The funeral takes place this Friday (16 May) of SLV stalwart Yvonne Lester, who was secretary of the SLV north west fund-raising committee. Yvonne, who was 58, had run pubs in Lancashire for more than 25 years. She joined the SLV in 1987 and became a regional secretary in 1992.
Her funeral takes place in Hyde, Cheshire, at the town's Central Methodist Church at 2.15pm. Those wishing to give donations should send them to the SLV. A spokesman for the SLV said: "We have lost a key regional player. Yvonne made a significant contribution to our charitable work, and especially to our national conference being held this week in Southport."
M&B's £1.6bn plan
Mitchells and Butlers is to raise £1.6bn by effectively mortgaging half its 2,100 pubs. Around £1.3bn will be used to repay debts and the rest is likely to be returned to shareholders, the company will reveal in its first set of results. The cash generation will be achieved through securitisation, involving a programme of borrowing against cash-generating assets like pubs.
Gurassa tipped
Charles Gurassa, the former head of Thompson Travel Group, is being tipped as a possible future chief executive of Whitbread after his resignation from TUI, the German travel group. Analysts believe Gurassa, who is already a non-executive Whitbread director, could succeed David Thomas when he retires next year.
Chesterton CE axed
Estate agent Chesterton has surprised investors by sacking its third chief executive in 18 months. Neil List, who lost his post together with chief operating officer Mike Banks, was appointed just three months ago to turn around the fortunes of the company.
InnSpired blooms
Top 10 pub company, InnSpired, has this week launched its Pubs in Bloom competition 2003. Open to all its 1,100-plus pubs, InnSpired is hoping to attract a record number of entries with more than £3,500 in prizes.