City Diary — 27 May

Below-cost blues for big boy Tesco​

Tesco revealed its opposition to below-cost selling and support for minimum pricing last week. Boss of Castle Rock Chris Holmes casts a jaundiced eye. "It will cartelise the supermarkets. Alcohol would still be significantly cheaper in the supermarkets. They'll be selling marginally less alcohol at much higher margins."

What news on the PIRRS front?​

News from the frontline on the new cheap rent review service, PIRRS. City Diary hears that the service is proving popular, but not many disagreements go the whole way. One tenant found himself being offered a further last-ditch £2,500 drop in his rent as an alternative to a full-blown PIRRS hearing. Sounds like the service is focusing minds nicely.

London squatters go Walkabout​

Some pub companies have been paying people to occupy pub premises — rather than risk a rapid deterioration in the fabric of the building or vandalism. The owners of the Walkabout in Islington found themselves with a free solution when the venue closed in April. Squatters moved in and turned it into a hippy commune. They were booted out last week after the owners gained a court order. One of the squatters, a 24-year-old man, said: "We have given the pub back in the same condition we found it."

Analysts snigger at pub jargon​

One City analyst caused a little mirth at the Mitchells & Butlers' (M&B) results last week when he had a sly dig at new chairman John Lovering. Lovering had previously ticked off analysts for referring to M&B venues as pubs when they were in fact, of course, "licensed catering outlets". While the request went largely unheeded, Jamie Rollo of Morgan Stanley, did correct himself. "How many conversions of pubs, I mean, licensed catering outlets can you do in a year?" he asked. Cue sniggers in the room.

Luminar's 'not for widows' warning​

Another day, another slightly gloomy prognosis on nightclub company Luminar. This time it's the turn of Paul Hickman, KBC Peel Hunt analyst, to warn of the dangers, with trade down 19% year-on-year. He notes: "With a wide valuation range, between fair value of 65p and minus 22p, this stock is not for widows and orphans. The main uncertainties are like-for-like trading (of course), but also the value of the freeholds, and tax liabilities." Where is nightclub giant Luminar finding trade toughest as it struggles with shocking sales declines? One obvious spot is Coventry, where it has now closed the city's largest nightclub, Lava & Ignite, a 2,735-capacity venue which had traded for 10 years. New boss Simon Douglas says trading has been equally tough across the brands and across geographies. But there have been, he says "glimpses" of better trading in the south-west and the south-east.

Mulholland happy in current roles​

Pro-pub Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland, re-elected with a quadrupled majority in his Leeds north-west constituency, was being widely tipped as in line for a new job as a junior pensions minister. It was not to be, but Mulholland insists he has plenty on his plate — his wife, Regan, is expecting their third child in the summer. "I think MP and dad are enough jobs for now," he says.

Robertson not keen to quango​

Forum posters on the Morning Advertiser​'s website were engaged in a high-quality discussion on the role of the BII. The chat eventually moved on to how long chief executive Neil Robertson will stick around — and whether he'll be tempted to take up some juicy well-paid job on a quango. Robertson was monitoring the discussion in China, where he was on BII business, and was keen to put down his chopsticks to respond. "I have always set myself the challenge of doing what I thought was right, without being overly concerned about what others think. That's why one of my first major decisions was to encourage the PIRRS scheme. In fact that's why I joined BII. Others said, 'Why leave a fat pension to join a shrinking and divided sector?' In the meantime, heading up Government quangos doesn't look a particularly attractive career move at the moment!"

Enterprise forums proving useful​

Enterprise Inns began to hold forums for its licensees a year ago after many years of, er, not. Lo and behold, they are proving an invaluable way to take the temperature and get feedback from licensees. So useful in fact that Enterprise has half a dozen scheduled for the coming weeks.

Starbucks research reveals big bucks for beans​

Interesting research on the coffee market from Starbucks. The coffee giant claims that "up to 25% of footfall" on the high street is "made up by people out for a coffee". It also claims that 35% of the British adult population, "at least 20 million customers", visit coffee shops in a typical week. The claim is supported by market research company Allegra Strategies — it surveyed consumers in six locations and found this to be true. Truly time to wake up and smell the coffee.

Pubs christened for comedians​

Blue plaques used to be the best most celebs could hope for by way of posthumous memorial. Now there's a reasonable chance a Wetherspoon pub name will serve as a beyond-the-grave tribute. Oxford's Four Candles doffs its cap to the work of Ronnie Barker. Now Wetherspoon's new pub in Nuneaton has been named after local Generation Game host Larry Grayson — it takes his real name William White. All together now, "shut that door".