Diary

Compiling stats on the stub-out

Punch boss Giles Thorley has an interesting theory on why statisticians in Ireland have some accurate figures on pubs sales in the wake of the smoking ban. "That's where they're sitting when they do their statistics," Thorley told City analysts at the last Punch results.

Not-so-fantastic Luminar venues

Cavendish Bars was paid an £800,000 reverse premium by nightclub company Luminar to run a whole host of its unwanted sites. Among the package of less-than-brilliant venues is a car park and offices in Preston, and Luminar's former offices in Luton, before it moved to the equally salubrious Milton Keynes a few years ago.

Punch finds opposites attract

There's a little more information on the rationale behind Punch's acquisition of a half-share in the Matthew Clark wholesale business. Punch boss Giles Thorley highlights Matthew Clark as the biggest buyer of wine in the UK with volumes of four million cases. Punch, meanwhile, is the largest buyer of beer. The synergies between the two were worth 50% of the annual Ebitda of Matthew Clark.

Economies of scale ignored

With food prices going through the roof, managed operators have only a handful of choices. One is to increase prices, another is to phase out inflationary ingredients. A third, City Diary supposes, is to scale down food portions to maintain prices. There's no one going down this route, is there? Customers would notice, wouldn't they?

Why April is the cruellest month

More evidence that April was pretty bad. Enterprise chief executive Ted Tuppen had the following summary of that difficult month for analysts: "It

was absolutely ghastly

on a comparable basis,

but that's a bit like saying that eating a lime is not as nice as eating an orange. In April last year weather was glorious and there was a very successful Easter in the middle.

The industry will probably be reporting trade down by between 15% and 20% this year, but it was only bad if you weren't expecting it."

Reward of £10k to beat tricksters

Nowhere is competition more intense than the late-night sector. Nightclub king Luminar has been offering a £10,000 reward to catch scamsters who issued fake VIP passes in a bid to spoil two VIP nights at the company's Oceana venue in Swansea. Manager Steve Saunders said: "We are taking this situation extremely seriously and calling on people to come to us if they have any information about those behind this scam." It sounds despicable, but not the worst publicity in the world for Oceania.

Camra fails to click with GK

Sometimes you do wonder what planet the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is on. The Ferry Boat in Norwich's King Street is the pub where the Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright used to be landlord many moons ago. Now this Greene King pub is to get a £1m makeover to be turned into a family-friendly restaurant and bar, and the Norwich branch of Camra has expressed concern that the venue would become

a — cough, splutter — gastropub. Greene King, however, has pledged to maintain it as a traditional pub. Imagine the horror of high-quality food being introduced at the venue!

Hungry Horse shows lots of form

The Magic Roundabout in Andover, Hampshire, is one of the first Hungry Horse venues to benefit from the brand evolution. A £700,000 spend has seen the arrival of comfortable snugs, a separate sports bar, a children's entertainment area and airy, open areas to accommodate large groups, as well as a vast outdoor area. "We have always been family- friendly, but now even more so," says a spokesperson. At a second new-style Hungry Horse, the First & Last near Dunstable, Bedfordshire, booths even have a small TV screen — so you can watch the match while dining. Sounds good to us.

Supermarket sweep

Enterprise Inns, briefing City analysts, indicated that the alternative use market for pubs is still strong. There were two examples: The Essex Arms, Walthamstow, east London, sold in April for £1.9m (delivering a £1m book profit) while the Royal Oak, Kinson, Dorset, sold in January, fetched £1.3m. Both were bought by supermarkets.

Craics appear

at O'Neill's

Every now and then, you hear rumours that a wet-led brand is on death row. The latest rumour involves O'Neill's, above, the Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) Irish brand, which has closed a few sites, including the one in Brighton, East Sussex. An M&B source says: "In a handful of cases, sites have offered compelling value over their trading value as a going concern because their location makes them more attractive to a third party." So there.

Hard times need common sense

Private equity boss Jon Moulton runs two managed pub businesses, but he used to own the tenanted business InnSpired. How would he handle the predicament of tenants who find themselves in trouble due to harder times? Those given to sentimentality should look away now: "Eventually, you see some pubs fall to a level of profitability that makes operating them as pubs absolutely ludicrous. So at that stage, why would you help the tenant? At that point, the tenant really has to move out or go bust and the pub gets sold as a house or car park or whatever it is. In some cases it would be sensible to give the tenant some capex — or a rent concession — to allow things go forward. It is a matter of looking at it case by case."

The raising of Taybarns here, there and everywhere

Another week, another possible Taybarns site. After Whitbread's all-you-can-eat buffet concept started tearing up trees in Swansea, new sites are being added at speed. City Diary has mentioned new sites in Coventry and one near Newcastle's Metro Centre. Now we've noticed a planning application to open one

in Tankersley, south Yorkshire. City Diary will keep you posted as and when we spot more.