No boozing - just spinning
19-Jul-2007
As an ex-alcoholic, Alastair Campbell (AC) might be expected to have shown more than passing interest in the Government's licensing plans....
MyShout
19-Jul-2007
No patterns have yet emerged but Peter Linacre is already hailing the smoke ban a success It might not be quite the equivalent of "Where were you...
InBrief
19-Jul-2007
A pub, by any other name... A licensee is reportedly installing beds in her pub and calling it a hotel room in a bid to dodge the smoking ban. Dawn...
A change in Fortunes
19-Jul-2007
When Carol Fortune had problems she turned to the LTC. Now she's back on track In the first half of 2007, the Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) - the...
The big cleanup
19-Jul-2007
Walls of water, flooded cellars and stinking sludge are just some of the horrors of the recent floods. Noli Dinkovski reports from the scene When he...
Pubs suffer 'huge inflationary creep'
19-Jul-2007 By John Harrington john.harrington@william-reed.co.u
Community pubs are facing a "huge inflationary creep" in the cost of abiding by government regulations. That is the view of the British Beer &...
NewsDigest
19-Jul-2007
Three renegade licensees are continuing to defy the smoking ban, with local councils showing no sign of taking action. Customers at the Swan,...
Getting high on the agenda
19-Jul-2007
I have just been to a re-screening of the film Pulp Fiction, in which drug-taking features largely and dramatically. Fictional it may be, but young...
LETTERs
19-Jul-2007
Time to fight for smoking rights A number of pubs across the UK are now allowing smokers to light up again. The licensees have realised how much...
What the papers say - July 18, 2007
18-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
An administrative mistake by Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire means that the national smoking ban does not yet apply in its pubs and workplaces....
17-Jul-2007 By The PMA Team
The Three Wishes Group is selling five leasehold high street pubs and bars through agent Christie + Co. They are available on an individual basis or...
What the papers say - July 17, 2007
17-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
Breakfast is the most profitable part of the day for McDonald's in the United States, the restaurant chain said. More than 25 per cent of all sales...
Provence pub sold again
16-Jul-2007 By The PMA Team
A pub that discredited pub company Provence was trying to sell for £635,000 has been sold for £269,000.
C&C warns of lower first half profits
16-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
Wet weather and aggressive price competition from rival cider producers has prompted C&C Group to warn investors its first half operating profits...
Davey & Co merges with Ian Moralee
16-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
Property firm Davey & Co has announced that it has merged with North East-based agent Ian Moralee & Co.Davey & Co will add Moralee's...
The pub sector of tomorrow?
15-Jul-2007
It's 2020. The introduction of the smoking ban seems a distant memory, and even Lewis Hamilton has retired from Formula 1, having beaten Michael...
Too early to say...for now
15-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
I polled a number of pubcos last week on the impact of the English smoking ban in their pubs. Those prepared to talk about trading in the 10 days...
What the Sunday papers said
15-Jul-2007
Greene King, the regional brewer and pub company, is believed to be weighing up a £70m offer for Loch Fyne, the seafood restaurant business. The...
REITs off the menu
13-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
The prospect of a major pub group becoming a real estate investment trust (REIT) has evaporated, as companies look at alternative means of unlocking...
What the papers say - July 13
13-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
The government was scrambling to keep alive plans to liberalise the country's casino laws yesterday. James Purnell, culture secretary, was writing to...
Cheque Inns opens pub HQ
13-Jul-2007 By Ewan Turney
Cheque-cashing operator Cheque Inns has opened its first pub, which will also act as its head office. Cheque Inns founder and former licensee Nigel...
Hamish Champ: £5.2m - yes, that's right, £5.2m - for a pub?!?
12-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
£5.2m for a pub?!? "Christ on a bike, you've got be joking!" I hear you cry. But no, I'm not. Yessiree bob, restaurateur Gordon Ramsay has,...
Capital Pub Co determined to remain independent
12-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
David Bruce, chief executive of the burgeoning Capital Pub Company (CPC), has said he would "put up quite a fight" should a potential bidder threaten...
National pride in pubs
12-Jul-2007
More than 100 MPs ranging from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell in Scotland to Michael Howard, the former leader of the Tories, in Kent...
Smoking licensees get off scot-free
12-Jul-2007
Licensees in England who are openly defying the smoking ban are being allowed to get off scot-free.There are no reports of licensees being fined,...
Opus complaints rise again
12-Jul-2007 By James Wilmore
Complaints about electricity supplier Opus Energy are continuing to stream into The Publican from frustrated licensees. Opus claims it has introduced...
