Independent Operators

Admiral reports "transformational year"

20-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Admiral Taverns, the 1,300-strong tenanted pub company, wiped a further £76.7m off its debt in the year to May 2011, as it trimmed its estate by 16.3% and reported a 6.9% rise in turnover per pub.

ALMR announces ops award winners

16-Dec-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Virge Balthazard of McMullen & Sons has been named area manager of the year in the Operations Managers Awards 2011, held by the Association of Licensed Multiple Operators (ALMR).

BBPA launches unit awareness campaign

16-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has made a range of materials available for pubs to mark the launch of its unit awareness campaign this week.

Sceptre reports drop in revenue

15-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Sceptre Leisure, the amusement and gaming machines supplier, has reported a drop in revenue for the six months to 31 October, but said that it continued to trade “robustly”.

Survival of industry at risk, claims new BBPA chairman

15-Dec-2011 By Michelle Perrett

The “alarming rate” of pub closures and the decline in beer volumes is a “wake up call of epic proportions”, claims British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chairman and Molson Coors chief executive Mark Hunter.

Post-loading poses problems

14-Dec-2011 By Peter Coulson

Innovative ideas in the licensed trade are like Marmite — you either love ’em or hate ’em. So it is with Bob Senior’s idea in Durham that if you can’t beat them, you try and turn a trick.

Mark Hunter is new BBPA chairman

14-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

Molson Coors chief executive Mark Hunter has replaced Ralph Findlay as the chairman of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). Marston’s boss Findlay is stepping down after the completion of his two year term of office.

Head: are you giving too much?

14-Dec-2011 By Mark Daniels

Last week, somebody decided that pubs are giving their customers too much head, which prompted somebody in a union to write to the government and complain that this is the sole fault of the pub companies.

Roberts joins Watson and Bruce in new pubco ventures

14-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

John Roberts, the former managing director of the Fuller’s Beer Company, has become a founder investor and non-executive director of two new pub companies alongside pub entrepreneurs David Bruce and Clive Watson.

A year of change ahead

12-Dec-2011 By Peter Coulson

There will be many readers who remember the period of transition from one licensing system to another, back in 2005, as one long confusion. Certainly the protracted period of change, complexities of the forms, the delays of local authorities and general...

My Pub: O'Marleys Red Lion

09-Dec-2011 By Tony Halstead

Mary Winter, co-tenant at O’Marleys Red Lion in Blackburn, Lancashire, tells Tony Halstead how a new name and increasing ale sales have helped double turnover at the pub

Landlords urged to prepare empty pubs for winter

09-Dec-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Empty pub owners have been warned to prepare their property for the winter to avoid damage in harsh weather conditions.

Pubs in Bedford join forces for anti-knife campaign

09-Dec-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Pub, bars and clubs in Bedford town centre have teamed up to run an anti-knife campaign in the run up to Christmas.

Seating complaint costs pub £6,000

08-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

A licensee in Norwich has slammed a local optician who he claims has cost him close to £6,000 by pursuing a complaint about the outdoor seating area at his pub.

New pubco targets 50 sites

06-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Cirrus Inns, a new pub company featuring Mark Askew, outgoing executive head chef at Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) and Polly Dyson, former finance director at Geronimo Inns, has been set up with plans to create an estate of up to 50 pubs with accommodation...

Brakspear eyes London pubs

06-Dec-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Oxfordshire-based pub operator Brakspear has seen beer volumes double after spending £500k revamping three of its central London pubs and said it would like to take on more sites in the capital.

UCL to open five sites in 2012

06-Dec-2011 By John Harrington

Urban & Country Leisure (UCL), the group led by entrepreneur Ross Sanders, plans to open five sites in 2012 as it announces its latest disposal.

Licensee fears drop in trade after breathalyser licensing condition

06-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

A licensee in Wales is worried about a drop in trade at his pub after he was forced to install a breathalyser as a condition on his licence.

