CAMRA launches viability test to save pubs from closure
22-Feb-2005
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has launched a new viability test to help save Britain's pubs from closure.The test provides guidelines to local...
What the Sunday papers said…
21-Feb-2005
UK plc drained its glass and bid cheerio to the last quoted cidermaker as Merrydown was bought by SHS, the private Irish group that owns WKD alcopops...
Trade Talk: Graeme Cushion
18-Feb-2005
Graeme Cushion, solicitor and head of Poppleston Allen's regulatory crime department on enforcement issues.Many licensees will have noticed a higher...
Loud and clear...
17-Feb-2005
Publicans and drinkers refute accusations by Alcohol Concern that music is played at full volume to encourage drinking. Jackie Annett gets the...
DTI shuts down companies after publicans' complaints
17-Feb-2005
The department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has started its clampdown on the first raft of rogue recruitment companies. Three companies based in...
Licensee excluded from pubco discount scheme
17-Feb-2005
A former Enterprise licensee who lost his pub because of financial difficulties has accused the company of failing to treat all licensees...
All set for National Pubs Week?
17-Feb-2005
National Pubs Week is to start with a bang on Saturday with pubs up and down the country launching a series of events.The week, organised by the...
Time to stand up and reveal our trade's good side
17-Feb-2005
The time has come for a strong defence of the good that the pub and drinks industry does, argues Jonathan Neame, chief executive at Shepherd Neame...
Though the Daily Mail hysteria has abated, its malign effect
17-Feb-2005
Levying taxes on a whole swathe of pubs if one of them is consistently misbehaving seems the logic of the madhouse. Why should those who retail...
Scotland could set pricing
17-Feb-2005
Local authorities in Scotland could be allowed to set minimum pricing under new legislation. Licensing boards may also be given the power to close...
Pub set to carve Dame Ellen in wall
17-Feb-2005
The home village of Ellen MacArthur, world record holder for sailing around the globe non-stop, is set to celebrate her achievements by creating a...
Pubs shut for 24-hours in protest at reform'
17-Feb-2005
by Ewan Turney Three Leicestershire licensees slammed their doors shut for 24 hours in protest at the increasing cost, frustration and pressures of...
Collins fears poaching' chaos
17-Feb-2005
A huge wave of doorstaff poaching is set to hit pubs and clubs if police decide to prosecute unlicensed doorstaff immediately after the Security...
It's the right time to say no to drunks at the bar'
17-Feb-2005
Pubs and bars seem under attack from all quarters: the chief police officers, the Daily Mail and the Conservative Party have all mounted an...
Success is sweet
16-Feb-2005
The Honeycombe pub model is proving a winner in today's industry, as Andrew Catchpole explains.Ever since the dissolution of the brewing fiefdoms...
WKD owner snaps up Merrydown
16-Feb-2005
Merrydown, one of the UK's last independently-owned drinks companies, has agreed a takeover by SHS, owner of FAB brand WKD.SHS is paying 170p a share...
Nightclub Company boss hotly denies insolvency rumours
14-Feb-2005
The Nightclub Company has unequivocally refuted rumours that it is facing insolvency after contrary reports on the health of the leisure operator...
Low public support aids Scottish licensees' smoke ban fight
14-Feb-2005
Scottish publicans have condemned the Scottish Executive's proposal to ban smoking because they say only 20 per cent of the public are in favour.The...
A class act for pubs
11-Feb-2005
Many fear that the coming clampdown on change of status will stifle innovation. Michelle Perrett reports.Changes to the Use Classes Order (UCO) laws...
Celtic Inns homes in on 100-pub estate target
10-Feb-2005
by The PMA Team Tenanted pub company Celtic Inns, which runs 63 pubs, is considering an acquisition that would help it reach its target of an...
DTI launches investigation into Dorset broker
10-Feb-2005
The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has agreed to look into Dorset broker Gateway Finance.co.uk after licensees across the UK were left out...
Licensees and trade officials petition against smoking ban
10-Feb-2005
The battle to block moves by councils in Liverpool and London to ban smoking in all public places - including pubs - is officially under way.The...
New tipping guidelines issued by Taxman
10-Feb-2005
The Inland Revenue has released revised guidelines which could save on National Insurance bills for pubs which use tips to bring staff up to minimum...
Drink Talking: Alison Smith
10-Feb-2005
Is our society really ready for flexible trading hours asks Alison Smith of Bar One Nine, Keynsham in Somerset.As you will know, the new licensing...
Reasons to be cheerful
10-Feb-2005
In spite of doom-laden headlines ANDREW JEFFORD is in positive mood Something odd's been going on. Snow shuts airports from New York to Chicago;...