Kent pubs benefit from Tour De France
12-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
Pubs across Kent reaped the rewards of the Tour De France, as 189 riders swept through the county for the first leg of the legendary cycling...
MyShout
12-Jul-2007
In the trade's parallel universes, ensure revenue comes before volume, says Tony Jennings We all know there's an on-trade and an off-trade, and that...
A ladies' hour to beat that indecision
12-Jul-2007
Building a ladies' hour into nights out in Wigan, Lancashire, could halve waiting time at the bar, according to a computational flow dynamics...
THE GUV'NOR
12-Jul-2007
John Baldwin Pubcos need to do more to protect the traditional community pub, says the licensee of the Big 6 in Halifax, Yorkshire I recently took...
Beware of use class dangers
12-Jul-2007 By Joe Lutrario joe.lutrario@william-reed.co.uk
Trade leaders are warning of planning hurdles for pubs that increase their food offer and then revert back to being wet-led. Under the current use...
InBrief
12-Jul-2007
Suburban Style cash exchange West Yorkshire bar operator Suburban Style Bar is offering to exchange customer's coins for notes. Punters can hand over...
Flood-hit pubs face struggle to recover
12-Jul-2007 By Ewan Turney ewan.turney@william-reed.co.uk
Pubs in South Yorkshire are beginning the long journey back to normality after the horrendous floods of the last three weeks. Marston's Inns and...
Keeping it professional
12-Jul-2007
The Siba Local Brewing Business Awards are now in their second year, and expanding their scope with new categories. Adrian Tierney-Jones reports...
Delivering under pressure
12-Jul-2007
The second wave of the MA's new monthly section puts community pubs under the microscope. Rosie Davenport reports on how they fared Community pubs...
Rebel licensee trio ignore ban
12-Jul-2007 By Tony Halstead THals22851@aol.com
Rebel licensees have vowed to continue their smoking-ban protest - despite official warnings handed out by their local councils. The renegade trio...
NewsDigest
12-Jul-2007
Merchant Inns, the company headed by veteran entrepreneur Robert Breare, has opened its sixth site in Ripley, Surrey. The food-led inns operator...
12-Jul-2007 By Peter Coulson
Licensees are a sociable lot - that's their trade. They also do most of their business by word of mouth, over the bar. So I suppose it isn't...
LETTERs
12-Jul-2007
The smoking ban starts to bite Is there any hope left for this country? Sunday saw the first day of the smoking ban in pubs. It was the first day of...
Are you listening?
11-Jul-2007 By James Wilmore
On the face of it, live music in the UK is flourishing. The vast number of festivals held during 2007 reflects this, with festival website...
What the papers say - July 11, 2007
11-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
Smokers in Stoke-on-Trent are still lighting up in public places because the local council has no power to impose fines. Officials failed to complete...
Global's star starts to shine
10-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
Until its recent acquisition of the 108 year-old Walsall-based Highgate Brewery, few people had heard of a pub group going by the name of Global...
Hamish Champ: And I thought I had it tough...
10-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
Many licensees who fear that their livelihoods - and pub customers their way of life - will be hit for six thanks to the smoking ban have been making...
What the papers say - July 10, 2007
10-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
Cricket ace Monty Panesar is to advertise a new flavour of crisps - aimed at Asians. The Sikh England star was hired by snack giant Walkers, who...
Kick off for Proud of Pubs Week
09-Jul-2007
Proud of Pubs Week kicked off this weekend with the first of more than 100 visits from MPs to pubs taking place over the next few days.John Denham,...
09-Jul-2007
The Campaign for Real Ale has attacked Tory plans to increase tax on alcohol as 'naïve'. Mike Benner, Camra chief executive said any beer tax would...
What the Sunday papers said
08-Jul-2007
David Cameron will slap at least an extra 15p on wine and 3p on beer if he becomes prime minister to fund a crackdown on drunks and druggies. The...
A light in the black?
06-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
What a difference a results announcement can make to the listed pub sector. And what a pleasant change to see sentiment turn positive on the back of...
The first 12 months...
06-Jul-2007 By Hamish Champ
Everybody knows that first birthdays, whether for babies or businesses, are significant events, to be celebrated properly. It's not clear if the...
What the papers say - July 6, 2007
06-Jul-2007 By Eleanor Goodman
Under-21s could be banned from buying booze in stores and off-licences in a bid to halt soaring alcohol-fuelled violence. Gordon Brown is considering...
