City Diary — 18 September

Clash of the Titans​

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) meets former property advisor Van de Berg in what promises to be a ding-dong High Court battle over fraud allegations next month. Little-noticed, though, was a move last year by Van de Berg directors to strike out the action because of the time that had elapsed since the period in question — the late 1990s. They also claimed they didn't owe JDW any fiduciary duty because they didn't personally have contracts with the pub operator. The judge was prepared to proceed on the basis that the directors were capable of owing a personal duty of loyalty to the claimant (mirroring that of Van De Berg). All eyes, then, on the High Court next month.

Caring, sharing JDW​

Are JD Wetherspoon staff bonuses too generous? Analyst Geof Collyer has noted that staff have been tending to earn more in bonuses than shareholders earn in dividends. He says: "Over the years, this has occasionally been a bone of contention, when staff were getting a significantly higher cash payout through the bonus system than shareholders got through the dividend. Until 2006, staff bonuses were around double the size of the dividend payout. The bonuses were cut in 2006 and again in 2008.

In the current year, it looks like staff and shareholders should get the same (around £16m for each group)."

Busting a gut in Barnsley​

The Barnsley outlet of Whitbread's blockbuster all-you-can eat Taybarns venue has 384 seats — but it doesn't look like enough. One reviewer reports: "We can't even get into the car park. There are 200 spaces but people are parking on the kerbs and grass. We bag a space two streets away." General manager Tony Devaney has a smile on his face: "We're doing 8,000 covers a week. It has exceeded our expectations — some people are making four visits a week." As Mark Phillips, the man who invented Taybarns during his final days at Whitbread, says: "I always knew the concept would be a rip-roaring success, but I thought it would be copied."

Food for thought at M&B​

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has been watching Taybarns with interest. It's even rumoured to be planning its own all-you-can-eat experiment at a pub in Derby. Not so, according to a M&B source: "We have enough on our plate with the 44 new Whitbread pubs."

Equine evolution in question​

Hungry Horse is Greene King's largest food-led brand by a country mile. "New" Hungry Horse — sites that have been evolved — are performing strongly. But there are persistent suggestions that the brand is nowhere near the size it once was. One contact suggests the brand is now down to 90 sites compared to the 130 at its height. True?

Tye brings spirit of change ​

Spirit's new boss Mike Tye is a former Whitbread staffer with jobs across all the key divisions. Here's one former colleague's view of him: "He does have quite a confrontational style — he's definitely an agent of change." Could be just the job.

Splitting the difference ​

What is the fair division of profits between pubco and tenant, when the latter's profits are badly dented by the current economic climate? Is

there a fundamental realignment required that will mean pubcos' profit are re-based at a lower level ad infinitum? These are, without doubt, the questions of the hour. City Diary is reserving judgement, natch. But a business development manager of a well-known pub company is wondering how it can be right that his pubco is clearing £100,000 per annum at a particular pub while its licensee is on the brink of going out of business.

Looking on the bright side​

A Slug & Lettuce in the City of London has been offering 20% off when it's raining— an offer that has kicked in virtually every day this sodden summer. A source says: "It's been rammed practically every day during the summer. Staff gave up arguing with customers and simply offered the discount."