Diary

Marston's rejects Darling ban

Would Marston's follow the Morning Advertiser and Punch's lead by banning Chancellor Alistair Darling from all its pubs? No. Chief executive Ralph Findlay takes a pragmatic view: "We'd welcome him in our pubs because we need customers and he might learn something."

S&NPE tries to go urban

Word is that a legal battle may be in the offing over the rights to the Urban Inns name. Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises (S&NPE) has launched a new trading format called Urban Inns. Unfortunately, the name appears to have been bagged first by a new multiple called Urban Inns, which has opened its first site in Hackney. A legal letter from Urban Inns is rumoured to have winged its way to S&NPE.

Moulton keeps a poker face

City Diary was wondering whether private equity titan Jon Moulton had spotted any fabulous new pub concepts from the vantage point of his Covent Garden office. Do you see any great ideas emerging at this time? Says Moulton: "Yes. But I won't tell you. I could mislead you and say that a good chain of Canadian pubs is what people need. I think they are notable for the fact that there is only one of them and I think there may be a reason for that." If you see him in the Maple Leaf, buy him a pint for being consistently good value.

Two Admiral pubs left on shelf

Admiral Taverns boss Gary Landesberg has intimated that the company does much better when it sells pubs itself, compared to the public auction route. A Colliers CRE auction on 13 May certainly experienced disappointing demand for two sites it was selling. The Nottingham Arms, Dulwich Road, Nottingham, was unsold after a best bid of £110,000 while the Spotted Cow in Grantham's London Road was also unsold after auction-room interest peaked at a below-reserve of £160,000.

Punch printing put to the test

Support for licensees at Punch includes an in-house print and design service. But what's the quality like? Chief executive Giles Thorley reports that he printed "the invitations for my kids' school summer ball" using the facility.

Air of caution cools pub market

Following hapless landlords finding the keys to toxic leasehold sites bouncing back as companies slip into administration, who'd be surprised to hear of a new attitude of caution prevailing? One operator reports: "For the first time in 20 years we're being asked for much more

detail on covenant strength — and seeing landlords wanting the topco guarantee."

Greene King's secret weapon

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has enjoyed great success at its Project S gastropub rollout after teaming up with entrepreneurs Paul Hales and Paul Salisbury. The rumour mill suggests that Greene King may be looking to harness the skills of an entrepreneur in its managed division. City Diary has heard the name of a specific individual, who may or may not have worked for a period at the aforementioned M&B.

Anand steers clear of limelight

City Diary is always impressed when modesty prevails. Top marks, then, to Greene King boss Rooney Anand. Belhaven managing director Stuart Ross had some extremely complimentary things to say about Anand in the first draft of his valedictory piece in last week's Morning Advertiser. But Anand requested that they be removed.

Laurel beach site game for a laugh

Nice to see a little movement on the sites that Robert Tchenguiz left unloved in administration. David Perkin, of Rossbranch Pub Company, has bought the 15,000sq ft Beach Tavern from the administrators of Laurel Pub Company for £350,000; Perkin runs Manchester's Frog & Bucket comedy club. He will now submit plans for a £250,000 refurbishment, with a Frog & Bucket Comedy Club being created on the first floor and a Tommy Ducks traditional pub on the second. "You can't really get better than opposite the South Pier and next to Blackpool Pleasure Beach," says Perkin.

Enterprise rolls out the barrels

Interesting fact to emerge from the Enterprise results. The company's pubs sell 500 million pints of beer a year, which works out, assuming City Diary's calculator is working properly, at just over 1.7 million barrels a year. And, keen to knock down as much bearish sentiment as possible at the last results, boss Ted Tuppen stressed there's no minimum buying obligation on the part of Enterprise. "Whether we sell one barrel or a million barrels, we get the same discount," he added.

Anchor aims for greater glory

All eyes are on Spirit's Anchor pub on London's Bankside, which re-opens next month after a £1.6m makeover. There's a bespoke fish and chips offer, a tea room called Johnson's, a coffee shop, a fine dining room and a roof garden. Traditionally Spirit's most profitable pub, the makeover is expected to boost the boozer to even greater heights of profitability. It benefits from having an unassailable position on the South Bank, in the middle of the tourist honey pots of Southwark.

Quality hat trick for Solihull

Little-known fact time. Three of the most impressive pub retailers active on the UK pub scene — Peach Pub Company's Lee Cash, Classic Country Pubs' Paul Salisbury and Mercury Inns' Mark Butler — all hail from Solihull. Is there something in the water?

Tuppen slams Fair Pint MPs

Straight-talking Enterprise Inns boss Ted Tuppen doesn't have much time for those MPs who have signed up in support of Fair Pint's efforts to re-focus attention on the power of the pubcos. Talking to City analysts a few weeks back, Tuppen referred to them as "moronic". Setting out a few key facts — like just how few closed pubs belong to any of the five largest pubcos — he added: "It's worth saying in case anyone meets a politician."