What the papers say, May 14, 2007

Polish workers, already a significant force in Britain's plumbing industry, are starting to supplement Antipodeans as one the main sources of bar staff. Spirit Group, one of Britain's biggest pub operators with more than 1,000 hostelries and 22,000 employees, is taking on so many Poles that it has started to print training manuals in Polish - The Times​

A 157-year-old Liverpool brewer Cains owned by two second-generation Indian brothers is to join the stock market through a reverse takeover of Honeycombe Leisure, the AIM-listed pub operator - The Times​

Robert Cain & Co, which was rescued from collapse five years ago by the Dusanj brothers, will announce this week that it is being subsumed by Honeycombe in a deal that values the enlarged company at about £37 million, including debt and loan stock - The Times​

SABMiller, the brewer which recently dismissed suggestions that it might bid for Scottish & Newcastle, will unveil its full-year results on Thursday. Analysts are forecasting pre-tax profits of £1.5 billion, compared with £1.4 billion last time - The Times​

Enterprise Inns, the pub group, will announce its first-half results tomorrow. In August it sold 769 of its pubs for £318.1 million to Admiral Taverns, its privately owned rival - The Times​

Thousands of cafés, pubs and takeaways will be freed from strict food safety controls under an EU initiative that risks a dramatic rise in food poisoning. The European Union wants to exempt food outlets with fewer than ten staff from statutory rules covering food hygiene, including temperature checks on fridges and freezers and maintenance of proper records - The Times​

Britvic said it is paying €249.2m (£170m) for C&C Group's soft drinks business, which is based in Ireland. Paul Moody, Britvic chief executive, said buying C&C soft drinks was "the perfect first step" in its plans to expand internationally. The business was "a great fit, with good prospects for growth" he said - The Financial Times​

Wine bottles might soon carry a scientific rating of potential health benefits. Scientists at Hertfordshire University have been using cutting-edge technology to detect levels of resveratrol, or anti-oxidants, in wines and are campaigning to persuade retailers to put health indicators on labels - The Financial Times​

Sainsbury's was yesterday accused of encouraging binge drinking by selling bottles of strong lager — for 37p each. The chain is offering 20 330ml bottles of Budweiser, which is five per cent alcohol, for £7.49 — the equivalent of less than 70p a pint - The Sun​