Current News

NEW YEAR:NEW NAME

With effect from 1st January 2008 we are changing our name to William Reed Business Media Ltd.

With a new name comes a new identity and below is our new logo. There is also a link to a pdf file where you can download a detailed specification and guidelines should you need to do so www.williamreed.co.uk/logos.aspx. The new logo is both distinct and contemporary but importantly it retains some of our heritage. The new symbol has been designed to visually suggest a window or portal through which we communicate and deliver business information to our customers. Please note that the old company name and logo must not be used after 31st December 2007.

WRBI makes it all Reit

William Reed Business Intelligence – Hotel Report, Leisure Report and M&C Report – recently held a one-day seminar looking at one of the key issues impacting the UK leisure and property market.

UK leisure: is it Reit up your street? examined how Real Estate Investment Trusts (a very dull name for something very important) will impact the way UK companies are structured.
The event was a resounding success, bringing leading names from the leisure market together with folk from private equity, investment banks, law and accountancy firms and M&A advisory groups – including a show stopper in Jon Moulton of Alchemy Partners.

World's 50 Best Restaurants

The S.Pelligreno World's 50 Best Restaurants, organised by Restaurant Magazine, were held in March at the Science Museum, London. The winner was El Bulli, Spain - with The Fat Duck the runner-up.

First published by Restaurant magazine in 2002 and now in its sixth year, The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants is recognised around the world as the most credible indicator of the best places to eat on Earth. As with all such lists, The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants stimulates fervent debate and sometimes controversy, but the excitement it generates amongst those who aspire to make the list, and the massive interest it brings to the restaurant industry in general, have seen it grow into an eagerly anticipated, internationally influential event.

The list is compiled by The Nespresso World's 50 Best Academy, a group of prominent food writers, critics, publishers and commentators.

TCRS & IFFE 2007

Thousands of visitors flocked to the Birmingham NEC in March to visit the Convenience Retailing Show (CRS) and the International Forecourt & Fuel Equipment (IFFE) exhibition.

Gallaher, Imperial Tobacco, Nestle, Procter & Gamble and Unilever were just some of the big names exhibiting new products and services for the booming convenience sector. Other CRS highlights included a series of Business Solutions seminars with visitors being given a free Business Solutions guide worth £7.95, and the Sandwich & Snack Solutions demonstrations designed to help retailers maximise profits from food to go.

Meanwhile visitors to IFFE were greeted by a real F1 racing car at the show entrance and were invited to drive a simulator version on the Pace/Mobil stand.

Marr to chair Finance Policy Group

Robert Marr, group finance director, William Reed Publishing, has been announced as the new chairman of PPA's Finance Policy Group (FPG). Marr succeeds Carolyn Pickering as chairman of the committee. Pickering, chief financial officer of Reed Business Information, had been serving as the Policy Group chairman since 2003.

Marr said he is excited at the appointment of his new role as chairman. According to Marr: "I look forward to leading the Finance Policy Group in 2007 in what promises to be an active year, building on the good work of previous chair Carolyn Pickering. With online trading, benchmarking, tax and VAT, agency payments and changing accounting standards already on the agenda, 2007 looks set to be a full year."

Marr has been group finance director at William Reed Publishing for five years. During his time there the group has doubled in size through growth and acquisitions.

Paramount CEO named Retailer of the Year

Nick Basing, chief executive of Paramount Restaurants, the operator of the Caffe Uno and Chez Gerrard brands, was named Retailer of the Year 2007, at M&C Report’s annual retailers’ Retailer Awards. These awards, the most exclusive & prestigious awards that WR runs, were held at the Dorchester, London.

Over the last 18 months, Basing has overseen the £33m acquisition of the Caffe Uno chain, the successful rollout of Brasserie Chez Gerrard, the company’s new all-day dining concept, and the group’s sale to PPM Capital for £107.5m.

These awards are only ones that are voted for by senior people from the pub and restaurant industry. The evening was extremely successfull, to quote one senior industry figure "this surely has to be the event of the year".

Baking Industry Exhibition

An exciting new show for the baking industry has been launched by William Reed Events & Exhibitions

The Baking Industry Exhibition (BIE) will be held at the Birmingham NEC from 6-9 April 2008 alongside Food & Drink Expo, the Convenience Retailing Show, Foodex Meatex and IFFE, which under the umbrella title Food & Drink World will be the UK’s largest B2B festival of food and drink.

