City Diary — 12 August

Did Cole snap up Bow's Britannia?

It's always encouraging to see the great and the good buying pubs as long-term investments. Last year, international footballers were rumoured to have bought the Britannia in Bow and the Pig's Ear in Chelsea, which were being marketed by the

London-based agent AG&G. The Pig's Ear fetched £2.3m. City Diary donned its pork pie hat in an attempt to uncover their identities. No luck with the Pig's Ear, but sources are suggesting that it was none other than Liverpool FC new boy (and Chelsea reject) Joe Cole who tucked the Britannia into his investment locker.

Callers waiting at Molson Coors​

Molson Coors has joined the League of Slow Payers by telling suppliers they will need to wait 90 days to receive their dosh. One supplier reports: "We tried ringing them to get through to a director, but were informed by the switchboard that they had instructions to put no calls through. Maybe they've all joined a closed order of some kind."

Tchenguiz posts an £8m loss​

Former pub entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz has reported a second year of losses at his R20 investment vehicle. The business reported an £8m loss in the year ended 31 May 2009, which was less than the £31m loss the year before. The decrease is largely due to the company suffering a one-off £27m loss in the previous year relating to Tchenguiz's abortive attempt to spin off Mitchells & Butlers' property assets into a separate company. However, the company still carries a "going concern" warning from its auditors Baker Tilly.

Calorie trials and tribulations...​

Putting calories on menus seemed like such a good idea. No surprise then that Pizza Hut and Mitchells & Butlers signed up for a trial last year. Both have now ditched their schemes and KFC and Burger King have failed to commit to extending the trial. Could

it be that this scheme proved to be more bureaucratic than it was worth?

Former JDW staff do the business​

JD Wetherspoon has turned into a provider of talent for the wider industry. Lee Roberts and Sarah Dinning left JDW in 2007 and run three pubs in West Yorkshire — two of them Enterprise leases — with turnover akin to JDW levels (£30,000 a week). Now former Wetherspoon shift manager David Rossiter, 21, has bought the closed Ring O'Bells, Halifax, West Yorkshire, at auction off a guide price of £160,000 — and has re-opened it.

More flak for tough Ted​

Enterprise boss Ted Tuppen is no stranger to flak. There was more last week. Tuppen was explaining in the Morning Advertiser a few weeks back the decision to sell a pub in Otley on the basis that it was very close to a new Wetherspoon. Enterprise licensee Mike Salcznski, who runs the Wheatsheaf in Farnham, Surrey, was quick to lob a few shells in the maestro's direction. "There are a lot of pubs near a Wetherspoon that do well and provide the alternative service that other customers require — if they are well supported by their pubco."

Extra drama at the Woolpack​

Alas, the couple who run the Woolpack Inn in Esholt, famous as the pub in Emmerdale, have decided to call last orders. Nichola and Richard McGrath took over the 177-year-old hostelry on a 10-year lease from Enterprise Inns four years ago. But, with six more years left to run, they have decided to quit to spend more time with their two children, and get new jobs working for other people rather than themselves.

Hedge ruck mars Chequers re-launch​

Multiple operator TM Steaks joined Brakspear to re-open the iconic Chequers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

No less than £400,000 was invested, but there's no pleasing some. A row erupted over the installation of a, er, plastic hedge at the front. One resident claimed it was an insult to Marlow, while the Mayor, Coun Neil Marshall, claimed it was "tasteless". Local traders hit back, saying the complaints were "petty" — backed by 81% of the readers of a local paper. TM Steaks boss Ted Docherty says the plastic hedge has been replaced by real box hedging. He said: "We want people talking about the food, not the hedge."

Drake & Morgan raises more readies for new bars​

Diary understands that Drake & Morgan, the fledgling bar-restaurant chain led by Jillian MacLean, has just completed a second-round of fund-raising, securing the readies for a roll-out of the next "few" bars.

The group, which is backed by John Connell's Imbiba Partnership, is thought to have raised about £2m, which together with debt funding and landlord inducements, will pave the way for the 13,000sq ft Folly, its fourth bar opening this October, plus one or two more.

There has allegedly been a procession of folk from the leisure sector lining up to invest in the business — hardly surprising given its latest opening, the Anthologist, is averaging weekly sales north of £80,000.

Investors are thought to include analyst Mark Brumby and ex-Unique boss Graham Turner as well as Connell and his long-term business partner Steve Wilkins, although MacLean has refused to name any names. "We can't talk about that — ask me about the bars," she says.