Government plans to curb binge drinking have been dealt a blow by new research that suggests the heaviest drinkers will be the least responsive to price increases. A report says that the measures proposed by Alex Salmond to tackle what he calls "Scotland's relationship with the booze" will hit moderate drinkers hardest -The Times
Punch Taverns is looking to sell some of its best pubs in moves designed to pay down parts of its £4.5billion debt. Britain's biggest pub group has approached a string of regional brewers, including Fuller's, Young's, Charles Wells and Shepherd Neame, and has asked them to name pubs they would be interested in buying and to make an offer - The Daily Express
The ground floor of a former pub in Nottingham has been completely destroyed in a fire. Two fire engines were called to the blaze at the former Red Cow pub on Windmill Lane in Sneinton at about 1920 GMT on Sunday. Firefighters said the first floor of the building was also severely damaged during the blaze. It is not yet known how the fire started. The pub closed down in the past year and is currently up for sale - BBC
Pubs in Oxfordshire are closing at a rate of one every 25 days, according to a new report. And the cull, which is showing no sign of slowing down, is affecting every Parliamentary constituency in the county. Between June 2005 and last month - just 45 months - the number of pubs plummeted from 865 to 810, a drop of 55 - Oxford Mail