WR Marketing Win PPA Award

The subs marketing team have won the PPA award for Direct Mail Campaign of the Year for a business title.

The award was for the Valentines campaign sent to lapsed subscribers on The Grocer, Food Manufacture, Meat Trades Journal, and others. This generated sales at three times the usual rate for direct mail, with an overall response rate of over 10%.

The Judges commented on the campaign's "wonderfully left-field thinking" and its generation of "big results from a small budget".

They also said that they were: "...seriously impressed by the flair, imagination and top quality creative execution that has delivered excellent sales."

Most Significant Contribution

Editor of Food Manufacture, Rick Pendrous, was awarded the 2006 award for 'Most significant contribution' by The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT) at their annual luncheon on Thursday 16 November.

SOFHT commented that under his editorship, the magazine has campaigned for increasing food safety standards whilst not being afraid to raise contentious issues.

The Bar Awards

The Bar Awards, in association with CLASS, were held at the HAC Artillery Gardens in December 06 - with all the movers and shakers in the industry attending.

With a subtle theme of Ice and Fire resonating throughout the venue, the event was spectacular and appreciated by over 550 guests. Cocktails were enjoyed as were the delights of the cabaret act - Barry Peters and Kevin - an 80's disco DJ act by the same crew that brought us the Cuban Brothers last year - highly entertaining!

Big wins were seen from across the country, including Scotland, Leeds, London and Brighton. - see attached for all the winners.

Best Dishes recognises success across the UK

The UK Best Dishes awards were held in October at the Shepherds Bush Pavilion. The awards are designed to recognise the skill in a particular dish rather than a restaurant as a whole, opening the competition up to restaurants across the country and of all types of genre.

The winners came from a fantastic cross section of restaurant type across the UK:

Best Soup - Loch Torridon Country House Hotel, Achnasheen
Best Breakfast - Dartmoor Inn, Lydford
Best Pasta - James Street South Restaurant, Belfast
Best Sushi - Saki bar and Food Emporium, London
Best Tapas - L Restaurant, London
Best Steak and Chips - Walletts Court Hotel, Dover
Best Roast Beef - Marquess Tavern, London
Best Fish and Chips - Longridge Restaurant, Preston
Best Sausage and Mash - Boisdale, London
Best Dim Sum - Yauatcha, London
Best Curry - Cinnamon Club, London
Best Pudding - 947AD, Gloucester
Best Burger - Mole Inn, Oxford
Best Pie - Greyhound at Battersea, London
Best Cheese - Sketch, London

The Restaurant Show

Visitors and exhibitors alike enjoyed The Restaurant Show. The show got off to a fantastic start on Monday 18 September, welcoming thousands of visitors to a vibrant Grand Hall at London, Olympia.

The event showcased some of the finest products from around the globe and played host to some of the UK's best renowned chefs and talent.

Brian Turner hosted the World Chocolate Masters while some of the UK's top chefs battled it out for the KNORR National Chef of the Year 2006 in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs. Mixologists, sommeliers and some of the UK's finest flair artists entertained the visitors with a mix of spirit and passion.

Following a successful three-day event Wales the True Taste, commented: "The show provides one of the best platforms for generating publicity and creating new business"

Jo Birkitt Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd "A fantastic show, we couldn't have asked for a better lay out and atmosphere."

Magazines merge

William Reed has merged Meat Trades Journal with Meat & Poultry News. The move comes after the acquisition of the portfolio of products owned by Yandell Media Group.
The deal included Food Marketing & Manufacturing, which will be merged into Food Manufacture to offer a consolidated package, the UK PTF Directory, Who’s Who in Meat, the MPN Yearbook and meatmag.com.
Also included in the deal was the Foodtech exhibition which will become an integral part of Foodex Meatex.
The MPN awards will be run under licence by Yandell until December and then revert to WRP. Meatmag will continue until the new website meatinfo.co.uk is launched and will then be incorporated into it.
MPN editor Nicci Piggott has joined the editorial team and will have the specific remit of developing the new website meatinfo.co.uk as well as contributing to the redevelopment of MTJ as a fortnightly magazine and its newly-launched monthly, MTJ Extra, aimed at the independent butcher.

