Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) will this week bow to pressure from Robert Tchenguiz, the pubs and property tycoon, by handing one of his key lieutenants a boardroom seat. Tim Smalley, an executive at the Tchenguiz investment vehicle, R20 - M&B's biggest shareholder - will be appointed a non-executive director of the owner of All Bar One when it unveils the results of a strategic review on Tuesday. The appointment will be accompanied by a pledge from Tim Clarke, M&B's under-fire chief executive, to initiate a further analysis of M&B's property portfolio with a view to its eventual separation. - Sunday Telegraph
Interim results from All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) on Tuesday are likely to be overshadowed by interest in the results of the company's strategic review which followed the merger approach by competitor Punch Taverns earlier this year. There have been fresh rumours of interest from individuals such as the Irish racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier, who have reportedly added to their position in M&B. Fellow shareholder billionaire property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz is also said to have added to his 23 per cent holding in M&B. Some analysts say this could leave M&B management in a sticky situation as McManus, Magnier and Tchenguiz may be trying to block private equity from seizing a large stake in the company. - Scotland On Sunday
"The beer industry should be considered a Scottish asset and not a problem," said Paul Miller, head of Coors in Scotland, in the wake of the drink-fuelled violence committed by Glasgow Rangers fans in Manchester last week. "It employs a great many people and contributes significantly to the economy. It should be looked at in the same way as the financial or tourism sectors. "There are important issues which need to be tackled and we are tackling them, but it is important we do not forget this is an asset too." Drinks firms are anticipating a tougher selling environment. Earlier this year, Carling said it will remove its logo from children's Old Firm strips from next season, two years before an agreed ban by the industry. - Sunday Times
Seven weeks ago Armadale in West Lothian became the first town in Scotland to introduce a ban on selling alcohol to anyone under 21 between 5pm and 10pm on a Friday and Saturday from off-licences. It was a six-week pilot scheme and the figures regarding its success appear to speak for themselves: there was a 57 per cent reduction in recorded assaults, a 54 per cent fall in vandalism reports and a 55 per cent drop in complaints from residents about antisocial behaviour. Speaking about the pilot scheme, Chief Inspector Jim Baird said: "It's not a cure-all for everything. We're still seeing underage drinking and people in their 20s and 30s supplying alcohol to 15- and 14-year-olds on Friday and Saturday nights, but we can see a large change over Armadale." - Observer
A tax on cheap drink to combat violent booze binges is set to be tested in Scotland. Justice minister Kenny MacAskill has won key legal backing from the Office of Fair Trading for the plan to raise drink prices. One option being considered is setting the price of one unit of alcohol at 50p or more - a binge tax. That would more than treble the price of potent cheap booze such as Frosty Jack's cider, which costs £3.29 for three litres. And a case of 24 cans of Carlsberg lager - with 45 units - would soar from £16.50 to £22. The radical plan to price out binge drinking comes in the wake of Rangers fans' booze-fuelled riot at the UEFA Cup Final. Fans were seen buying beer by the crate at 6am on the day of the match and cut-price beers bought from off-licenses were blamed for much of the Manchester mayhem. - Glasgow Sunday Mail