Independent Operators

Greene King and M&B — perfect partnership?

Greene King and M&B — perfect partnership?

By The PMA Team

The move by Joe Lewis to decide against tabling a bid for Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) will surprise many who thought an offer ahead of the 17 October deadline was a foregone conclusion.

BBPA defends pubcos to MPs

BBPA defends pubcos to MPs

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has written to every MP to refute claims from the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC) that the beer tie is causing pubs to close.

Findlay: ‘Stop sucking pubs dry’

Findlay: ‘Stop sucking pubs dry’

By Michelle Perrett

The Government needs to help the pub and brewing industries rather than sucking them dry, argued Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s and chairman of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), last week.

Dunsmore to step down as C&C chief executive

Dunsmore to step down as C&C chief executive

C&C Group, the Irish drinks company, has announced that John Dunsmore will step down as its chief executive at the end of the year and will be succeeded by its current chief operating officer and finance director Stephen Glancey.

Consultation due: Respond now, says Peter Coulson

Reforms are just window dressing

By Peter Coulson

Nothing changes much in Government. I well remember the Labour administration producing a long list of the ‘reforms’ that they intended to bring to licensing, most of which were already under discussion when they started the exercise, and several of which...

RPI rises to 5.6% in August

RPI rises to 5.6% in August

The Retail Price Index (RPI) measure rose to 5.6% from 5.2% in August, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Whitbread sees profits rise

Whitbread sees profits rise

Whitbread has reported a 15.2% rise in underlying profit for the six months to 1 September. Underlying profit before tax for the group was £174.9m (2010/2011: £151.8m) on revenue up 10.7% to £891.3m.

BBPA to move offices

BBPA to move offices

By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is about to move into offices at Brewers’ Hall, in the City of London.

Publican Awards 2012: Submit your entries now

Entries open for Publican Awards 2012

Entries are now being sought for the Publican Awards 2012. The Morning Advertiser’s merger with the Publican earlier this year to create the Publican’s Morning Advertiser has seen us taking over the biggest event in the pub industry calendar — the Publican...

Pub operator Kheng in dispute with PPL

Pub operator Kheng in dispute with PPL

A multiple pub operator has entered a legal dispute with music royalties company PPL over refunds relating to one of his premises which closed on 1 January 2011.

ECJ Judgment: The case, and the implications

ECJ Judgment: The case, and the implications

The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ’s) judgement rocked football last week, when it ruled in favour of Karen Murphy in a long-running case against the Premier League for screening football matches via a Greek decoder system.

New Inn lands H&W’s top accolade

New Inn lands H&W’s top accolade

The New Inn in Salisbury, Wiltshire, has been named Public House of the Year and won a prize of £1,000 at brewer Hall & Woodhouse’s 2011 Business Partnership Awards.

Hook Norton names new joint MD

Hook Norton names new joint MD

By John Harrington, M&C Report

Adrian Staley, national sales director at Cornish brewer St Austell, is to join Oxfordshire brewer Hook Norton as joint managing director.

Couples sought for pub partnerships

Couples sought for pub partnerships

An experienced pub and club operator is looking for couples to enter a joint-ownership venture to run sites in the Bristol, Cardiff and South Wales valleys area.

CD Pub Co plans to add one site per year

CD Pub Co plans to add one site per year

By John Harrington

CD Pub Co, the Warwickshire-based pub company founded by two senior figures from the property industry, has announced plans to add one site per year over the next five years.

The limits of responsibility

The limits of responsibility

By Peter Coulson

There is really nothing new in licensing. I see that a great fuss is being made in certain circles about a recent case concerning noise from departing customers.

Barclays: banks still willing to invest in pubs

Barclays: banks still willing to invest in pubs

By Adam Pescod

Banks are still willing to invest in pub companies if there are “sensible structures” in place, according to Mike Delay, relationship director at Barclays’ corporate banking arm.

Barracuda sites seek to become food-led

Barracuda sites seek to become food-led

By Gurjit Degun

Food, wine, coffee, breakfasts, accommodation, real ale, world beers and pre-booked events were listed as the products for growth in the trade by Barracuda Pub Company chief executive Mark McQuater.

Consistent excellence is the route to success

Consistent excellence is the route to success

By The PMA Team

It was one of those really meaty discussions at the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers’ autumn debate last week. Should pubs brand themselves or not? It can be argued either way, of course, depending on what your definitions are.

Calls for a split in the BBPA

Calls for a split in the BBPA

By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) is facing fresh calls for a split between its brewing and retailing arms in the wake of damning criticism from the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC) report into the pubco-tenant relationship.

Speaking with a forked tongue

Speaking with a forked tongue

If health secretary Andrew Lansley really believes what he said at the Wine & Spirit Trade Association’s annual conference recently, then why has he not had a word with Teresa May?

Brains snaps up coffee chain

Brains snaps up coffee chain

By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

SA Brain, the Cardiff-based brewer and pub operator, has bought the 15-strong high street coffee chain Coffee#1 for an undisclosed sum.

Five key changes for pubs now in force

Five key changes for pubs now in force

By Ewan Turney

Licensees are reminded that five important changes to the way pubs operate, serve drinks and pay their staff came into force on Saturday.

Black Sheep control goes to son Rob

Black Sheep control goes to son Rob

The founder of Masham-based Black Sheep Brewery, Paul Theakston, has handed over the reins of day-to-day control to his son Rob Theakston.

Pubcos fail to act decisively on reforms

Pubcos fail to act decisively on reforms

By Ewan Turney & The PMA Team

Anyone who witnessed the last Business, Innovation & Skills Committee hearing in July could see that the report was only ever heading one way.

Lembit Opik backs British Pub Week

Lembit Opik backs British Pub Week

By Adam Pescod

Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik has thrown his support behind British Pub Week, describing it as “the beginning of the fightback” for a struggling industry.

Gov’t needs to relieve tyranny of rising costs

Gov’t needs to relieve tyranny of rising costs

The past week has been dominated by the latest round in the on-going tenant and pubco debate. But there’s one issue that we can all agree on. Businesses have been hit by wave after wave of cost increases in the past decade. The increase in regulatory...

No mention of licensing issues

No mention of licensing issues

By Peter Coulson

As I predicted, the final stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill were taken up with a last-ditch attempt to derail the Government’s proposals for elected commissioners of police and the licensing aspects were not touched upon at all.

Momo secures second Jongleurs

Momo secures second Jongleurs

Momo Leisure, the firm run by former Nexum Leisure executive David Elphick and business partner Jez King to run Jongleurs comedy clubs under franchise, has secured its second site, in Bristol.

Peter Coulson: dogged lobbying by the music industry and Lord Clement-Jones’s efforts have paid dividends

Singing consultation’s praises

By Peter Coulson

It seems that the very persistent lobbying by the music industry, coupled with the sterling efforts of Lord Clement-Jones and his advisors, has at last borne fruit.

Downey sells London Match Bar

Downey sells London Match Bar

Jonathan Downey, the bar entrepreneur, has taken a further step away from the high-street bar sector with the sale of his remaining Match Bar site in London’s West End.

Lost Society set to unveil new Clapham outlet

Lost Society set to unveil new Clapham outlet

The team behind London-based bar and restaurant sites Lost Society and Blind Tiger are set to launch a fifth outlet in the capital, after buying the leasehold interest on a site in Clapham.

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