Acquisition of Pearl Media

William Reed is delighted to announce that it has acquired a portfolio of products from Pearl Media. Included in the sale are three magazines: Bake & Take, Food Ingredients and Analysis and Ingredients Health and Nutrition. Bake & Take is a monthly title and latter two are bi-monthly.

The purchase also included two annual publications – The Food Ingredients Directory and the International Milling Directory – plus ownership of two small regional bakery shows.
Bake & Take will continue as a controlled circulation monthly and be repositioned to complement William Reed’s market-leading title British Baker. It will be edited by Anne Bruce, who will combine this role with her position as deputy editor on British Baker. Associate publisher Sonia Young will have overall responsibility for both titles and oversee the relaunch of both titles in the autumn.

Claire Cole will be associate publisher of the two combined international titles Food Ingredients and Analysis and Ingredients Health

Wine & Spirit

Wine & Spirit, William Reed's major new launch, has arrived and the magazine, uniquely, is also targeting the consumer market and will be available in the news trade, including WH Smith.

Editor Graham Holter said: "We've aimed for a specialist drinks magazine that puts interesting journalism at the heart of what it does, rather than getting bogged down with definitions of 'trade' or 'consumer' writing.

"The drinks world is such a vibrant, entertaining and creative environment and we didn't think the magazines that served it reflected this energy. We've worked really hard to balance serious reporting with the sort of articles that are in tune with the personality of the industry.

"So while we've given a comprehensive review of Burgundy en primeurs, we also bought some £2.99 wines and put them in a Sodastream. To me, that tells you almost everything you need to know about our editorial policy."

Food & Drink Expo/CRS/IFFE/Foodex Meatex 2006

Visitors have been out in force at the Food & Drink Expo 2006 which has just finished at the NEC, Birmingham.

FDE 2006 brought together the largest ever gathering of UK speciality and regional producers, with pavilions including North West Fine Foods, Heart of England Fine Foods, South West Food & Drink, Yorkshire & Humber Regional Food Group and Wales the True Taste. A significant international presence saw new pavilions from Thailand, Japan and Southern United States.

The shows featured - Food & Drink Expo Chef Competition, The World Kitchen, the Wine & Cheese Theatre and Bar Talk - all played out to packed audiences.

Retailers' Retailer Awards

The M&C Report annual awards were held recently at the Dorchester, Park Lane.

The Retailers’ Retailer of the Year reward the very best in the Food and Drink Hospitality sector – as nominated and voted for by the industry itself. These awards are the most prestigious awards in this sector.

A very successfull and well attended evening, the after dinner speaker was the 'Rogue Trader' Nick Leeson. The awards were hosted by Mark Stretton and Peter Martin.

The winners were:

Emerging Concepts
Project S - Mitchells & Butlers
Best Concept
Strada & Wagamama (Joint Winners)
Best Company
Mitchells & Butlers
Best Venue
Malmaison - Oxford
Turnaround Brand of the Year
Est Est Est
Deal of the Year
Wagamama
Investor of the Year
Punch Taverns
Rising Star
Jon Vincent & Henry Dimbleby - Leon
Retailers' Retailer of the Year
Tony Hughes

OLN Drinks Retailing Awards

Around 400 of the biggest names in the drinks business gathered at the Dorchester Hotel in London for the OLN Drinks Retailing Awards. It was the biggest awards night ever staged by OLN.

TV star Sean Lock warmed up the crowd before the awards which were presented by Graham Holter and Bernie Costello.

It was a big night for Majestic, named best multiple wine retailer and best high street chain; and Sainsbury's, which picked up a string of awards including best buying team and best supermarket. Tony Laithwaite was presented with a lifetime achievement award.

Best Pub Awards

The Morning Advertiser's Best Pub Awards and the PubChef Awards were held recently at Old Billingsgate, in London.

The awards, in their seventh year, were the biggest and best yet, with over 1,100 people sitting down to a special menu devised by the overall winner of the Pub Chef Awards.

The Best Pub Awards were hosted by Andrew Pring and the PubChef Awards by Jo Bruce. Al Murray fittingly provided the entertainment, as the pub landlord!

