Punch Pubs & Co

Punch: leased and managed divisions stable

15-Jun-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has reported that it has stabilised performance in both its leased and managed division for the 40 weeks to 30 May. Like-for-like...

Punch Taverns to raise £350m via rights issue

15-Jun-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has announced a proposed £350m rights issue, aiming to use the funds to help pay down debt.Precise details of the rights issue, which...

Punch Taverns hoping to raise £350m

15-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has announced its intention to raise £350m via a firm placing and an open offer of new ordinary shares and use the cash to make a...

Punch: We agree with many BEC points

11-Jun-2009 By The PMA Team

The boss of Punch Taverns leased division Roger Whiteside has stated that the company agrees with seven major areas of criticism within the highly...

First Lady dines at Punch pub

09-Jun-2009 By Matt Eley Matt

Licensees at a London pub were astonished when the First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters popped in for dinner. The team at Punch Taverns pub...

Punch tells licensees "long period" of change ahead

08-Jun-2009 By James Wilmore

Punch Taverns has written to its licensees admitting it has a "long period of change ahead" in its bid to build more trust with tenants and lessees....

Punch Taverns rebrands pub operations

08-Jun-2009 By Hamish Champ

In a surprise move Punch Taverns has changed the names of its managed and tenanted businesses.The pubco's managed operation, formerly known as Spirit...

Punch: tied model needs to evolve

08-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch has admitted that the tied model must evolve to offer greater protection for its tenants, in a letter to its licensees. Punch tenanted boss...

Punch boosts training regime

08-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch licensees have completed over 1,485 days worth of training since the new year, the pubco has said. Punch introduced its "Your Development...

Punch tells MPs beer tie probe would be a "waste of time and resources

04-Jun-2009 By James Wilmore

Punch Taverns chief executive Giles Thorley has written to MPs arguing an investigation into beer tie would be "a waste of time and resources". In an...

Punch: 'We'll listen and change'

04-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

We are far from perfect, but we are listening and we are willing to change — that is the message from Punch Taverns as it looks to evolve its model...

Hosts 'kept in dark' as Punch sells pubs

04-Jun-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Two licensees have accused Punch of selling their pubs "behind their backs" to regional brewers while they were busy still bidding for the freeholds....

'Young's in the scramble for Punch pubs'

29-May-2009 By Matt Eley Matt

Regional brewers may be falling over themselves to snap up the pubs put up for sale by Punch Taverns but Young & Co continues to adopt a more...

Ex Punch boss: don't play the blame game

22-May-2009 By Deborah Kemp

We can only solve the trade's complex problems by working together, says former head of Punch leased division Deborah Kemp. Why, you might ask, do I...

'Punch Taverns' Giles Thorley brands BEC inquiry a "kangaroo court"'

17-May-2009

"Faced with what Punch Taverns chief executive Giles Thorley branded the findings of a 'kangaroo court', the company's executives are preparing a...

Spirit bouncebacks are costing Punch

14-May-2009 By The PMA Team

The challenge of turning around Spirit, Punch's managed division, could be made harder by the problem of additional reversionary leases, according to...

Punch: reject Competition Commission calls

13-May-2009 By Ewan Turney

Britain's biggest pubco Punch Taverns has called on the Government to reject calls for a market investigation by the Competition Commission. Punch...

Punch unveils value wine list

11-May-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has launched a new wine list designed to appeal to consumers seeking value for money. The new wine list, which launches on 11 May,...

Former Punch estates manager joins Paramount

11-May-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Former Punch Taverns estate development manager David Pepper has joined pub sales agent Paramount Investments in a move designed to build...

Openness is Punch's policy

08-May-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has outlined a strikingly frank view of the harsh forces buffeting its tenanted division. The PMA Team gives his view.

Shepherd Neame buys 13 Punch pubs for £15m

08-May-2009 By Hamish Champ

Shepherd Neame, the Kent brewer, has announced it has bought 13 freehold pubs from Punch Taverns for £14.9m in cash. The pubs, three managed and 10...

Punch sells 23 pubs to tenants

07-May-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Punch Taverns says 1,000 of its tenants have expressed an interest in buying the freehold of their pub, but so far 23 deals have gone through. That's...

JW Lees buys 10 pubs from Punch Taverns

06-May-2009 By Hamish Champ

Manchester brewer and pub operator JW Lees has bought 10 freehold pubs from Punch Taverns, the largest single acquisition by the group for more than...

