Hospitality Today Feb - Mar 2017 | Page 22

Bill ’ s Restaurants reports full year turnover of £ 110.5m
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| Hospitality Today | Feb / March 2017
Over 82 % of all English catering and hospitality businesses have a hygiene rating of 4 ( good ) or 5 ( very good ). A different scheme is used in Scotland2 .
Wales and Northern Ireland have already subscribed to mandatory display of food hygiene ratings schemes3 , with new legislation set to come into force in England by 20194 , and a comparable Scottish scheme likely to follow suit4 . Mandatory display means any outlet that serves or sells food must display its score in a prominent place such as the front door or window .
Running in Wales since 2013 , the mandatory ratings display scheme has been hailed by its Deputy Health Minister as a big success story , helping to drive up industry standards – so much so that the number of businesses with the highest rating of 5 , ‘ very good ’, has risen to 60.8 % in November 2016 from 45 % prior to the legislation coming into force . 5
The NFU Mutual report found that a law for compulsory display of rating stickers in England and Scotland has gained the support of consumers , with 88 % in favour , and 66 % strongly so .

Bill ’ s Restaurants reports full year turnover of £ 110.5m

Bill ’ s Restaurant group has increased its turnover by 20.5 % to £ 110.5m for the 12 months ending 31 July 2016 . The company achieved an adjusted EBITDA of £ 13.5m .
The growth is largely the result of nine new site openings , including Greenwich & Sevenoaks .
2016 was a year of leadership and team consolidation for Bill ’ s including the appointment of CEO Mark Fox who joined the business in May 2016 from Starbucks .
Fox comments : “ 2016 was a strong year for Bill ’ s against a challenging backdrop of cost and macroeconomic headwinds . Christmas trading was particularly strong , with like for like sales up just under 10 %.
“ We ’ re in a strong place to innovate in 2017 , introducing new menus , a mobile app , and evolving our award winning restaurant design .
“ We ’ ll also be testing a new grab and go format to allow the freshness and seasonality of Bill ’ s to meet the demands of an increasing group of customers looking for the convenience of a quick bite to eat during the working day .”
Bill ’ s Restaurant , The Bullring , Birmingham