Itsu founder warns on rising labour costs

Julian Metcalfe, founder of Asian-inspired restaurant and retail brand Itsu, has warned that the government is making it too expensive to hire staff.

He said the increasing cost of labour is causing him to introduce more robots and technology to his high-street sites to alleviate cost pressures.

He told the Daily Mail that the quick service restaurant brand had implemented self-service screens at its sites “because we were so scared of the Government continuously raising [employment] taxes”.

He said: “Very soon we’ll be paying staff £16 an hour, I should think. That’s a good thing for our staff. But we want our food to be affordable – so where you can have a machine to take orders, you have to do it.”

UKHospitality recently reported that hospitality businesses would need to find an additional £2,500 to employ every full-time member of staff, following the tax implications from October’s Budget.

Metcalfe continued: “We have three Japanese robots in every Itsu kitchen, making nguri, folding maki and pressing rice. One robot can do the job of three people. They cost £100,000, but they don’t go on holiday and they don’t work from home.”

Last week, Itsu announced its expansion into sports catering after securing an agreement to provide sushi at London’s Emirates Stadium.

Its partnership with Delaware North will see Itsu sushi being served at the hospitality boxes of Arsenal Football Club’s home stadium in Holloway.