What the Sunday papers said

Bosses at Yates Group, owner of the high-street bar chain, are prepared to quit the company if the proposed £149m takeover bid fails. Mark Jones, chief executive of Yates, has led a successful turnaround of the business and is leading a management buyout with backing from American private-equity firm GI Partners. But the deal is hanging in the balance with just 23.6 per cent of shareholders agreeing to the takeover - Sunday Times​

Whitbread is understood to have nosed ahead in the £500m auction for Premier Lodge, the budget hotel chain. The leisure conglomerate, owner of the rival Travel Inn brand as well as David Lloyd Leisure, is thought to have been granted the right to negotiate exclusively with Spirit Group, the pub company that owns Premier. In doing so, it has edged out Apax Partners, the private-equity group that had been vying with Whitbread to buy the hotel chain - Sunday Times​

Binge drinking and the "happy hour" culture are being blamed by police for a rise of up to 50 per cent in street violence in parts of the country. The violence often consists of street fights fuelled by drink and affects not just city centres. Increasingly, middle-class, affluent drunks in suburbs and market towns are pushing up the crime figures - Sunday Times​

Police forces face reductions in the number of new officers under a secret government plan to keep council taxes down in the run-up to the general election - Sunday Times​

Sales of cigarettes in Ireland fell by almost 16 per cent in the first six months of this year, coinciding with the introduction of the smoking ban. The number of smokers in Ireland has dropped to just one in four of the population for the first time in living memory, a new survey also reveals. - Sunday Times (Irish edition)​

The days of women exerting a civilising influence in pubs may be fading, David Blunkett warns, as a result of the rise of female binge drinkers. It is the rise of so-called 'lager loutettes' which is prompting most concern. Blunkett said the number of women drinking over 'safe limits' of 21 units a week had risen from 14 to 33 per cent. While there was little evidence as yet that they were causing violence, pub culture is changing - The Observer​

After a vintage year for English wine in 2003 thanks to record sunshine, overcast weather across June and July means that British winemakers now expect a poor grape harvest this year, so will be unable to cash in on last year's success - The Observer​

Sweden, where liquor prices are among the highest in Europe, is seeing a big increase in smuggling beer, wine and spirits into the country. The black market is now estimated to be 18.7 per cent of GDP, with back-alley booze one of the main drivers - The Business​

A family split threatens to derail the Yates management buyout. A source said there is a split between the younger members of the Yates family, who know that the share price has not been near 140p for years, and the older ones, who have an emotional attachment to the stock - The Mail on Sunday​.

BSkyB may have to pay advertisers up to £20m after failing to deliver the audiences it promised. Viewing figures for some of its digital channels are down by as much as 15 per cent, according to industry sources - The Mail on Sunday​

Betting shop operator and internet gaming chain Coral Eurobet has slumped into the red in its first year under new ownership. In the longer term, private equity owner Charterhouse Development Capital is gambling on a betting boom with the rise of popular fixed odds betting terminals and the planned deregulation of the licensing laws - The Mail on Sunday​.