Survival of the leanest

Words of encouragement about the resilience of the pub from Punch chief executive Giles Thorley. He was overseeing 800 or so piecemeal disposals through Christie & Co back in his Pheonix Inns days in the 1990s. It was thought a third of 800 pubs would go to alternative use. In the event, reports Thorley, 95% survived as pubs. And some of the pubs he sold have returned, in the fullness of time, to the Punch fold, including the Salisbury in Fulham. Time to scour Admiral Tavern's disposal estate for gems?

It's good to talk, and talk, and talk

A new claimant has emerged, belatedly, for the title of Slowest Pub Sector Deal. It took seven months for Tadcaster Pub Company to complete a deal to sell 30 pubs to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises. Now Punch boss Giles Thorley has revealed it took two whole years to seal the deal to buy a 50% share in wholesaler Matthew Clark. By this standard, the Punch and Mitchells & Butlers deal talks are in their infancy.

Bateman's dares to be different

As City Diary knows from personal experience, they do things differently in Lincolnshire. You may remember that Greene King indicated it would absorb rising insurance costs rather than pass them on to tenants. Managing director of Bateman's, Stuart Bateman has forthright views on this (and some other things). His company doesn't re-charge tenants a penny for insuring their pubs. "Why should tenants pay for insuring pubs - they're our pubs?"

An open and

shut case

There was a gipsy wedding in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, the other week. Five pubs in the high street closed their doors for several hours after suffering a series of unfortunate utility problems. The Slug and Lettuce, the George, the Harpenden Arms, the Old Cock Inn and the Cross Keys all closed their doors to customers between 11.30am and 4pm. Notices were put up outside pubs giving various reasons for closure including electrical faults and water leaks — but the water and electricity companies said there were no failures in the area. Odd that.

'We're mean even to nasties'

Private equity boss Jon Moulton found a few "nasties" — super-toxic leases — slipped into the Spirit pubs he bought to form Tattershall Castle Group (TCG). Our City pages reported the widely-held belief that TCG had to pay a reverse premium to get rid of them. Moulton, who clearly reads our pages very carefully, e-mailed to say: "No premium was paid to get rid of TCG's nasties! No need for an apology — we're just mean!" We apologise anyway.

Tales of the unsubstantiated

There's a colourful story been doing the rounds. It involves a top sporting figure, a pubco chief and a pet. City Diary has heard the story from a number of people now. So it was time to ask the aforementioned pubco boss whether it was true. The answer? Absolutely, definitely not. Goodness knows how these stories gain currency.

Threat's in eye of the beholder

The Sunday Times carried a long article by Matthew Goodman on the plight of the British pub. It was illustrated by a picture of one of the four Bel and Dragon outlets with a "Under Threat" banner overlying it. Premium Bars and Restaurant owns the Bel and Dragon chain, with plans to expand it. Is it, though, in any sense, under threat? "I'm standing outside the site right now," boss Mark Jones, left, tells City Diary, "and it looks alright to me."

Futility of life without pubs

The Sunday Times article produced an avalanche of comment from readers. Here's one from

somebody who calls himself Verano. "Once something is extinct, you can't get it back again. Without pubs, Britain would be nothing more than a boring, cloudy, grumpy alternative to Saudi Arabia. So why don't we all emigrate there and save money on central heating?"

Trauma of life with a pub

And for the sake of balance a slightly more negative view from somebody who had two leases - one with a large tenanted operator and one with a small regional brewer: "The tourist seasons that we were promised never materialised, the pubcos continuously put up their prices (usually just before the Chancellor put up his!) year after year with no heed to the tenant. After injecting a further £16,000 into the business to pay bills and VAT, I also just managed to get out just in time. It cost me a further £30,000 to get out with all creditors paid, only to be chased by the Inland Revenue for tax due on the sale of the fixtures and fittings!"

Guess who's off shortly then?

Which industry titan from a background of heather and weather is preparing to sail off into the sunset to enjoy well-deserved retirement shortly? Watch this space.

Inventive's odd taste in pub grub

Inventive Leisure's Revolution vodka bar chain has, traditionally, not had a massive food trade. Now news filters through of an additional menu item that might change all that. The company has created the world's first ever vodka burger as it launched Vodka Nations, a celebration of six major vodka-producing countries. Boss Roy Ellis says: "What we've arrived at will show there's much more to vodka than people think." For those brave enough to try it, there's vodka chilli salsa on offer too.

That's another Fyne compromise

Greene King is scouring its pub estate for sites to convert to the Loch Fyne restaurant brand it bought last year. Slightly awkward compromise is on the cards, however, over changing the name at the Ring O' Bells in West Kirby, on the Wirral, where residents are up in arms. Loch Fyne tells the local rag: "We have applied to call the new restaurant Loch Fyne Restaurant at the Ring O' Bells." The pub's name will appear in small letters on one side of the new sign.