City Diary — 29 April

Guaranteed to scare multiples​

Personal guarantees (PGs) have always been a very scary thing indeed. One multiple operator tells City Diary that he now offers a £50,000 rent bond rather than accede to requests for the dreaded PGs. Another multi-site operator who rents a lot of different properties reports that PGs have been avoided except in a single case; step forward Wellington Pub Company. "It's a well-organised hard-nosed property business," the operator tells City Diary.

Teenage kicks pass sell-by date​

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. Marketing gurus at Mitchells & Butlers have worked out that folk are most nostalgic about the music they enjoyed in their mid-teens. So it is that the company has developed Flares for the 1970s, Reflex for the 1980s and Babylon for the 1990s, in city centres. They've decided, though, that there's another key factor at play. Folk have largely stopped hitting the high-street circuit by their mid-30s, which means each concept has a shelf-life. Come in Flares, your time is up.

Lib Dem letter lands trade tour​

An histrionic letter arrived in the in-box of British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) boss Brigid Simmonds last month. It came from Hugh Annand, the prospective Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman for North-East Hertfordshire. Annand called on the BBPA to expel Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns — dubbed "Enterprise Sinns" by Annand — from the trade group on account of the way they bully tenants and a host of other alleged failings.

Now Dave Kenny, Enterprise regional manager for the patch, has written to Annand inviting him to join him for a day in trade. Kenny tells Annand: "I implore you to take up my offer, as a result of which either I will be able to show you that the real Enterprise business is markedly different to that described in your letter, or you will be able to demonstrate to me that I am deluded in my views of the business I represent.

Either way, both of us will be better informed about the others' position." Peace may be about to break out — City Diary hears Annand has agreed to do a tour of Enterprise pubs in his constituency with Kenny.

Assignment fee is a bargain​

An apology is owed by City Diary after getting caught up in a misunderstanding. Last week, we reported that a large pubco had increased its lease assignment fee from £1,500 to £3,000 — and City Diary was quick to start the tut-tutting. A bit too quick. Turns out the £3,000 assignment fee is a bit of a bargain as it applies as the global figure for the assignment of a group of pubs, saving the assignor thousands of pounds. The normal assignment fee remains £1,500. The pubco wasn't named last week. This week it is — well done to Enterprise Inns for what amounts to a sensible piece of flex to help a tenant.

Warr shows naked ambition​

Here's one you might have missed. Simon Warr brought a bit of cheer to an Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers meeting a few years back by describing his working life as boss of the Spearmint Rhino lap-dancing chain. Warr's enthusiasm for his work was clear even before he declared, "I love my job," at the end of his presentation.

Turns out Warr resigned from Spearmint Rhino last August to go it alone. He now runs Platinum Lace, which has lap-dancing clubs in Brighton, Leicester, Norwich and Glasgow. The Spearmint Rhino club in Glasgow had licensing problems last July after two dancers were caught breaking conditions by, er, dropping their draws. Spearmint Rhino explained that the staff involved were previously Edinburgh based, where full nudity is permitted. Easy mistake to make.

2009 was pricy year for BBPA​

Accounts for the British Beer & Pub Association show 2009 was a more expensive year than most. There were re-organisation costs of £238,092, including a £157,000 payment as compensation for loss of office in the year chief executive Rob Hayward departed. And then there was the almost £150,000 spent to fund mediation last summer. Not surprisingly, there was a £378,974 deficit for the year to 30 September 2009. Income was £2.632m for the year, a tad down on £2.9m received in 2008. Not to worry, though, the trade body has assets valued at £10.56m.

M&B finds inspiration in JDW​

City Diary calls in at Mitchells & Butlers' (M&B) new high-street trial concept, Samuel Cooper freehouse in Eastbourne. In a tribute to JD Wetherspoon (JDW), there's a Monday Grill offer (JDW does it on Wednesdays) and a Tuesday curry offer (JDW does it on Thursdays).

JDW chief executive John Hutson tells City Diary: "It's not alone in copying us — Yates's has been doing it as well as Ember Inns. The current Barracuda menu looks familiar at first glance as well. Our curry club was created 11 years ago in 1999 and had we not improved it beyond recognition over the years we might be in trouble."

To be fair to M&B's new trial, the offer can be more fully characterised as Wetherspoon plus roast dinners — available for £3.99 (or £4.99 with a drink) every day. City Diary ordered a pint of John Smith's Extra Smooth to go with a roast dinner, only to be told by a smiley waitress: "Down south it's called Tetley's — it's brewed by the same people." Really?

Punch trials own Suffolk Swift ale​

The managed division of Punch has started selling its own cask ale — Suffolk Swift. It's been brewed by the good folk at Greene King and has a 3% ABV. It's being trialled at 30 pubs, mostly in London and the south-east. Boss Mike Tye says: "Normally, customers aren't keen on low ABV because they are a bit thin — but they seem to like this."