Independent, also notes that areas such as on the sides of fridges, the office door and table legs were in need of more thorough cleaning and that two dirty chopping boards were being used. However, the inspector still concluded that the pub had a 'satisfactory food safety management system', but 'staff were not carrying out all the identified controls at critical points'. The inspector noted that staff were not carrying out key food contamination controls, such as the daily diary not being completed every day in February and the need for an allergen review. The pub was also advised to carry out professional pest prevention - despite not seeing any pests at the site. The Sportsman has gained a stellar reputation since it was taken over by brothers Stephen and Phil Harris in 1999. It has managed to keep its one Michelin-star since it was awarded in 2008, and in 2015, it was crowned the best gastropub in the UK by alcohol brand Estrella Damm. Gary Lineker, Paul Hollywood and Amanda Holden among the famous faces who have dined at the pub, which was also named restaurant of the year in 2024 by the Good Food Guide. Diners wishing to experience the restaurant's locally-sourced dishes can expect to pay £85 for a five-course tasting menu featuring dishes such as roast venison with red wine sauce & smoked celeriac and linguine with black truffle. A Canterbury County Council spokesperson said: "Our experienced Environmental Health Officers are working closely with the management of The Sportsman following the issues raised during their inspection. "The business took the points our officer made very seriously and we are pleased to say good progress has been made in addressing the concerns. "The Sportsman has applied for a reinspection and we expect it to improve its score significantly when we visit in the next few weeks."
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Average price of pint to surge above £5 due to April cost hikes, say beer bosses
The average price of a pint of beer is set to surge past £5 for the first time due to cost hikes hitting the sector next month, according to industry bosses. Pub sector chiefs have warned that prices for customers will have to increase in order to help keep venues running in the face of higher labour costs. The British Beer and Pub Association said the average cost of a pint in the UK is expected to rise by around 21p as a result. The research, commissioned alongside Frontier Economics, showed that pub firms are expecting to raise the average price of a pint from £4.80 to £5.01. This comes amid a raft of cost increases linked to last October's budget, which will come into force in April. Firms will face increases to the national minimum wage, a rise in national insurance rates and a decrease in the threshold at which firms start paying out national insurance. Business rates discounts for firms in the sector will also be cut from 75% to 40% from April. The net cost of autumn budget announcements across the beer and pub sector is approximately £650 million in total, the trade body said. It comes after historic brewer Shepherd Neame – which makes ales including Spitfire and Bishops Finger – said earlier this week that it will hike its beer prices in response to rising taxes. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: 'The cumulative impact of these taxes and regulations is now plain to see and it is highly unfortunate that the only way many pubs can remain viable is to pass on the array of upcoming costs to consumers. 'No one wants to see the cost of an average pint increase by a further 21p and break the £5 average pint barrier that will be required for pubs to maintain their punishingly slim profit margins. 'It is more urgent than ever that Government looks at ways to cap or reduce the costs of doing business so we can keep pubs open, preserve their community value, and make sure the price of a pint remains affordable for all.' Tim Black, associate director at Frontier Economics, said: 'The beer and pub sector has shown real resilience through a tough few years – navigating the pandemic, the energy crisis, and the cost-of-living squeeze. 'But more headwinds are coming. 'The sector is at the sharp end of a wave of policy changes that will push up costs – higher wages, increased national insurance, reduced business rates relief, and new packaging rules. The cumulative impact will be significant.'
