Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 31707

yates's goes south

YATES's Wine Lodges opened its first outlet in London last week. The £1.75m development in Ealing is the company's 49th outlet and its second in the South, following the opening of a site in Luton earlier this month.

The company hopes to move up to a full stock market listing by the end of the summer to finance plans to double the size of its retail estate by the end of the decade.

KFC INVESTMENT

KFC is to buy back ownership of its tradename in South Africa and is planning to invest in the region.

For the past seven years the company's 281 outlets in southern Africa have been operated by Devco, a South African-owned caretaker company set up in 1987 to get round US trade sanctions.

KFC, whose outlets represent 30% of the southern African fast food market, plans to open another 200 restaurants throughout the region. The company and its franchisees will invest about US$200m (£131m).

TV DINNERS

BRIAN Smith Catering Services has started a contract to cater for around 600 staff at the new London headquarters of Channel 4 Television.

The Leicester-based caterer expects to serve 650,000 meals in the first year of the on-going contract. It will offer full round-the-clock catering at the site.

WTB grants

THE Wales Tourist Board has unveiled details of financial assistance for hotels, restaurants and tourism facilities under its Tourism 2000 strategy.

Cash will be available for developments including upgrading of hotels and the creation of a Welsh ambience in restaurants.