Beer Writer of the Year

OLN editor Graham Holter has been named beer writer of the year in the trade and technical section of the British Guild of Beer Writers awards.

Graham was praised for the breadth of his beer writing in the past year and received a cheque for £1,000 and a nice tankard at the ceremony at Ironmongers Hall.

MA editor Andrew Pring, chairman of the Guild, made an excellent speech urging beer writers to increase their efforts to improve the image of beer and encouraged brewers to back plans for a "Beeropolis" attraction in London.

Graham said: "It's the third year running that OLN has won something at the Beer Writers Awards and we're proud of that achievement.

Alcohol Retailing & Social Responsibility - Dealing With Britain's Drink Problem

M&C Report, The Morning Advertiser and Off Licence News held the first Alcohol Retailing and Social Responsibility forum in November at the Park Lane Hotel, London. Pulling together key figures from the industry, from government, police and local authorities.

The aim was to objectively discuss and debate the issues surrounding drinks retailing and to highlight the measures that the industry should now be contemplating to counter the current negative image that has engulfed parts of the hospitality market.

Chaired by the editor of M&C Report, Mark Stretton the conference featured contributions from:

Professor Ian Gilmore, FRCP and Chairman, Alcohol Committee, Royal College of Physicians
Simon Leach, Staff Officer, Police Standards Unit, Home Office
Christopher Satterthwaite, Chief Executive, Chime Communications plc
Jon Collins, Chief Executive, BEDA
Mike Bramley, Director of Pubs & Bars, Mitchells & Butlers
Tim Rycroft, Government Affairs Director, Diageo
Steve Th

Leopards

The Leopards were held in November at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The awards, for innovation in the leisure sector, were hosted by Leisure Report, in association with BISL and The Leisure Database Company.

Wembley Arena Pavillion won the Judges' Special Award.

PY Gerbeau, chief executive of X-Leisure, was named most consistent innovator.

The most innovative entertainment concept award went to Merlin Entertainment for its Mobile Sea Life product, beating competition from Madame Tussauds and Wembley Arena Pavillion.

Cully's Access to Fitness was named most innovative health and fitness concept, beating Health Dept and Wellington Health & Fitness Suite.

Most innovative spa concept was awarded to Topaz Spa & Leisure against competition from David Lloyd Leisure and SenSpa.

The most innovative leisure building design went to X-Scape, Castleford

Oddschecker was named most innovative betting and gaming concept, winning out against At The Races and Gala Group.

UK Bar Awards

London's coolest bars and clubs were named in November. They were competing at the UK Bar Awards, organised by CLASS, held at the Pleasure Gardens in Waterloo, London.

The winners were:

Best Bar - Trailer Happiness
Best New Bar - Salvatore @ Fifty
Best Bar Manager - Alessandro Palazzi, Aurora
Best Bar Team - Blanch House
Best Bar Brand - Bluu
Best Cocktail Offering - Salvatore @ Fifty
Best New Design - Cocoon
Best Hotel Bar - Aurora
Best Night Out - Trio
Best Pub - The Albion
Best Spirits Offering - Shochu Lounge
Best Wine Offering - Pearl
Stella Artois Award for Best Quality Standards -The Sterling
Best Bartender - Myles Davies, Green and Red
Outstanding Achievement - Roger Needham
Outstanding Achievement - Mal Evans

CLASS editor Paul Wootton was quoted in the Evening Standard: "London continues to lead the world and bar-tending talent."

The Baking Industry Awards

The Baking Industry Awards, held by British Baker, took place recently hosted by BBC TV sports presenter John Inverdale and with entertainment from impressionist Rory Bremner. Nearly 900 guests enjoyed a four course meal, the awards, dancing to a live band, gambling at the casino and taking part in a mini grand prix.

Around 900 guests at the event included representatives from major plant bakeries, such as RHM Bread Bakeries and Irwin's, and supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons. Guests from bakery trade bodies and leading craft bakers and retail chains, including Greggs, were also present, along with bakery ingredients and equipment suppliers.

Careers in Food & Drink 2006

This essential guide for graduates is now in its fourth year of publication, produced in association with The Grocer.

Every year it just gets bigger and better, with over 3,000 advanced requests from students, schools and universities.

