HOSPITALITY IN BRIEF


First Cape-branded restaurant opens Reading, Berkshire has seen the opening of pub group Barracuda's sixth Cape-branded pub and grill outlet. The site was formerly operating as Varsity, another of the company's brands, with the new Cape surroundings of chesterfield-style armchairs, high top bar stools, leather sofas, cosy booths and a South African- inspired menu being a radical departure from the large-format, student and promotions-led Varsity offer. The revamp, which has created 16 new full and part-time jobs, is part of Barracuda's ongoing £7m investment programme. This has seen the refurbishment and rebranding of more than 50 pubs and bars across the company's 220-strong portfolio in the past year. Reading's new Cape pub joins others in Stirling, Stockton Heath, Nottingham and St. Katherine's Dock and Aldermanbury in London.


BHA calls for government support British Hospitality Association (BHA) chief executive Bob Cotton has called for the new coalition government to act on pledges to support the UK tourism industry. In the organisation's annual report, Cotton said the industry had reason to be optimistic about the future under the Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration. However, he urged the coalition government to show "evidence" it was prepared to support the tourism industry through reduced regulation and increased investment. In his last annual report before leaving the BHA, Cotton said: "We look forward to evidence of a greater government belief in the value of tourism, with measures that will enable it to fulfil its potential as one of the principal economic drivers."


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news & jobs at www.leisureopportunities.co.uk Operators set to receive music refund


Successful appeal by BHA and BBPA will result in PPL paying back license fees By Tom Walker


Hotel, restaurant and pub operators are set to be able to claim refunds from Phono- graphic Performance Ltd (PPL) following a successful appeal against recorded music tariffs. Claim forms are now being


sent to PPL-licensed properties after the Copyright Tribunal ruling in last October which stated that tariff increases dating back to 2005-06 had been "unreasonable". Businesses which paid excess


charges during the period are now set to claim a share of £15m, following the appeal by the British Hospitality Associa- tion (BHA) and British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). It is estimated future annual savings for the hospitality


Park Inn brand to be renamed


The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced that its mid-market Park Inn brand is to be renamed as Park Inn by Radisson with immediate effect. Explaining the rationale


behind the move, Kurt Ritter, president and CEO of Rezidor, said: "This new name is in line with our decision to strongly focus on the development of our two core brands. "Park Inn is a young


brand which we only launched in early 2003. The link with Radisson and its strength and reputation will allow Park Inn to grow faster and to be even more efficient. We are also confident that the new name will further increase brand awareness."


Pubs and restaurants are most likely to benefit from the ruling


industry will be around £5m, with recorded music tariffs comprising CD players, televisions and radios. BHA deputy chief executive


Martin Couchman said: "This successful result demonstrates, once again, the importance of having a strong trade


association to defend the industry's interests." BBPA chief executive


Brigid Simmonds added: "We have fought long and hard for these reduced charges and refunds, so we want to ensure that pubs claim what they are owed in full."


Taco Bell to debut in the UK


The fast food chain currently operates nearly 6,000 sites worldwide By Tom Walker


Taco Bell, the Mexican-themed restaurant chain, is to open its first site in the UK. The opening, at the Lakeside


Shopping Centre in Essex, is scheduled for next month, with the restaurant offering a range of fast food such as tacos, burri- tos, nachos and quesadillas. Taco Bell – part of the


US-owned Yum! Brands group which also owns KFC and Pizza


Read Leisure Opportunities online www.leisureopportunities.com/digital


Hut – has had a presence in the UK before. It opened outlets in London and Birmingham in the late 1980s but all had closed within a few years. The company currently


operates more than 250 restaurants outside the US and around 5,600 restaurants in the US. A spokesperson declined to comment on the potential size of the brand's UK rollout but said Lakeside was "the start of our plans for the UK".


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