Independent Operators

CAMRA hosts community workshop to help save pubs

09-Jul-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has hosted a workshop to help local communities in and around London save their pubs.

Compliance costs soar for small firms, says new study

08-Jul-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

The cost of compliance has risen by 8.5% in the past two years for small firms, new research has shown.

The Big Interview: Elaine Hindal, Drinkaware

08-Jul-2013 By Phil Mellows

Soon after Elaine Hindal arrived at Drinkaware an independent audit earlier this year seemed to throw doubt on whether the industry-funded responsible drinking body was fit for purpose. Yet she remains undeterred, as Phil Mellows discovers.

Residents save Berkshire pub Tally Ho from change of use

08-Jul-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

Local residents have saved a Berkshire pub from being turned into flats after managing to raise the cash to buy the freehold from property developers.

London Assembly member calls for legislation to stop pub conversions

05-Jul-2013 By Gurjit Degun

A Conservative member of the London Assembly is calling on the Government to introduce legislation to block community pubs being turned into supermarkets.

Embattled Shropshire licensee calls for pubs to unite behind VAT-cut campaign

04-Jul-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

A Shropshire license has made a rallying cry for the trade to get behind the VAT-cut campaign after saying his business is suffering.

Two Independent Pub Confederation members snub new Pubs Regulatory Body

04-Jul-2013 By Gurjit Degun

Two members of the Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) have refused to sit on a new self-regulatory board that will oversee the operation of the Pubs Independent Rent Review Scheme and the Pubs Independent Conciliation & Arbitration Service (PICA-Service).

Shepherd Neame announces Pub Award winners

03-Jul-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

The King’s Head in Staplehurst, Kent, has been named Pub of the Year in the Shepherd Neame Pub Awards 2013.

Licensee turns to Facebook to help capture pub conman

03-Jul-2013 By Gurjit Degun

A licensee who helped capture a man fleecing pubs out of hundreds of pounds has set up a Facebook page to raise awareness of the criminal.

ALMR announces Late Night Awards winners

01-Jul-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

Be At One, Beds and Bars and Novus Leisure were among the winners at the first Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) Late Night Awards.

Lancashire pub celebrates 62 years of custom from regular

01-Jul-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

A Lancashire pub threw a surprise 80th birthday party for its longest serving regular who has been visiting the pub for 62 years.

Pub letting room market has 'untapped potential'

01-Jul-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

A report has revealed the untapped potential of the letting room market after two-thirds of pub owners said they expected their accommodation sales to grow in the next 12 months.

British pubs raise over £100m for charity

01-Jul-2013 By Gurjit Degun

British pubs raised £106m for different charities in the past year, according to a new study by CGA Strategy.

BBPA's 'Challenge 21' posters to include military ID guidance

28-Jun-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has updated its ‘Challenge 21’ poster to include military ID as an acceptable form of proof-of-age.

Hungry Horse brand 'could grow to 500 sites'

28-Jun-2013 By Mark Wingett

Hungry Horse, Greene King’s value pub restaurant brand, could eventually grow to 500 sites in the UK, after proving its flexibility across a number of different trading locations.

Hackney pub the first to introduce Bitcoin

27-Jun-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

A Hackney landlord has started accepting Bitcoin, the first UK pub owner to introduce the digital currency.

Yorkshire pub earns £14,000 through talent show

26-Jun-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

A Yorkshire pub has increased income by £14,000 through introducing a talent show.

Tenanted Pub Summit: Ted Tuppen unveils compensation paid to PICA-Service licensees

25-Jun-2013 By Michelle Perrett

Enterprise chief executive Ted Tuppen has revealed that the company paid compensation of between £5,000 to £6,000 on average in the two cases lost through the Pubs Independent Conciliation & Arbitration Service (PICA-Service).

Thwaites reports decline in full year sales

25-Jun-2013 By Mark Wingett

Daniel Thwaites, the Lancashire-based brewer and pub operator, has reported a decline in turnover and pre-tax profit for the year to 31 March 2013, which it said was due to the impact of the wettest summer for over 100 years and the consumer environment,...

Slug & Lettuce estate to double in size

25-Jun-2013 By Mark Wingett

Stonegate, the managed pub and bar operator, is looking to nearly double the size of its Slug & Lettuce estate and is believed to have earmarked a further 65 sites for the brand across the UK.

Southend landlady fears for business after attack over EDL meet

25-Jun-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

A Southend landlady said she fears for her business after protestors attacked the venue for allowing English Defence League (EDL) members to meet in the pub.

The Big Interview: Mark Reynolds, Tom Peake, Nick Fox, Renaissance Pubs

24-Jun-2013

Tom Peake, Nick Fox and Mark Reynolds, founders of Renaissance Pubs, talk Lesley Foottit through the first decade of the south London group as they celebrate a special anniversary

Cains faces HMRC winding up order

24-Jun-2013 By Mark Wingett

Cains, the Liverpool brewery and pub operator led by the Dusanj family, has been issued with a winding up order from HMRC.

Tenanted Pub Summit: Trade urged to 'broaden' range of franchise concepts

24-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

The pub industry has been urged to “broaden” its range of franchise concepts to attract “high net worth individuals” to their companies.

Tenanted Pub Summit: Star Pubs & Bars targets minimum tenant income of £30K a year

24-Jun-2013 By John Harrington and Michelle Perrett

Star Pubs & Bars is targeting minimum tenant income of £30,000 a year within seven years.

