Primary schools unable to prepare hot food… For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Quarter of England primary schools unable to prepare hot food
More than a quarter of England's primary schools are neither able to prepare their own food from scratch nor offer a hot meal, according to a study for the School Food TrustThe Times, 15 July

Benjy's sandwich reappears after instant administration
Former franchisees of Benjys, the crisis-hit sandwich chain, have been left fuming after the company went into administration, but appears to have emerged unscathed, shaking off lawsuits lodged against it. The crisis came to a head yesterday when Deloitte was appointed as administrators. However, barely an hour later, Benjys was under new ownership, with its debts and lawsuits apparently wiped out. - Daily Telegraph, 15 July

Whitbread pubs sale price may drop
Whitbread is facing substantially lower bids for its 235 Beefeater and Brewer's Fayre pubs after news of continued weak sales. Insiders had thought that interest in the pubs might drive up the price to £550m, but it is now being suggested the figure like to be closer to £500m. - Mail on Sunday, 16 July

Loch Fyne restaurants enjoy big profits rise
Loch Fyne Restaurants, the UK's largest seafood restaurant chain, which sprang out of the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar in Argyll, has recorded a profit of £1.7m for 2005, almost £1m more than the previous year, with turnover increasing by £2.6m to £24.8m. The chain, which was established in 1987, has 32 restaurants across the UK. - The Scotsman, 15 July

Guidelines out this week on England smoking ban
Smokers can still light up in pavement cafés, hotel rooms and on open-air train platforms under a full "what's in, what's out" guide to the new smoking ban to be published this week. Hotel guests will be allowed to smoke in their rooms if they book a designated smoking room. The regulations are expected to oblige hotels to advise local authorities on numbers of smoking rooms. - Sunday Times, 16 July

Forte to open golf resort in Sicily
Sir Rocco Forte is to open a luxurious Sicilian golfing resort boasting two championship courses and backed by £31m of government grants. The hotel, which is scheduled to open in March 2008, will be the first golfing resort for the luxury hotel chain, which Sir Rocco founded in 1996. Around €45m (£31m) has come from grants from the European Union and local and regional government. - Independent on Sunday, 16 July

Wetherspoon to roll out coffee conceptJD Wetherspoon is planning to roll out a series of stand-alone coffee shops to tap into the lucrative breakfast market. The pub chain recently signed a deal to introduce Lavazza coffee at 69p a cup. The move was so successful, with sales rising by 40% to £400,000 a week, that chief executive Tim Martin has now licensed the 650-strong estate to open from 9am to drive early morning sales. - Scotland on Sunday, 16 July

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