What the Sunday papers said

A quarter of high street branded pubs are about to be put up for sale as the sector prepares for a wave of consolidation, Barracuda owner PPM ventures will send out sales details this week; Spirit Group has said it would sell 220 pubs and bars, and property tycoon Rober Tcenguiz is likely to announce next week that he has bought Yates Group for £200m, which is likely to have a knock on effect on the sale of SFI... - The Mail on Sunday​

Diageo is ready to throw its weight behind the counter-bid for Allied Domecq by US groups Constellation Brands and Brown-Forman. City analysts say that Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh wants to be certain that the Americans are prepared to carry through their threat to trump an agreed offer for Allied by French group Pernod, backed by Fortune Brands. If the Constellation consortium pushes ahead, he is prepared to offer it support - and considerable financial firepower - in the hope of securing control of a number of Allied brands, including Courvoisier brandy, Maker's Mark bourbon and a clutch of wine labels - The Observer​

Bacardi chairman and chief executive Ruben Rodriguez, who has doggedly grown the spirits business through small bolt-on acquisitions, suddenly resigned last week. Rodriguez, who was at the firm for 18 years, had always favoured a strategy of bringing the rum maker to market with an initial public offering, while some of Bacardi's 600 family shareholders have been considering a counter-bid to Pernod's offer for Allied Domecq. Through a spokesmanm Rodriguez said his departure was not connected with any dispute with the Bacardi family or any disagreement about whether to pursue an Allied bid - The Business​

Scottish campaigners believe the drop in drink sales reported by JD Wetherspoon in its non-smoking pubs shows a Scottish smoking ban will lead to job losses - The Glasgow Sunday Mail​

Fears are growing that Liverpool Football Club's failure to secure a sponsor to replace its long standing deal with Carlsberg will mean it will not be able to produce replica kits in time for start of next season. The club's 12-year deal with the brewer is understood to be on the verge of collapse and the Champions' League semi-finalist has so far failed to secure a replacement - The Independent on Sunday​

Some of the trendiest eateries in London, among them Le Caprice and The Ivy, could be about to change hands. Signature Restaurants, the group chaired by entrepreneur Luke Johnson is believed to have hired the corporate-finance arm of KPMG, the accountant, to sound out potential buyers for its collection of upmarket dining establishments - The Sunday Times​