Credit crunching - Tayto takeover for Jonathan Crisp
20-Jan-2009
The Northern Ireland-based Tayto Group has acquired the Jonathan Crisp brand, further adding to its snack empire.The deal for the upmarket crisp...
Mark Daniels: Taking Responsibility for the Irresponsibility
19-Jan-2009
He was preceded by Gordon Brown who, between bouts of sucking on his bottom lip, tried to make the fact that he was going to use taxpayers' money...
Hamish Champ: C'mon Giles. Roll them sleeves up!
19-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
Punch Taverns' troubles were understandably the talk of the industry last week.With profits tumbling and its share price following suit the fate of...
Polycarbonates with unit labels hit pubs
19-Jan-2009 By James Wilmore
Pubs and bars in Blackpool are being encouraged to use polycarbonate pint and wine glasses that display the number of alcohol units customers are...
Pubs closing at rate of 39 per week
19-Jan-2009 By Matt Eley Matt
The number of pubs closing per week in Britain has accelerated to a staggering 39 per week. The figures, compiled by CGA Strategy for the British...
Hunger strike publican launches countrywide pub tour
19-Jan-2009
A publican who went on hunger strike to protest at his eviction is to step up his campaign to save the trade by going on a pub tour throughout the...
19-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has launched a new website to advise the public of how to save their pub.
19-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Pubs are now closing at the rate of six every day and more will follow if the Government presses ahead with plans for a mandatory code on alcohol...
'Road safety group demands cut in blood alcohol limit'
18-Jan-2009
"The Road Safety Authority (RSA) unveiled plans last week to cut road accidents involving young motorists by banning learners from the roads at...
16-Jan-2009 By Peter Linacre
It might not seem it, but these might be the very best of times for operators looking to seize opportunities, says Peter Linacre.
16-Jan-2009 By Roger Protz
The demise of the Stag Brewery has evoked mixed feelings among the cask fraternity, says Roger Protz.
16-Jan-2009 By John Harrington
Pubcos defended their treatment of tenants and rejected calls for the beer tie to be scrapped during a heated hearing in December.
Retailers launch Challenge 25
15-Jan-2009
The retail industry is launching new measures to prevent the sale of alcohol by and for under-18s.Under the new initiative, Challenge 25, people over...
14-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Britain's pubs and bars enjoyed a welcome Christmas boost but there are fears the year ahead could be dire, according to a poll of ALMR members.
Licensees slam events red-tape
14-Jan-2009
Licensees in London are fighting police efforts to have details of every live music or entertainment event staged in a pub recorded in a bid to step...
Christmas cheer for managed operators
14-Jan-2009 By James Wilmore
Managed operators enjoyed brisk business over the festive period - with nearly 60 per cent reporting a rise in like-for-like sales pre and...
Morrissey and Fox link with Comic Relief
14-Jan-2009 By James Wilmore
Celebrity brewers and licensees Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox are working together for Red Nose Day 2009 - and will be donating a slice of the...
Licensee to raffle £350,000 freehouse
14-Jan-2009
A licensee has launched a raffle with a pub as the star prize after trying to sell the lease for more than a year. Oceans Inns Company Ltd is giving...
14-Jan-2009 By John Harrington
Campaigners in London are fighting police calls for licensees to provide detailed information every time a live music event is staged.
'Citigroup warns of a grim night out at the pub for years'
13-Jan-2009
Citigroup has predicted trading for the industry is likely to continue deteriorating as shares tumbled on Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns, Mitchell...
Pub helps save tourists stranded on cliff
13-Jan-2009
A pub came to the rescue of two Frenchmen and their dog who were stranded on a Cornwall cliff. Sue Sleight, manager of St Austell pub, the Port...
13-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Cornish brewer St Austell opened its new distribution centre today, which will supply over 2,000 pubs, clubs and hotels in the region. The purpose...
13-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
The average spend per head on pub meals dropped 8.6% on last year to £13.42 in the run-up to Christmas — a level not seen since December 2003 —...
A half-decent Christmas and New Year then?
12-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
A ring round of managed pub operators to get a sense of Christmas and New Year business proved a rather fruitless exercise last week. While a handful...
Disgruntled licensees plan pubco protest
12-Jan-2009 By Matt Eley Matt
More than 100 licensees are expected to descend on the offices of the country's leading pubcos in a protest at what they believe is unfair treatment....
12-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Best Bar None (BBN) has identified 50 further areas to establish the scheme, which rewards best practice in responsible retailing.
