One-stop system to help businesses
Starting up a business in the hospitality industry should soon be easier, following a study commissioned by the Government's deregulation unit.
KPMG Management Consulting has been asked to help establish a one-stop system designed to give small businesses access to all the information on licensing and regulation that affects them.
"This study is the first stage of a project aimed at providing business people with a list of requirements, customised to their type of business, with contact names, addresses and telephone numbers for further advice," said public service minister Roger Freeman.
The research, which should take about four months, will give emphasis to the licensing and regulatory requirements of a small hotelier. A pilot scheme will then be undertaken.
A spokeswoman at the Cabinet Office told Caterer: "It should lead to all the information needed being available at one source such as a local library via a computer."
London's leonard
A 26-bedroom townhouse hotel is to open this December in Seymour Street, central London, after a £5m development. The Leonard will have 20 suites and a meeting room.
General manager Andrew Harris, who leaves the Grange Hotel in York at the end of this month, said the five-star-standard property would offer 24-hour room service but no restaurant. It would not be an apartment hotel as previously indicated by the developers.
The US market would be targeted through membership of the Grand Heritage Hotels consortium, he added.
Woking lodge
A lodge-style hotel is being built in Woking, Surrey, as part of a £3m leisure complex opening next May. The project is being partly financed by the local borough council.
Matthew Duffy, projects manager at developer Woking Leisure, said the 26-bedroom lodge was expected to charge around £35 a bedroom. There would also be a nightclub, 14-lane bowling alley and conference facilities.
Balti association
Balti restaurant owners in Birmingham have formed the Birmingham Association of Balti Restaurants to pool information in areas such as training, food and hygiene regulations and management skills. Call 0121-449 8888 for details.
bass turns to Thai
Bass Taverns has launched a 50-seat Thai and Indonesian restaurant at the Clockhouse pub in London's Battersea, operated by restaurateur Harry Ciputra. It is the fourth Bass pub in London to operate a Thai franchise.
