14-Feb-2008 By Mark Stretton, M&C Report
Novus Leisure, the bar operator led by Steve Richards, has entered exclusive negotiations to buy Soho Clubs & Bars for between £7m and £10m,...
MyShout
14-Feb-2008
It's decision day soon for the big issues affecting the trade, says MP John Grogan The House of Commons is currently taking its half term break, and...
THE GUV'NOR
14-Feb-2008
Dennis Griffiths The licensee of the Miners' Rest, Barnsley, provides a new slant on the supermarket pricing debate It has not been a good start to...
The Agents
14-Feb-2008
Simon Chaplin Director corporate division Christie+Co The market has moved on in the last 12 months, turning from a sellers' to a buyers' market in...
InBrief
14-Feb-2008
Preston's losing one pub a month Plungington Taverns licensee Graham Rowson claims that pubs in Preston, Lancashire, are closing at a rate of one per...
Dixon: 16-year-olds should get served
14-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney ewan.turney@william-reed.co.uk
Sixteen-year-olds should be allowed to drink freely in pubs, according to a leading trade figure. Industry consultant and MA columnist Phil Dixon...
Treble chance for leading pair
14-Feb-2008 By Helen Bendell helen.bendell@william-reed.co.uk
The Premiership's two top scorers go head-to-head in a mouth-watering FA Cup fifth-round showdown. Cristiano Ronaldo and Emmanuel Adebayor are...
BarTalk
14-Feb-2008
What do you think about the potential ban on outside patio heaters? Ian Rigg The Taps Lytham Lancashire We've got six electric heaters mounted to...
Smith criticised for focus on drinks deals in bars
14-Feb-2008 By John Harrington john.harrington@william-reed.co.u
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has been criticised for wrongly targeting drinks deals in bars as she announced a crackdown on "dodgy premises". Smith...
Surrey licensees face order to clean up fag ends
14-Feb-2008
Licensees in Surrey could be among the first in the country to be ordered to clear up discarded cigarette ends outside their pubs. Reigate &...
Shoot and then ask questions
14-Feb-2008
It is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy when the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith cites the levels of prosecutions for underage sale as a reason why...
Licensees win extra time to pay rent
14-Feb-2008
A Newquay couple has won a reprieve for the second time to stay at their Enterprise Inns pub. Inez and Craig Ward, who have been at Mavericks since...
NewsDigest
14-Feb-2008
The Scottish Government is tackling supermarkets and off-licences over alcohol abuse by forcing them to contribute to the social cost of "bevvy...
Wear Inns appoints Malone
13-Feb-2008 By The PMA Team
Wear Inns has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Frank Malone to the new role of operations director. Malone, who has over 15...
Calm before the storm
13-Feb-2008
On March 12 Chancellor Alistair Darling will step out of Number 11 Downing Street clutching a small red briefcase containing his first Budget as...
Retail growth a thing of the past, says research group
13-Feb-2008 By Hamish Champ
The days of consumers living beyond their means are over, according to a retail research group's findings published today.Verdict Research Consulting...
13-Feb-2008
Top chef Gordon Ramsay has bought his fourth pub - the York and Albany in Camden. The chef is thought to have paid around £4m for the site. The...
12-Feb-2008 By Tony Halstead
The Campaign For Real Ale is calling for a 1p cut in beer duty to help get drinkers back into local community pubs
Fourth Hospitality buys ABS for £8m
12-Feb-2008
Fourth Hospitality, the London-based supplier of back office software systems to the pub trade, has acquired outsource services company Alternative...
January retail sales up 2.6 per cent
12-Feb-2008 By Hamish Champ
Shoppers took advantage of heavy discounting across UK High Streets last month, prompting fears that interest rates are unlikely to be cut in the...
Francis Patton joins Milestone as non-exec
12-Feb-2008
Milestone, the accountancy firm used by a large number of pubcos, has appointed ex-Punch Taverns director Francis Patton as a non-executive director....
12-Feb-2008 By John Harrington
National Pubwatch chairman Steve Baker has paid tribute to founder member Bill Stone, who is retiring from the committee. Stone, who is leaving due...
12-Feb-2008
Trade accountants Milestone has appointed former Punch director of customer services Francis Patton as a non-executive director. Before moving to...
Hamish Champ: Residents' rights and music pubs
11-Feb-2008 By Hamish Champ
A small news item in the daily free Metro newspaper caught my eye last week.A pub in Stepney, east London, was in danger of losing its live music...