Jeremy Clarkson in “Figure of Speech” whoopsie…

05-Dec-2011 By Mark Daniels

The following article contains a personal opinion. Please don’t shoot me for it. Last week, some people went on strike to protect their pensions and a television personality well-known for his comically outspoken points of view said something about it.

BIS: Information demanded over BBPA deal

05-Dec-2011 By Michelle Perrett

The All-Party Save the Pub Group is demanding information from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on its negotiations with the industry and the subsequent deal to self-regulate the pubco-tenant relationship.

Surrey pub wins top Fuller's award

05-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

The Queen’s Head in Farnham, Surrey, has been awarded the top accolade by Fuller’s in the London brewer and pub operator’s Pub of the Year awards.

Fake IDs: Countering the counterfeit

02-Dec-2011 By Peter Coulson

I am sad to see Andrew Chevis of Citizen Card still having to bang the drum for acceptance of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) system to be made obligatory in some way.

Licensees urged to check loan details

02-Dec-2011

Licensees are being urged to check any financial products they have attached to their mortgages or loans as they could find themselves facing huge financial costs.

In at the deep end

01-Dec-2011 By Rob Willock

So there I was, all set to write a gentle comment piece to mark my official first week as editor of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, saying what an honour it is to be joining the industry and thanking those I have so far met for making me feel welcome…...

BIS: An Interview with Brigid Simmonds

01-Dec-2011 By Michelle Perrett

The Government’s response to the controversial Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC) report into the pubco-tenant relationship last week revealed that it would not introduce a statutory code of practice overseen by an adjudicator.

Nottingham pubs get street ambassadors

01-Dec-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Pubs, bars and restaurants in Nottingham city centre are getting an extra boost to pull in the punters as street ambassadors provide recommendations to tourists.

Musical copyright: Baying at the moon over code

30-Nov-2011 By Peter Coulson

I think that Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), is right when she calls for some kind of voluntary code on musical copyright fees.

Robertson to leave BII

29-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chief executive Neil Robertson is to leave the organisation after three years to take up the role as director of training at apprenticeship providers, Babcock International.

Scotland to research the impact of minimum pricing

29-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

A university in Scotland is to research the effects of minimum pricing on the country’s heaviest drinkers.

Discrimination in the trade

28-Nov-2011 By Peter Coulson

Last week’s thought-provoking article by Dave Daly in The Guv’nor column was full of common sense about the long-standing issue of racial discrimination. In it, he counselled against going to the law, suggesting such matters should be kept in-house, and...

313 Drinking Banning Orders issued, confirms Home Office

28-Nov-2011 By Adam Pescod

The Home Office has reported that 313 Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs) have been issued on conviction since the facility became available to local authorities last year.

Fuller's reports like-for-like sales rise

25-Nov-2011 By Mark Wingett

Fuller’s, the London-based brewer and pub operator, has this morning reported a 3.9% rise in like-for-like sales across its managed pubs and hotels division for the 26 weeks to 1 October 2011.

Admiral launches 'right to buy' option

25-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Admiral Taverns has introduced a right-to-buy option for selected tenants who will have the opportunity to purchase the freehold of their pub from three years into a lease.

PASS could be 'pointless'

25-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

If the Home Office does not do more to force licensees and doorstaff to accept the Proof-of-Age Standards Scheme (PASS) accredited cards, then PASS is “pointless”.

Bolton Pubwatch goes digital

25-Nov-2011 By Adam Pescod

Bolton’s Pubwatch scheme has become the UK’s first to adopt a digital-only approach to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour in pubs and clubs.

BIS: CAMRA accuses Government of weak reforms

24-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

The Government response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report will not be enough to avert the “disaster” facing thousands of British pubs, claims consumer group CAMRA.

BIS: ALMR "deeply disappointed"

24-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has expressed “deep disappointment” at the news that the Government has decided not to regulate the behaviour of the major pub companies.

Vituperate At Will

23-Nov-2011

Last night, I ended up asking somebody to leave the pub because one too many expletives had passed their lips. Now, I’m no prude, am prone to the occasional profanity myself, and rarely only ask people to stop swearing at the bar if I feel it is offending...

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