What the Sunday papers said…

Troubled pub company Regent Inns, owner of the Walkabout and Jongleurs bars, is understood to have issued redundancy notices to 27 of the 87 employees at its office in North London. The axing of one quarter of its staff is part of a cost-cutting exercise by new chief executive Bob Ivell - Financial Mail​

BSKYB is believed to have added up to 170,000 new subscribers in the three months to the end of December, well above City expectations, but well below the 193,000 added last year - Financial Mail​

Ten per cent of Britain's population is dependent on alcohol, the rate of cirrhosis has gone up ten-fold in the past ten years and the alcohol-related financial burden to the NHS is estimated at £2bn a year - Sunday Express​

Captains of industry are bullish about prospects for their own companies, with 62 per cent saying they expect business to improve over the next twelve months, yet only eighteen per cent thought the general economic conditions of Britain plc would improve - The Observer​

Retailers admit that Christmas was one of the toughest for a decade as the British Retail Consortium publishes its monthly sales snapshot, showing an overall decline of 2 per cent - The Observer​

Big Food Group said sales improved but margins fell over Christmas as chief executive Bill Grimsey blamed price deflation and increased competition in the convenience sector- Financial Times​

The failure of the Government's policy to stem drug imports has been revealed by research showing that Britain is awash with cheap drugs, with a line of cocaine now costing less than a cappuccino - The Observer​

La Tasca, the fastest growing tapas chain, is to become the first significant restaurant group to float for several years after appointing advisers for a £50m AIM listing - The Sunday Times​

London has been anointed gay capital of Europe this year as business leaders, tourism chiefs and publications including London listings magazine Time Out lead a drive to capture the international pink pound - The Observer​

The French think they invented it but champagne was being drunk in Switzerland 400 years before the first bottle of Dom Perignon went pop. Now the two sides are going to court to settle a row over who has the right to use the famous label - Sunday Express​