Salisbury Spar store first in South West for Greggs franchise

the introduction of new features including a Coca Cola Ice Blast machine, Smokin’ Bean coffee station and a f’real milkshake and smoothie dispenser.

In-store services include a wide selection of beers, wines and spirits, fresh fruit and vegetables, household essentials, chilled and frozen food, snacks, soft drinks, baby supplies, ATM and National Lottery. Free customer car parking is available outside the store.

Store manager Nick Buck has a staff of 14 while the new Greggs franchise has created eight new jobs in the local area and is managed by Tom Clark.

South West-based SPAR retailer and wholesaler, Appleby Westward, has opened its first company-owned store with a Greggs franchise.

The Greggs operation is the eye-catching feature in a £375,000 capital investment by Appleby Westward in its neighbourhood store at Bemerton Heath, Salisbury.

Dean Mason, company-owned stores director said: “Food to go and especially our hot food range have always performed well in this store and this, along with the opportunity to reduce the retail trading area without compromising the core customer offer, made this store an obvious choice for our first Greggs franchise.”

The redevelopment of the store got underway in December and has seen the inclusion of new floors and ceiling, new refrigeration and upright freezers and improvements to staff facilities in the back of house area. All fixtures, fittings, external signage and a number of product lines have been updated with

“Our Bemerton Heath store has been a very successful community store for years but needed investment,” Dean Mason added.

“I am delighted our investment helped us not just to introduce the Greggs franchise but also bring the rest of the store up to the high standards that are expected by our customers, colleagues, and the community we serve.

“Brand new refrigeration and freezers will reduce our energy costs by at least 30% at a time when this is so critically important to all businesses and the additional footfall to the site that the refit and Greggs will bring are expected to increase turnover by 7% in the coming year.”

Appleby Westward currently operates 140 company-owned stores throughout the region and plans to introduce more Greggs operations as part of a strategy to expand its business through complementary partnerships, which in turn will create more jobs in local communities.

A third of hospitality at risk of going under, despite record sales

The UKHospitality Quarterly Tracker, in association with CGA, shows revenue was up 4.2% in 2022 compared to 2019, but down 13% in real terms when inflation is accounted for.

Cost pressures, alongside ongoing labour shortages and Covid-19 debt, has left many hospitality businesses in a perilous position. The latest Q1 Hospitality Members Survey, run jointly by industry(the Q1 Hospitality Members Survey is conducted by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster) showed that almost a third (32%) of businesses were at risk of failure in the next year.

UKHospitality is urging the Chancellor to address the root causes of inflation in the upcoming Budget.

It is calling for intervention in the energy market, Apprenticeship Levy reform and a new business rates multiplier to provide an immediate boost to the sector and prevent business failures, allowing those that survive to invest, employ and grow.

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “These figures show the challenging position the sector is in. The demand from the public is quite clearly there, with revenue exceeding pre-Covid levels, but there is no way venues can take advantage of this demand as they drown amidst price rise after price rise.

“Without action, we can see just how stark the year ahead could be with a third of businesses at risk of failure. Venues are simply unable to pass prices onto the consumer at the same rate they are experiencing their own costs rise.

“If the Chancellor wants to stem the bleeding in hospitality and stop those prices rises, which unfortunately contribute to inflation, he can take action in the Budget.

“We know one of the government’s key priorities is cutting inflation and growing the economy, which we support. Hospitality is a prime sector to achieve this, with a track record of delivering rapid growth.

“Intervening in the energy market to stop unscrupulous behaviour by energy suppliers, reforming the Apprenticeship Levy and tackling disproportionate business rates would signal his commitment to the everyday economy and its ability to lift the nation out of its economic slump.

“People up and down the country want to support their local pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and hotels, to name just a few. If the Chancellor allows those venues to take advantage of that support, we can turn record sales into real terms growth.”