Hydes has launched its 2025 Christmas menu across its estate and served up more than 1,100 festive meals in the first week.
Bookings for Christmas are already ahead of last year, with the usual mid-December surge still expected. Based on current reservations and projected walk-in trade, Hydes anticipates serving around 21,000 festive meals across the season.
Christmas Day continues to be a major highlight for Hydes pubs, with many guests choosing to reserve their table for the following year while dining. Most pubs were already full by the end of summer, with waiting lists in place soon after.
To meet rising demand, Hydes purchased five tonnes of turkey in December 2024. This year, the business expects to exceed that figure and has already planned for more than 6 tonnes — over 1,330 butterfly turkey breasts — from trusted butchery partners.
• The government has confirmed that it will reduce the qualifying period for unfair dismissal to six months. This is an increase on the day one rights initially put forward in the Employment Rights Bill.
“This is a pragmatic change that addresses one of hospitality businesses’ key concerns,” said Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality.
“We made clear representations to the government that a six-month qualifying period would be much more practical for businesses and maintain job opportunities for young people, and I’m glad they have acted on those concerns.
“The Employment Rights Bill will still bring substantial changes and extra cost to hospitality businesses. In light of the increases to wages, business rates, and other costs coming in April, it would be sensible for the government to delay the introduction of statutory sick pay from day one by six months.
“This would give businesses much-needed breathing room and avoid further damage to employment opportunities.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “After a challenging Budget, the Employment Rights Bill has been adding to anxiety, so the decision to remove this clause will be a relief to many brewers and publicans who might otherwise have been cautious about taking on new staff.
“We now call on government to work with the BBPA and other trade sectors to further improve the Employment Rights Bill, retain flexibility, and to avoid unintended consequences and costs which our brewers and pubs will struggle to absorb.”
• Mitchells & Butlers has reported strong trading, ahead of the market, in the 52 weeks to 27th September.
There was an adjusted operating profit of £330m, up 5.8% on the previous year. Strong cashflows reduced net debt (excluding leases) by £146m.
“As we look to the year ahead, we anticipate increased cost pressures across the sector,” said chief executive Phil Urban. “However, we remain confident in our ability to manage these challenges through our established Ignite improvement programme and disciplined capital investment strategy.
“Our market-leading estate and diversified guest propositions provide a strong foundation for resilience and growth, enabling us to capture incremental market share and deliver continued long-term outperformance.”
• Southern England pubs operator Upham Inns has reported a 7.5% increase in like-for-like sales across its core estate.
The company acquired 14 pubs from Oakman Inns & Restaurants this year, after the business went into administration.
“All but one of our pubs was in positive sales growth – the exception was significantly impacted by local road closures, outside of our control,” said Upham.
• Red Cat Hospitality has sold its leased and tenanted division to Admiral Taverns, according to Propel. The deal involves 21 sites.
“This high-quality portfolio complements our existing estate and marks yet another step forward against our strategy, as we continue to expand our nationwide footprint and cement our position as the UK’s leading community pub group,” said Admiral Taverns chief executive, Chris Jowsey.