The accompanying website, www.careersinfoodanddrink.co.uk is being re-launched on the 1st of November and offers students a wealth of information and jobs in the food and drink sector.

WRP purchases new titles & events

William Reed Publishing have completed the acquisition of a group of titles and events including online activities from Wilmington. There are two clusters of titles, one known as Quest Drinks in the drinks area consisting of three monthly magazines Drinks International, Wine and Spirit International and Wine International and two major awards, the very successful International Wine Challenge and International Spirits Challenge and related online activity. The second cluster is in the Travel Retail sector covering the Duty Free market under the Frontier brand including an industry leading awards in Cannes.

New acquisitions

I am delighted to confirm William Reed Publishing has completed the acquisition of British Baker, Meat Trades Journal, The Restaurant Show and Hotel & Restaurant magazine from Quantum. I am confident that with our experience and commitment to the food & drink sector we will be able to improve their fortunes and add value for the readers, visitors and advertisers alike.
Charles Reed, WRP MD

PPA Magazine Awards 2005

The 25th PPA Awards were held this year at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Food Manufacture crowned a fantastic year of awards for WRP by winning the Monthly Business and Professional Magazine of the Year.

Foodex Meatex

Foodex Meatex, the meat and food processing food organiser, has agreed to sell the business to William Reed Publishing, owner of The Grocer and Food Manufacture. At Foodex Meatex’s AGM the organisation’s members voted to accept William Reed’s offer. Under the terms of the deal, William Reed will take on the running of next year’s show, which will be held at the NEC from 19 to 22 March 2006.

William Reed Publishing already stages a number of exhibitions including the Food & Drink Expo and Convenience Retailing Show, which take place alongside Foodex Meatex, and owns a portfolio of food and drink industry magazines. This breadth of experience will ensure that Foodex Meatex benefits from a strong marketing campaign and is not simply a stand-alone event, according to group MD Charles Reed. He said: “We were delighted to be given the opportunity to take on this successful show. With our broad platform of magazines and media we will be able to promote a higher profile for Foodex Meatex."

UK Family Business Honours

William Reed have won the Business Success category of the UK Family Business Honours programme.

These awards are organised by JP Morgan and supported by the London Business School and the Institute for Family Business and judged by an independent committee on areas including financial growth, innovation, good governance, sound business processes and staff development.

WR was shortlisted from an original list of 18 including Daily Mail and General Trust, Robert Wiseman Dairies, Warburtons and OCS Group, so were in very good company.

Casinos and The Future Leisure Market conference

Casinos and The Future Leisure Market conference was held in October at the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London.

The keynote speaker was Lord McIntosh from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport - who was talking about the new Gambling Bill.

The conference was extremely topical and very well received by the audience who reperesented all areas of the business.

Restaurant Conference

The seventh annual Restaurant Conference was held on Tuesday at the SAS Radisson Hotel in Central London.

The event was extremely well attended and very successful in this new venue.

The delegate list was a 'Who' Who' of the UK sector's most dynamic and influential restaurateurs. The conference delivered the very best insight and strategic overview in one of the UK's most dynamic and growing markets.

Some of the areas covered included:
* Thinking global – ideas and opportunities from Australia, South Africa, Europe and the United States
* Eating out in context – what the consumer really thinks
* Hot concepts, the sector’s life blood – with profiles on the likes of Strada, Fresh Italy, Bombay Bicycle and Masala Zone
* How robust is the restaurant business model? How is it reacting to a changing financial and legislative environment
* The sector’s new investors – finding new ways to back the market

Bacon and Derry share honours at Retailers’

Tim Bacon, the chief executive of Living Ventures, and Mark Derry, the managing director of Loch Fyne Restaurants, shared the top honours at the seventh annual Retailers’ Retailer of the Year Awards at The Dorchester hotel in London.

Retailers’ Retailer are for the restaurant and licensed retail market. Uniquely for a bsuiness awards the winners are decided by the votes of senior players in the industry. Nominations are invited from the top people in the industry, a shortlist drawn up in each category, and then votes invited from the industry. The winners truly are the best in the industry - judged by the industry itself. This is the biggest night out in the Martin Info calendar, with a roll call of the biggest names in the industry attending.

This is the biggest night out in the Martin Iinfo calendar, with a roll call of the biggest names in the industry attending.