We recently attended Propel's annual Finance & Investment Conference, which attracts large numbers of the great and good from the UK leisure sector, including operators looking to raise funds and investors looking for opportunities.

Following on from a talk by well-known entrepreneur and Sunday Times columnist, Luke Johnson, we participated in the final panel discussion of the day. Gary Robins, our Head of Business Development - who has been involved with such Food-&-Beverage investments as Atlantic Foods and Pinkster Gin - joined other panellists from the likes of Metro Bank, Business Growth Fund (BGF) and Peel Hunt.

One of the main topics of discussion centred on the national chains (such as Prezzo, Jamie’s Italian and Carluccio’s) and problems with restructuring/closures, involving job losses, as seen highlighted recently in the UK press. The demise of these big players presents opportunities and benefits for the independents, including the possibility of picking up staff and potential new sites.

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