'Massive pub blaze claims life of firefighter'

"A firefighter was killed and another injured after a floor collapsed while they fought a blaze in an Edinburgh pub, a fire service spokesman said. The officers were injured at the Balmoral bar in Dalry Road, Edinburgh, after the blaze broke out shortly after midnight and which was being fought by more than 70 firefighters. Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said: 'Tragically despite the efforts of his colleague, one of these firefighters lost his life.'" - Sunday Telegraph​

"Mitchells & Butlers, (M&B) the pub company behind the All Bar One and Harvester chains, will update the City on its latest trading figures this week. The only problem is that hardly anyone will be listening. Once more, it is what is happening on M&B's board that will take the attention. In May last year it was Robert Tchenguiz, the property magnate and M&B's largest shareholder at the time, who was parachuting his representatives on to the board in an attempt to call the shots. Fast-forward a year and the names might have changed but the situation remains familiar. Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire who bought Tchenguiz's stake, and John Magnier and JP McManus, the Irish racing tycoons, are expected to draft in their own non-execs." - Times​

"Investors may be getting pub fatigue after fundraisings by Greene King, Punch and Marston's, but shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) don't seem too jaded. One of them, the billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis, is rumoured to have topped up his holding in the past few days, taking his stake to over 23 per cent. The big question now is whether M&B will join its rivals in raising cash to restructure its debts. There's unlikely to be any news on that this week at a planned trading update. If and when it does make a cash call, the attitude of its unusual shareholder base will be crucial." - Sunday Times​

"Movie star Russell Crowe broke off filming his latest multi-million pound epic, Robin Hood, to have dinner in the pub owned by chat show host Michael Parkinson. Supping and dining at the Royal Oak, near Bray in Berkshire, Crowe and his wife were joined by Parkinson and his missus, and writer and comedian Ben Elton even did a turn as waiter for the evening." - Daily Mail​