12-Jan-2009 By John Harrington
Conservative Party leader David Cameron is backing calls for the Government to scrap plans that could mean higher business rates for pubs. Cameron...
12-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Private equity groups are "running down" the pub industry through "stupidity" and "greed" — that is the astonishing attack launched by JD...
2008 - A Year To Forget?
10-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
Few in the pub and brewing sectors will forget 2008. Rising beer duty, higher energy bills and an economy headed for the U-bend merely fuelled what...
Call to arms for Admiral Taverns tenants
10-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
The newly-appointed head of Admiral Taverns' new division of bottom-end pubs said he wants underperforming tenants to "grasp the opportunities" that...
09-Jan-2009 By Andrew Pring
With the downturn biting hard, the economic conditions are right for the evolution of the pub, says Andrew Pring.
Adam Withrington: Divide and Conquer
09-Jan-2009
Amongst the furore surrounding the Wetherspoons (JDW) 99p pint story from last week, one thing has gone unmentioned. Why is Alcohol Concern making...
Chris Maclean: Why I'm proud of pubs
09-Jan-2009 By Chris Maclean
Is a 40 per cent GP on £10,000 takings better than a 60 per cent GP on £5,000?I ask this, not as an exercise in accounting, but as a genuine...
More than 170 InBev sales staff face axe
09-Jan-2009 By James Wilmore
More than 170 InBev UK on-trade sales staff face being made redundant as part of a review of the business, The Publican understands. According to a...
08-Jan-2009 By John Harrington
A panel of industry experts and top brass have spoken to the MA about their hopes and fears for 2009 — now we want your predictions.
08-Jan-2009 By The PMA Team
Morning Advertiser managing editor The PMA Team makes some predictions about the year ahead. Managed operators death roll Managed operators have...
Interest rates cut to 1.5 per cent
08-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
The Bank of England has cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5 per cent, the lowest rates have been since the bank was founded in...
'Well-known pubs forced to shut'
08-Jan-2009
Two well-known Dundee pubs have closed leading to the loss of 25 jobs. The Nine Maidens in Laird Street and Doc Stewart's - officially called The...
08-Jan-2009 By MA Team
A better-than-expected festive period has given many operators and licensees a much-needed glimmer of hope in the economic gloom. The timing of the...
08-Jan-2009 By Mark Stretton, M&C Report
Latest accounts from Utopian Leisure Group, the North-East bar and club operator led by Bob Senior, show it breached its banking covenants, according...
08-Jan-2009 By Claire Elliott
Two pubs in Caversham, Berkshire are offering value meals for less than £2 in a bid to attract customers. The Prince of Wales has been operating a...
07-Jan-2009 By The PMA Team
Robert Cook, the boss of the exclusive Hotel du Vin chain, has confirmed his intention of rolling out a pub chain after success at his first site in...
Mark Daniels: My Andy Warhol moment
07-Jan-2009
If I had a pound for every time I'd managed to get either myself or the pub mentioned in one form of the media or other in the past twelve months,...
Chris Maclean: The pub really is the hub
06-Jan-2009 By Chris Maclean
There seems to be a consensus; it was killed by the Millennium. New Year's Eve simply isn't the same any more.I remember it well. For those of us who...
Peter Brook joins Admiral Taverns
06-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
Admiral Taverns has ring-fenced 400 of its most troubled pubs into a new operation and put former InDeed Group boss Peter Brook in charge.Brook, who...
06-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Admiral Taverns has appointed industry veteran Peter Brook as managing director of 400 under-performing pubs, which require "additional support"....
Mark Daniels: Bring on more rubbish TV
05-Jan-2009
Waking up Christmas Day morning to discover mad Aunt Mildred had generously sent the children hundreds of pounds of Woolworths vouchers was only...
Hamish Champ: Look into my 2009 crystal ball. Murky, isn't it?
05-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
So how went your New Year celebrations? Really? Marvellous. As it happens I've never been so glad to see the back of a year as I was with 2008, but...
Globe risks covenant breach
02-Jan-2009 By The PMA Team
Robert Tchenguiz's tenanted pubco risks breaching its securitisation covenants, as sales fall 10.8% in the three months to 29 November.
Peninsula Inns placed in administration
02-Jan-2009 By The PMA Team
The boss of the Torquay-based company, which owned 18 pubs, blames the credit crunch, the smoking ban and rising utility costs.