'Guinness brings back toucan logo to boost sales'
11-Feb-2008
Guinness is bringing back the iconic toucan logo to its beer cans to boost sales, 26 years after the image was ditched - Daily MirrorIntelligent...
Waiting for a mega takeover deal - akin to waiting for a bus
10-Feb-2008 By Hamish Champ
I dunno. You wait ages for a juicy takeover battle then two come along almost at once. Just like waiting for a bus.The dust has barely settled on...
08-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
Let them drink in a supervised environment, says leading trade figure
Essex pub cuts fuel bills by half in six months to win energy contest
08-Feb-2008
Ye Olde Albion pub near Colchester, Essex, has won a quiz night with England cricketer Phil Tufnell after slashing its fuel bills in half in The...
07-Feb-2008 By Joe Lutrario
Market is being flooded with cheap empty sites ahead of the scrapping of concession rates for empty sites
07-Feb-2008 By Andrew Pring
MA editor Andrew Pring considers the proposed merger between Punch and Mitchells & Butlers
Out on the piste with the ALMR
07-Feb-2008
Lucky old Snifter has just returned from a week on the slopes of Verbier in the pleasant company of members of the Association of Licensed Multiple...
MyNewPub
07-Feb-2008
Biddestone Arms Biddestone, Wiltshire Agent: Guy Simmonds The new operator of the Biddestone Arms, James Hedges, has 20 years' experience in the...
The Agents
07-Feb-2008
Trevor Watson Director, Valuation services, Davis Coffer Lyons Private equity has over recent years come to dominate the pub and restaurant...
Rivals meet for Munich tribute
07-Feb-2008 By Helen Bendell helen.bendell@william-reed.co.uk
Despite concerns over whether all City fans will respect the one-minute silence to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, in which...
As you like it
07-Feb-2008
Greene King tenant Malcolm Mant, of the Shakespeare Tavern, in Bristol, talks to Alison Baker about how he has developed his food offer Malcolm Mant...
LETTERs
07-Feb-2008
Buyouts restrict freetrade choice We at Sharp's Brewery see Marston's recent acquisition of the Hall & Woodhouse freetrade business and the...
MyShout
07-Feb-2008
We need to turn more British pubs into Great British Pubs, says Stephen Crawley Our Martian who featured in my last My Shout certainly attracted the...
Conversions and pub sales on the cards
07-Feb-2008
If Punch was to merge with Mitchells & Butlers, what would be the strategy? A few clues emerge from the handling of Spirit in the wake of its...
Merger means clash of styles
07-Feb-2008
The merger of Punch and Mitchells & Butlers would create a marked contrast in styles at the top of the organisation. Punch boss Giles Thorley...
BarTalk
07-Feb-2008
What do you think of the proposed Punch-Mitchells & Butlers merger? Graham Rowson Plungington Tavern Preston Lancashire I don't think this merger...
Crucial questions and answers
07-Feb-2008
What happened last week? MEPs voted in favour of a report from Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall that "urges the Commission to establish timetables for the...
ADZs: the chaos continues
06-Feb-2008 By James Wilmore
Do we have another "I told you so" moment on our hands? Ever since alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) were first mooted three years ago, the pub trade has...
Pete Robinson: Is Alcohol Worse than Ecstasy?
06-Feb-2008
During 50 minutes of absolute twaddle the episode entitled "Is Alcohol Worse than Ecstasy?" gave a count-down of the Top 20 Most Dangerous Drugs in...
Marathon contenders line up
06-Feb-2008
THE PRIDE of the pub trade will be on the line in April when the chefs take on the brewers in this year's Flora London Marathon.The Chefs on the Run...
Scotland lagging in SIA licensing
05-Feb-2008
Half the door supervisors quizzed in a spot check in Glasgow are still not complying with Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing requirements,...
05-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
A real ale chain of pubs has extended its efforts to combat cheap, irresponsible supermarket booze deals. The five-strong Head of Steam chain...
05-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
Pubs in Wales are being urged to ditch rock and pop for more traditional Welsh sounds of the harp and choir. Brecon Beacons National Park Authority...
Frederic Robinson out of managed sites
04-Feb-2008
Frederic Robinson is the latest regional brewer to pull out of managed houses.Following a similar move by Everards and Charles Wells, in response to...
Skinners looking to ferment its place in the market
04-Feb-2008
Staff at Cornwall-based Skinners Brewery are toasting their success after announcing plans to grow by 20 per cent. After a year of record trading in...
Scottish & Newcastle; the last of the big UK brewers
03-Feb-2008 By Hamish Champ
It's perfectly possible to envisage in years to come Carlsberg and Heineken's bid for Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) finding its way onto the...
