'Punch Taverns looking at £600m pub writedown'

"Punch Taverns is expected to write down the value of its real estate by as much as 10pc - around £600m - as declining earnings drag down the value of some of its assets. Britain's biggest pub landlord is set to report a significant drop in profits this week, but it won't be an entirely bleak picture. Punch is also likely to report more good news on debt reduction, after paying back around £1bn by August." - Sunday Telegraph​

"Binge drinking has contributed to a massive increase in the number of ambulance calls, new research will suggest this week. Government statistics show demand for ambulances has doubled in the past decade, with an extra 300,000 calls every year. On Tuesday, a Department of Health report will say that the majority of the extra calls fall into just four categories. While three relate to Britain's ageing population, the rising number of people falling unconscious, in particular among younger age groups - reflected rising levels of extreme binge drinking, experts said." - Sunday Telegraph ​

"Champagne-swilling Tories guzzled their way through 149 bottles of bubbly in just two hours. They drained the booze at a party on Wednesday night, openly mocking a bubbly ban ordered by party chairman Eric Pickles at the Tories' conference in Manchester. Meanwhile, in a second drinks reception the same night, other Tories quaffed yet more champagne, while brazenly flouting the ban on smoking in public places. One Tory delegate - cigarette in one hand, champagne flute in the other - told our undercover reporter: 'It feels great to be breaking Gordon Brown's stupid law.'" - Sunday Mirror​

"There are about 57,000 pubs in the UK and nearly 2,000 close each year. Don't worry, that doesn't mean that there are only 28 drinking years left at that closure rate. Pubs are changing. Today's customers don't just go there for a pint; it's more about the other things that they provide. JD Wetherspoon has demonstrated that it has been best in class in adapting to and mastering this change. It has always been a leader rather than a follower of fashion." - Mail On Sunday​

"Anyone who drinks at the Red Lion will be at home in a Channel 4 documentary on Britain's boozers which airs this coming Thursday. Sue Bourne's film visits several Red Lions, apparently the most popular pub name in the UK, and chats to the locals. There is no preaching about too much drinking, but the film is in the context of 50 pub closures every week. Sue said her 3,000-mile pub crawl was meant to show some of the quirky characters frequenting pubs. She said: 'I wanted to find out why we are a nation of drinkers despite all the warnings and why the pub is so central to British society and culture.'" - Sunday Sun​