What the Sunday papers said

Scottish & Newcastle chief executive Tony Froggatt loves acting the bolshie Aussie, says the Telegraph. He says: "I didn't come from Australia to go into a boring business. I came in to really look at something that is challenging and would be fun and had great opportunities. You look at the array of brands we've got - it's a marketing person's dream come true." Since taking the helm in May last year, he's been pushing through a radical reconstruction of the group - The Sunday Telegraph​

The Conservative party has accused the Government of hiding soaring spending on quangos and other thinktanks. Oliver Letwin, the shadow chancellor, said that the Government has not published comprehensive spending data on quangos since 2001. At that time, the report showed the cost of quangos had risen from £22.4m in 1997 to £25.2m in 2001 - The Sunday Telegraph​

Teenage schoolgirls are drinking and smoking more than boys in the first evidence that the "ladette" alcohol culture is seeping down into the younger generation. A report to be published this week shows that 44 per cent of girls aged 14-15 have had at least one alcoholic drink in the week before the research was conducted, compared with 42 per cent of boys. While more boys had drunk beer, girls had consumed alcopops, spirits and wine - The Sunday Times​

Private-equity group Phoenix Equity Partners is backing a former director of Megabowl in its bid to buy AMF Bowling, one of Britain's other leading operators of ten-pin bowling centres. - The Sunday Times​

The 'café culture' of small urban centres such as the Fulham Road, close to the edge of the proposed extended London congestion charge zone, would be at risk if Ken Livingstone's plan goes ahead, according to market research firm CACI - The Observer​

'Real Ale, Real Books, Real Men?' was the submission from all-male book group The Racketeers, winners of the Penguin/Orange Reading Group Prize. The group meets in pubs and says 'the pub atmosphere is an integral part of our ethos. We like the noise, we like the beer'. - The Observer​

Heineken's decision to invest in the Central European Brewing company looks sensible. It means a recent claim about a renewed focus on organic growth is disingenuous, but the Dutch brewer has clearly decided that Russia's premium beer market is taking off - The Business​

France, the country that turned boozing into an art form, is leading a European fightback against that garish affront to civilised drinking known as the "pret à boire" - or, in English, the alcopop. The amendment to its public health bill will double the tax on all sales from January - The Sunday Herald (Scotland)​.

The Irish pub scene has become increasingly fragmented, particularly in urban areas. The smoking ban, the restrictions on children, rising prices and the increasing numbers choosing to drink at home have left many publicans crying into their beer. Tom McCormack is one of a breed only too willing to embrace change. Along with two partners, six weeks ago he bought the Front Lounge bar in Dublin, one of the icons of the city centre gay scene. Hanlon's in Cabra, his other venture, is a bastion of north Dublin working-class culture with a clientele that, it is probably safe to say, wouldn't be caught dead in his new premises. - The Sunday Times (Irish edition) ​

The Esporta health and fitness chain is edging closer to selling its European operations. Esporta, owned by private equity firm Duke Street Capital, wants to focus on its 62-club UK division - The Sunday Express​