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pubs say the average cost of a pint will rise above £5 for the first time
The average cost of a pint is set to surge past £5 for the first time as the hospitality sector reacts to higher labour costs. Pub sector experts say that prices for customers will have to increase in order to help keep venues running. The British Beer and Pub Association said the average cost of a pint in the UK is expected to rise by around 21p as a result. The research, commissioned alongside Frontier Economics, showed that pub firms are expecting to raise the average price of a pint from £4.80 to £5.01. This comes amid a raft of cost increases linked to last October 's budget, which will come into force in April. Firms will face increases to the national minimum wage, a rise in national insurance rates and a decrease in the threshold at which firms start paying out national insurance. Business rates discounts for firms in the sector will also be cut from 75 per cent to 40 per cent from April. The net cost of autumn budget announcements across the beer and pub sector is approximately £650 million in total, the trade body said. It comes after historic brewer Shepherd Neame – which makes ales including Spitfire and Bishops Finger – said it will hike its beer prices in response to rising taxes. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: 'The cumulative impact of these taxes and regulations is now plain to see and it is highly unfortunate that the only way many pubs can remain viable is to pass on the array of upcoming costs to consumers. 'No one wants to see the cost of an average pint increase by a further 21p and break the £5 average pint barrier that will be required for pubs to maintain their punishingly slim profit margins. 'It is more urgent than ever that Government looks at ways to cap or reduce the costs of doing business so we can keep pubs open, preserve their community value, and make sure the price of a pint remains affordable for all.' Tim Black, associate director at Frontier Economics, said: 'The beer and pub sector has shown real resilience through a tough few years – navigating the pandemic, the energy crisis, and the cost-of-living squeeze. 'But more headwinds are coming. 'The sector is at the sharp end of a wave of policy changes that will push up costs – higher wages, increased national insurance, reduced business rates relief, and new packaging rules. The cumulative impact will be significant.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
All the pubs hiking the price of a pint after Budget tax raid
Shepherd Neame announced this morning that it would be forced to raise prices at its 290 pubs due to cost pressures from last October's budget. The family business follows a host of other hospitality companies in raising prices, with the average price of a pint set to go up by six to eight per cent, according to UK Hospitality. With the national living wage set to rise 6.7 per cent and national insurance contributions (NICs) set to rise 1.2 per cent, pubs face millions in extra costs from April. The lower threshold for NICs, which now pulls the wages of part-time workers into the tax bracket, will also hit the labour-intensive and part-time-reliant hospitality sector harder than others. Businesses across the board have said they will raise prices and cut investment to deal with the pressures. 'These new cost pressures, which will of course also feed up to pubs via increased supply chain costs, will inevitably mean higher prices at the bar and, sadly, will very likely affect staffing levels in pubs where this is the only remaining way to ensure business survival,' Paul Crossman, chair of the Campaign for Pubs, said after the budget. More than 70 businesses signed an open letter earlier this year telling the Chancellor that the changes in the Autumn budget mean price hikes are a 'certainty'. Most businesses have said they will increase the price of drinks by 10p. This includes Fuller's, Marston's and All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers. Mitchells, which called higher wage expenses 'by far the most significant increase' in its cost base, faces a cost increase of £23m per year due to higher NICs. Wetherspoons, which faces a cost hike of £1.2m per week, said it will increase the prices of popular drinks by 15p, while meal deals will go up by 30p. 'Wetherspoons has always tried to remain as competitive as possible. We hope that our prices will still be reasonable in spite of these increases,' Pub boss Sir Tim Martin said. Some will increase prices even further: Simon Dodd, chief executive of Young's, said the chain plans to hike its prices by 20p. Young's faces a cost hike of £11m, equivalent to a fifth of its pre-tax profit last year. The higher wage costs are directly leading to inflation because few pubs have the capacity to absorb higher costs after the effects of lockdowns, the energy price spike of 2022 and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis. But higher prices are a tough pill to swallow for consumers, too. 'There is no capacity to pass the costs onto customers,' Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality said. 'Customers are at the end of their ability to pay more.' At the Budget last October, ministers trumpeted policy changes that they claimed would take 1p off the price of a pint. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Average price of pint to surge above £5 due to April cost hikes, say beer bosses
The average price of a pint of beer is set to surge past £5 for the first time due to cost hikes hitting the sector next month, according to industry bosses. Pub sector chiefs have warned that prices for customers will have to increase in order to help keep venues running in the face of higher labour costs. The British Beer and Pub Association said the average cost of a pint in the UK is expected to rise by around 21p as a result. The research, commissioned alongside Frontier Economics, showed that pub firms are expecting to raise the average price of a pint from £4.80 to £5.01. This comes amid a raft of cost increases linked to last October's budget, which will come into force in April. Firms will face increases to the national minimum wage, a rise in national insurance rates and a decrease in the threshold at which firms start paying out national insurance. Business rates discounts for firms in the sector will also be cut from 75% to 40% from April. The net cost of autumn budget announcements across the beer and pub sector is approximately £650 million in total, the trade body said. It comes after historic brewer Shepherd Neame – which makes ales including Spitfire and Bishops Finger – said earlier this week that it will hike its beer prices in response to rising taxes. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: 'The cumulative impact of these taxes and regulations is now plain to see and it is highly unfortunate that the only way many pubs can remain viable is to pass on the array of upcoming costs to consumers. 'No one wants to see the cost of an average pint increase by a further 21p and break the £5 average pint barrier that will be required for pubs to maintain their punishingly slim profit margins. 'It is more urgent than ever that Government looks at ways to cap or reduce the costs of doing business so we can keep pubs open, preserve their community value, and make sure the price of a pint remains affordable for all.' Tim Black, associate director at Frontier Economics, said: 'The beer and pub sector has shown real resilience through a tough few years – navigating the pandemic, the energy crisis, and the cost-of-living squeeze. 'But more headwinds are coming. 'The sector is at the sharp end of a wave of policy changes that will push up costs – higher wages, increased national insurance, reduced business rates relief, and new packaging rules. The cumulative impact will be significant.' Sign in to access your portfolio
