Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter! Just when you thought airports were finally getting their act together with decent coffee, they've gone and done something that's got traditional restaurant groups scrambling to catch up - they've conquered the world of hospitality.

And I mean properly conquered it. We're talking about Manchester Airport building a 472-seat food hall that rivals Borough Market, Heathrow investing £10 billion to create leisure space equivalent to 10 football pitches and Gordon Ramsay earning more from his airport empire than some of his street-level establishments.

The numbers are absolutely staggering: The UK transport hub hospitality market hit £4.8 billion in 2024, growing at 12% annually, while airport food and beverage revenues have surged 28% in just two years. Manchester Airport now generates more revenue per passenger from dining than duty-free shopping and SSP Group - the king of transport dining - reported £3.4 billion in revenue across their UK operations alone.

In today's newsletter we ask: Revolutionary dining experience or expensive overpriced convenience trap? We'll take a deep dive into how airports turned departure lounges into food halls, decode the millions invested in celebrity chef partnerships and reveal whether this represents the future of travel dining or just costly distractions from delayed flights.

In today’s email: Is Transport Dining's £4.8 Billion Revolution Worth Missing Your Flight For?

Read Time: Approx 4-5 mins

How Manchester Airport Became a £1.3 Billion Food Destination

Source: Manchester Airport Group

When Manchester Airport announced their Great Northern Market food hall in Terminal 2, hospitality experts were sceptical. Well with 472 seats, seven international kitchens and early previews generating unprecedented passenger excitement, the critics are already going quiet before it even opens.

Key Points:

• The scale masterstroke: This isn't your typical airport food court. The Great Northern Market spans the equivalent of two football pitches with QR code ordering, table delivery service and communal seating that rivals London's finest food halls. They're treating passengers like diners, not desperate travellers.

• Terminal 2's £440 million final phase: From concept to operational excellence took five years of strategic planning. The investment includes 20+ new restaurants and bars, creating a dining ecosystem that makes passengers want to arrive early rather than rush through security.

• The £1.3 billion positioning strategy: Stone-baked pizzas from Piccola Brera, Asian fusion from YO! Kitchen, craft cocktails at The Anthologist bar. Every venue operates with street-level quality but airport-level convenience. They're charging premium prices and delivering experiences you'd willingly visit even without a flight.

• Revenue transformation across terminals: Manchester Airports Group reported £300.8 million in retail concessions (+28.3% growth), proving passengers will pay for quality when operators invest in genuine hospitality offerings.

Heathrow's £10 Billion Global Dining Empire

Source: Heathrow Airport / Aero Time

Forget everything you think you know about airport restaurants. Heathrow has built a culinary network that rivals Covent Garden and they're just getting started with their £10 billion transformation through 2031.

Key Points:

• The systematic terminal-by-terminal rollout: Starting with Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food in Terminal 5 (£2.5 million investment, 175 seats, runway views), they've methodically elevated dining across all terminals. Each opening is strategic - Michelin-level kitchens, celebrity chef partnerships, destination-worthy interiors.

• Terminal 5's £772 million statement performance: Heathrow's retail revenue jumped 10.6% in 2024, with food and beverage leading growth. Plane Food alone serves 2,000+ covers daily, generating revenue per square foot that exceeds many West End restaurants.

• The Michelin validation mindset: While no airport restaurant holds a Michelin star yet, operators are hiring star-calibre chefs and implementing fine dining standards. Gordon Ramsay's team operates to restaurant group standards, not airport concession thinking.

• Commercial space equivalent to 10 football pitches: The £10 billion investment will create unprecedented restaurant and retail space, positioning Heathrow as a dining destination that happens to have flights, rather than an airport with food options.

The Celebrity Chef Partnership Gold Rush (And Epic Failures)

Source: The Caterer / Motorway Services / UK Transport

While airports chase premium dining, UK motorway services have been experimenting with celebrity partnerships for two decades. The results? One spectacular success, multiple expensive failures and valuable lessons about matching concepts to customers.

Key Points:

• Jamie Oliver's £5 million Shell empire: One of the only celebrity partnerships that actually worked. 500+ Shell stations nationwide featuring 80+ products from sandwiches to sushi, delivering 1.2 million additional daily fruit and vegetable portions. Success factor? Accessible pricing and familiar flavours elevated, not revolutionised.

• Heston Blumenthal's £20 million Little Chef disaster: "Wonderfully British" transformed 11 locations with braised ox cheeks and coq au vin. Popham became the first roadside restaurant in the Good Food Guide. The problem? £8 meals (£14 in today's money) drove away traditional customers while failing to attract enough new ones. Brilliant concept, wrong audience.

• Harry Ramsden's £20 million network collapse: Premium fish and chips across Granada/Moto and Welcome Break networks. Operational complexity and price resistance killed profitability. Service stations learned that brand names don't automatically justify premium pricing.

• The current strategy shift: Moto Hospitality, who operate 70 sites across the UK, invested £13.5 million in 2022, but partnered with proven concepts like Costa and KFC rather than celebrity chefs. The lesson? Reliability trumps celebrity in transport dining.

Why Transport Hubs Are Investing Billions in Hospitality

Source: Ibis / GTR / Food Travel Experts

Here's what nobody's talking about: while traditional restaurant revenues fluctuate with economic cycles, transport hub dining generates predictable daily income from captive audiences. Transport operators made a calculated decision to excel at hospitality, targeting the sector's most predictable daily revenue streams.

Key Points:

• Revenue diversification beyond passenger fees: Aeronautical charges face regulatory caps; hospitality generates unlimited revenue potential. Non-aeronautical income now comprises 40-50% of total airport revenue, with food and beverage leading growth at 12% annually.

• The £4.8 billion market reality: UK transport hub hospitality reached £4.8 billion in 2024, projected to hit £7.2 billion by 2030. SSP Group alone operates 200+ UK locations generating £3.4 billion revenue. This isn't niche - it's a fundamental sector transformation.

• Passenger behaviour evolution: Research shows "delighted" passengers spend 45% more than "disappointed" ones (£20.55 vs £14.12). Quality hospitality investment creates measurable revenue uplift, justifying premium location rents 30-50% above street rates.

• Dwell time monetisation: Academic studies prove 10% increases in passenger dwell time drive 8% increases in food and beverage revenues. Smart operators design spaces that encourage longer stays rather than quick transactions.

Today we've decoded how transport operators transformed from basic convenience providers into £4.8 billion hospitality empires, from Manchester Airport's food hall revolution to the spectacular rise and fall of celebrity chef motorway partnerships. There are clearly big opportunities that lie ahead within the sector!

I want to know: if you were designing the perfect transport hub dining experience, would you prioritise affordability for all passengers or premium experiences for willing-to-pay travellers?

Now, speaking of brands that are completely redefining their industries through unexpected moves... have you seen how Joe & The Juice transformed from a single Copenhagen juice bar into a global lifestyle empire worth over £500 million? From their signature club sandwich ritual to their DJ booth setups in every store, they're proving that simple concepts executed with obsessive attention to culture can conquer international markets.

In our next edition, we're exploring Joe & The Juice's blueprint for global domination: analysing how they turned juice-making into performance art, why their baristas train like professional DJs and whether their £200 million expansion strategy represents the future of experiential retail or just expensive lifestyle marketing.

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Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Founder, Hot Potato

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