City Diary — 10 June

Luminar: out of the box seat

Belt-tightening at Luminar continues apace. In June last year, the company signed a three-year contract to take a box at the O2 centre. The idea, City Diary hears, was to use the box as a staff incentive — Michael Jackson was due to play a string of dates there. The concerts were cancelled in the wake of Jackson's sad death — and Luminar trading has worsened steadily. Now the company, under new chief executive Simon Douglas, has agreed a deal with O2 to give back the remainder of the three years and cancel the contract.

How to really give a hoot​

St Austell managing director James Staughton is celebrating 10 years at the helm of the company. Among the early decisions he made at St Austell was putting a stop to the hooter that was sounded in the brewery at the end of shifts in somewhat Dickensian fashion. "I wanted to ensure that we had a flexible workforce to meet the changing demands of our trade and the hooter sent out all the wrong messages as to how we needed to be as a forward-looking company." Fast-forward 10 years and it's clear that Staughton is focused on the well-being on his workforce — the company has introduced free fruit for all its staff in St Austell and three distribution centres.

H&W's £3m home from home​

Hall & Woodhouse has opened its flagship £3m deli-pub in Bath at the site of the former Bonhams auction house. The company wants to target university towns with the concept, which in Bath trades over three floors with more than 350 covers. City Diary hears that H&W marketers describe the new concept as featuring a "lived-in and relaxed country house atmosphere, generous hospitality, award winning beer & fabulous cooking with a touch of British eccentricity". They add for good measure: "(Its) a place where our guests are: 'Always at home, in our home'." Sounds alright, doesn't it?

Is Ted looking for two-decade stint?​

There's plenty of speculation in relation to when Enterprise Inns chief executive Ted Tuppen will pass on the batton. The Times leisure reporter, Dominic Walsh, has suggested that he will want to see more evidence of trading stability and it could be 12-to-18-months before a new chief executive steps into his shoes. The Telegraph thinks November this year "would seem like a sensible time to announce succession plans, with next January's annual meeting marking his 20th year at the company".

Henley gets set for a dining treat​

Anyone visited the Black Boys in Hurley? It's a cracker. City Diary is delighted to see that former head chef Simon Bonwick has take over Brakspear's Three Tuns in Henley marketplace with former manager Oliver Reichhold. The pair want to retain an informal atmosphere at the pub while being "incredibly serious" about the food and wine they offer. The menu includes tapas-style snacks served at the bar. Reichhold says: "Henley is a lovely town and really needs places for people to eat that reflect that and also give a voice to the wonderful produce that we have on our doorstep. With our strong culinary backgrounds, it would be fair to ask if we will be chasing a Michelin star." The locals are in for a treat if the food is a patch on the Black Boy's.

M&B marketing: mind the gap​

Does the pub sector spend enough on marketing? Hard to say really. But here's an instructive figure courtesy of global spirits giant Diageo. Internal best practice targets suggest a spend of around 10% of brand revenues on marketing is the benchmark. So Guinness, a $1bn brand, sees an annual spend of $80 to $100m. By contrast, Mitchells & Butler is ramping up its television advertising and chief executive Adam Fowle reports total spend on marketing will be around 1% of revenues. It's a sizeable gap, isn't it?

Beds and Bars looks to Europe​

The success of the hostels run by Beds and Bars means exactly half the group's income now comes from abroad. The largest site, in Paris, turned over a whopping E3m last year. Europe is set to take over from the UK as the biggest money-maker in 2010. A customer-centred approach to the volcanic-ash crisis is instructive. Rather than quibble, it refunded £25,000 of advance booking by backpackers grounded by the ash.

Advice perhaps best avoided​

Excellent article online at The Guardian's website in which journalist Tony Naylor invites readers to advise Heston Blumenthal on what his second pub, the Crown, should offer. Dozens of people have responded with very firm ideas about their perfect pub. The prize for the most off-beat response goes to the following posting; "I think Heston should try to recreate the Anciente Innes of olde: cockles, whelks, potted shrimp, crab claws, scampi, chicken wings, pies and puddings, scotch eggs, cheeses, pickles, nuts, cyder, meade, illicit spirits, gambling, highwaymen and vice."

Rooney's way above-par​

Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand has set himself a golfing challenge — to play 72 holes of golf on 25 June to raise money for two charities. He says: "With golf one of my great passions, you might think this isn't much of a challenge - I beg to differ! This is a 'golf marathon', but I am attempting it to raise funds for two charities that are very dear to my heart — Macmillan Cancer Support and Arthritis Research UK." You can make a donation on-line at www.justgiving.com​