Residents to raise £130k to save Fox and Goose pub in Hebden Bridge

24-Jun-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

Hebden Bridge community have united in a bid to raise £130,000 to save a the Fox and Goose pub.

Marco Pierre White labelled 'dishonest idiot' over pub court battle

21-Jun-2013 By Mark Wingett

Marco Pierre White is facing a £500k legal bill after losing his court battle over the Yew Tree pub restaurant in Berkshire, with judge in the case describing him as a ‘dishonest idiot’.

Kingston Oceana survives licence review

20-Jun-2013 By Michelle Perrett

Luminar, the nightclub operator, will continue to trade its Kingston Oceana site after it agreed to a set of new licence conditions with the local council.

Licensees in Blackpool fear trade drop after Walkabout fire

20-Jun-2013 By Ellie Bothwell

Licensees in Blackpool fear for trade after Walkabout fire closes major pub street

South London pub campaigners apply for asset of community value status

20-Jun-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

Campaigners who are fighting to save a south London pub closed for three years have applied for it to be listed as an asset of community value (ACV).

Tenanted Pub Summit: Admiral bemoans quality of some pubco BDMs

19-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Many business development managers (BDMs) released by Admiral Taverns for not being good enough have gone to work for other pub companies, according to Admiral managing director Kevin Georgel.

Welsh pub owner appeals for help to save his business

19-Jun-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

A freeholder in Wales has appealed for help to save his remote village pub after attempts to get the local community involved have proved unsuccessful.

Statutory code: IFBB claims benefits worth £25K a year to licensees

19-Jun-2013 By Michelle Perrett

The Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) has unveiled research asserting that the average value of Special Commercial or Financial Advantages (SCORFA) to a licensee of its member companies is £25,000 per annum.

Grand Union chief Adam Marshall targets city sites

18-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Adam Marshall, chief executive of London-based bar group Grand Union, has named Bristol, Bath, Manchester and Brighton as possible locations for the company once it has reached its target of between 20 and 25 sites in the capital.

Statutory code: licensee groups and small business organisations support Government intervention

18-Jun-2013 By Michelle Perrett

Licensee groups and small business organisations came out strongly in support of Government plans for a statutory code and adjudicator in their submissions to the consultation.

MA300: Real Pub founders Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap plan return to the pub sector

13-Jun-2013 By Rob Willock

Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap, founders of London-based Realpubs which was sold to Greene King in 2011, are targeting a return to the pub industry in early 2014, Pring revealed at the MA300 event.

Bramwell identifies sites for Wild Lime Bar & Kitchen concept

12-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Bramwell Pub Company has identified a large number of sites within its estate where Wild Lime Bar & Kitchen, its new “aspirational” all-day drinking and casual dining concept, would work.

Star Pubs & Bars multi-million pound Bristol investment

12-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Star Pubs & Bars, the Heineken-owned leased pub operator, is to re-open nine pubs in the Bristol area during the remainder of the year after a combined investment of more than £3.6m.

BBPA annual awards now open for entries

12-Jun-2013 By Noli Dinkovski

Member companies are now able to enter the annual British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) awards, which take place on 9 October at London’s Park Plaza.

BISC statutory code hearing: licensees need confidence in PICAS

11-Jun-2013 By Gurjit Degun

Licensees need to have confidence that outcomes of the Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration Service (PICAS) will be enforced, according to the leader of a group of licensees.

Interest grows in Atmosphere Bars and Clubs sites

11-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Numerous expressions of interest for the remaining 13 operating Atmosphere Bars and Clubs assets have been received, “some of which are being furthered”, administrator Deloitte has said in an update to M&C Report.

BISC statutory code hearing: BII chair says licensees should have choice over tie

11-Jun-2013 By Gurjit Degun

The chairman of the BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) has said that licensees should be able to decide whether or not they want to be tied.

CAMRA admits error in pubco tenant earnings statistics

11-Jun-2013 By Mike Berry

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has admitted a "classification error" in its pub tenant earnings data which revealed three in five licensees tied to pubcos with more than 500 pubs earn less than £10,000 a year.

Enterprise boss Ted Tuppen challenges CAMRA's tenant income statistics

10-Jun-2013 By Rob Willock

Enterprise Inns has refuted the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA’s) assertion that 84% of licensees tied to the big pubcos earn less than £15,000 a year, claiming that less than 2% of its estate has “publican profit potential” below that level.

Video: New anti-drink driving campaign shocks 'pub-goers'

10-Jun-2013 By Mike Berry

The government's latest anti-drink driving campaign - launched last week - was filmed in a north London pub and aims to get its message across through the 'shock factor'.

Grand Union set to grow after Luke Johnson investment

10-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Grand Union plans to grow from seven to at least 20 sites across “London’s villages” in the near-to-medium term following news that serial sector investor Luke Johnson has taken a 50% stake in the bar group.

Kirin Ichiban boosts presence in city pubs

07-Jun-2013 By Jessica Mason

Kirin Ichiban will get a marketing boost in over 40 pubs and bars this summer.

Industry welcomes £250m fund to help save community assets including pubs

07-Jun-2013 By Helen Gilbert

The industry has welcomed plans to award local communities £250m in grants and loans to help them buy pubs, shops and community centres.

Fuller's reports profit rise and enters premium cider market

07-Jun-2013 By John Harrington

Fuller’s, the London brewer and pub operator, has entered the premium cider market with the £3.8m acquisition of Cornish cider maker Cornish Orchards, as it reports a 5% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £31.7m in the year to 30 March.