'Punch Taverns could hand 6,000 pubs over to bondholders'

Punch Taverns, the UK's largest pub landlord, may give its bondholders ownership of as many as 6,000 pubs across the country in an effort to trim £3.1bn of debt. Most of the group's loans are secured against pubs owned by Punch. The company is also considering other options to reduce debt, including selling pubs or swapping debt for equity. Punch's new chief executive Ian Dyson is undertaking a comprehensive review of the business and wants to get debts under control. A fortnight ago the group announced the departure of finance director Phil Dutton. - Sunday Times​

David Cameron wants to ban stores from selling booze at or below cost price as a "loss leader". But medics said proposed prices were too low to make an impact. The minimum for a bottle of wine would be £2, a litre of spirits £10.50 and a pack of 20 beers £9.20, the Sunday Mirror can reveal. There are also plans for tax hikes on extra-strong lager. But a British Medical Association spokesman said: "£2 for a bottle of wine seems incredibly cheap. I don't think it would do enough to tackle the issue." James Morris of Alcohol Policy UK said: "The Government has missed an opportunity. A below cost ban is unlikely to make a difference." - Sunday Mirror​

A national 'minimum price' will be set for wine, beer and spirits in new plans to be unveiled by the government this week. In a bid to combat binge drinking, the coalition plans to use a formula first devised by Asda supermarket in which it is forbidden to sell alcohol below a certain price. Any retailer found to be in breach of the new rules would risk losing their licence. The 'minimum price' is calculated by adding the cost of duty on the product with the VAT. - Mail On Sunday​

The coalition government is planning "radical" action to curb teenage smoking, ban cheap alcohol and to encourage mothers to breastfeed at work, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has said. Mr Lansley, who is due to publish a public health white paper this week, confirmed that the government was preparing a range of interventions intended to reduce health inequalities. But he came under fire from the Tory right for attempting to "micro-manage" people's lives. - Press Association​

Two popular York pubs have closed their doors without warning after the sudden collapse of their parent company. The Tap And Spile, in Monkgate, and the Ackhorne in St Martin's Lane, off Micklegate, were closed on Thursday night and Friday, while the future of the Golden Fleece, in Pavement, was uncertain. The closures followed an announcement by the Local Heroes Pub Group that it had ceased trading on Thursday. - The Press​ (Yorkshire)