Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) & Pub Sector

Domino’s see surge in third-quarter sales

Business Post– 16.10.2020

Domino's Pizza Group posted a 19 per cent jump in third-quarter sales. The company has also benefited from the reopening of contact-free collections and the return of sporting events. Domino's said it expects annual underlying pretax profit to range between £93-98 million, compared with £98.8 million for 2019. A reduction in the UK's value-added tax rate to 5 per cent from 20 per cent in July helped Domino's in controlling costs, which had weighed on the company's first-half profit as it spent more on cooking and delivering its pizzas safely during the pandemic.

JD Wetherspoon puts Irish pub plans on ice due to Covid uncertainty

Irish Examiner– 17.10.2020

British pub group JD Wetherspoon has put its longer-term Irish expansion and investment plans on hold until there is more clarity over how the bar trade can function within the Government’s Covid-19 guidelines. Wetherspoon has seven pubs in Ireland, a small number in various stages of development, and a long-term plan to have around 30 operating here. It sees scope for further openings in Cork as part of its ultimate expansion here. However, Wetherspoon still plans to open its nearly complete €21m pub/hotel project on Dublin’s Camden St in November if Government restrictions allow. Regarding longer-term investment, chairman Tim Martin said the UK will be the determining factor for the group, as almost all of Wetherspoon’s 900 or so pubs are based there, and the bulk of its revenues are generated there.