MacArthur sails into St Austell pub
10-Feb-2005
Sailing heroine Ellen MacArthur celebrated her record breaking solo journey around the world with a slap-up meal at the Five Degrees West in...
Unite for tsunami cause, pubs urged
10-Feb-2005
by Ewan Turney Pubs are being urged to rally one last time to raise money for the victims of the tsunami disaster by charity organisation Pub Aid....
We'll fight NY-ban say capital pubs
10-Feb-2005
by Tony Halstead A leading London trade group has attacked attempts by local councils to force through a "New York-style" pub smoking ban in the...
Yates Group snaps up Santa Fe chain
10-Feb-2005
Yates Group has bought the seven-strong Santa Fe restaurant chain for £3.55m, plus the assumption of £2.5m in debt. Sante Fe, which has two sites...
Time for change
09-Feb-2005
After February 7 a clearer picture of the new licensing regime in England and Wales is beginning to emerge. But the trade in Scotland still has a...
Hungry for more
09-Feb-2005
Barracuda chief executive Mark McQuater has taken the company he founded from strength to strength over the past five years. Andrew Catchpole...
Publican fights church over nuisance bells
09-Feb-2005
An angry publican who hasn't had a decent night's sleep for more than a year, is fighting to ban the church bells that are keeping him awake.Graham...
Regent rallies as City confidence returns
09-Feb-2005
Three months into Bob Ivell's stewardship Regent Inns is on course for recovery as profits grow.Interim results released this morning (February 9)...
Berkshire licensee to auction pub's antiques
08-Feb-2005
The licensee of a Berkshire pub is auctioning some of the pub's bric-a-brac and antiques and is inviting his customers to place bids.Robin Macdonald,...
What the Sunday papers said…
07-Feb-2005
The debate on 24-hour drinking has focused mainly on binge-drinking, yet staff are more worried about antisocial hours than antisocial behaviour,...
National Pubs Week: Raise a glass
04-Feb-2005
National Pubs Week will be upon us before you know it. The CAMRA-organised event is a great opportunity to draw some attention to your community...
National Pubs Week: Boost trade
04-Feb-2005
National Pubs Week is almost with us and CAMRA hopes that even more licensees will take the chance to generate some fun and boost profits. Daniel...
Charles Wells gives staff cash after £3m windfall
03-Feb-2005
by The PMA Team Bedford brewer and retailer Charles Wells has given its entire staff an extra week's pay after a windfall profit of £3.1m with the...
Uproar over broker loans
03-Feb-2005
Licensees across the UK have been left out of pocket after promised loans have failed to materialise.Complaints about Gateway Finance.co.uk, which is...
Drink Talking: Martin Rawlings
03-Feb-2005
When applying for your licence there are a few things to bear in mind says Martin Rawlings, director of pub & leisure at the British Beer &...
Pubco held responsible for manager's 'tipping'
03-Feb-2005
Massive chief Peter Linacre has hit out at a law that left his pubco culpable for the behaviour of one of his managers.The 35-strong pub company was...
Will you be glued to the Michael Jackson trial?
03-Feb-2005
Andrew Parry The Duck onthe Pond Long Itchington Warwickshire "I must admit, given the small amount of time that I get to watch TV, Michael...
The high street has to change
03-Feb-2005
by M&C editor Mark Stretton The pressure from Whitehall and the media for the industry to stop flogging cheap drink and stem alcohol-fuelled...
Mark Jones comment
03-Feb-2005
It is clear that the industry (and particularly those of us who operate on our high streets) is entering a potentially turbulent time. The changes in...
Pub is Hub set to surge ahead after cash boost
03-Feb-2005
by Tony Halstead Scores of isolated rural andvillage inns will get a much-needed lifeline to survival later this month when Pub is theHub announces...
Last thing we need is 24hr quick fix
03-Feb-2005
The technical problems of the new law that I have outlined above have been swamped by the 24-hour opening/binge drinking furore, to which the...
Hosts urged to get set for
03-Feb-2005
St George's Licensees are being urged to stock up on supplies and plan ahead for St George's Day as the popularity and recognition of the occasion...
Best Pubwatchof the year
03-Feb-2005
This award is sponsored by Laurel Pub Company and is aimed at recognising the group that has made the most effort in the past year to understand and...
Camra targets binge ghettos'
03-Feb-2005
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has attacked huge vertical drinking warehouses for turning town centres into "late-night ghettos of binge...
Two in bar' to be scrapped
03-Feb-2005
QWhere existing licensed premises, which do not have a PEL, have taken advantage of the "two in a bar rule" and wish to provide similar entertainment...