Punch and Enterprise pass on duty hike to licensees

05-May-2009 By James Wilmore

The UK's two biggest pub operators are passing on the Budget duty hike to their licensees, the companies have confirmed. Punch Taverns and Enterprise...

Punch denies appointment of advisers

05-May-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has denied reports that it is looking to appoint financial advisers to oversee a restructuring process. A report in the Daily Express...

Punch: we need to evolve our model

29-Apr-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns leased pub business model needs to evolve, new head of the division Roger Whiteside has told City analysts. It is estimated that 20% of beer volumes have been lost in the sector in the past 18 months.

Punch Taverns: trading has stabilised

29-Apr-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has reported that trading has stabilised in its leased and managed divisions. The company has also repaid, in the first 35 weeks of its...

Punch's profits plummet

29-Apr-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has announced its pre-tax profits for the 28 weeks to March 7, 2009 slumped by more than a third.Earnings before interest, tax,...

'Punch Taverns to report slump'

27-Apr-2009

Punch Taverns: The embattled pub company is expected to report a 40 per cent slump in first-half pre-tax profits, but analysts believe that the...

Punch pub sales likely to continue

27-Apr-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch is set to sell a package of six pubs to Geronimo Inns, according to reports. The Independent reports that Geronimo has secured around £10m...

Freehold discount for ex-Punch host

17-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A former Punch tenant who bought his pub's freehold managed to negotiate a 20% discount off the asking price. Dean Pearsall, of Saltwells Inn,...

Punch hits back at new GMB claims

16-Apr-2009

Punch has hit back at a new set of allegations from general trade union GMB, which claims more than one in three Punch pubs have changed hands in the...

Hundreds line up for Punch pubs

16-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Around 450 individual licensees have tabled bids for their Punch pubs through a single broker, Acorn Commercial Finance. The quantity of offers...

Third of Punch pubs 'churned' in three years

15-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

One in three Punch pubs has changed hands over the past three years, says the anti-pubco GMB union as it repeats its call for the beer tie to end

Frederic Robinson buys Punch pub

08-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Frederic Robinson has bought a freehold Cheshire pub from a Punch Taverns for an undisclosed sum off a guide price of £650,000. Christie+Co,...

Punch denies seeking pub sales to Tesco

08-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

Punch has denied accusations that it is actively looking to sell its pubs for conversion into supermarkets. It said just four of its 7,500 pubs are...

Punch pub saved from Tesco — another fights on

08-Apr-2009 By Ewan Turney

A Punch pub in Warwickshire has been saved from conversion into a Tesco Metro store but another is still fighting against the same fate. The struggle...

Peach buys two Punch freeholds

06-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

The £2.85m deal comes as multiple operator Peach aims to more than double its estate and change from being food-led to 50% wet.

Peach Pub Company buys Punch pubs for £2.85m

06-Apr-2009 By Hamish Champ

Award-winning multiple operator Peach Pub Company has bought the freeholds of two pubs it leases from Punch Taverns for £2.85m.The deal to buy the...

'Punch Taverns under pressure'

27-Mar-2009

Punch Taverns: The embattled pub company faces pressure to write down the £6.5 billion value of its 8,400 pubs after selling six of its top London...

Punch Taverns sells six pubs to Fuller's for £21.1m

26-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has sold six of its London-based managed pubs to Fuller, Smith & Turner for £21.1m.The deal will be settled in cash and will see a...

Punch sells six pubs to Fuller's for £21m

26-Mar-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has sold six pubs to London brewer and operator Fuller's for £21.1m, including the flagship Red Lion in Westminster — a favourite...

Punch unveils "maximum" four per cent price hike

17-Mar-2009 By James Wilmore

Punch Taverns, the UK's largest pubco, is hiking wholesale drinks prices by "a maximum" of four per cent at the end of this month. Tenants and...

Punch Taverns tight-lipped over pub 'firesale'

13-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns was remaining tight-lipped this week as speculation grew that it was looking to sell off a number of its best performing pubs in order...

Punch sells off eight freeholds

11-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Nottingham auction has succeeded in selling the freeholds of eight Punch Taverns pubs, part of the batch of pubs previously identified for...

'Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns under fire'

10-Mar-2009

Both Punch and debt-laden rival Enterprise Inns have recently come under fire for charging tenants almost double the wholesale price for leading...

Quiz prize is a Punch pub

09-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Punch Taverns pub in the West Midlands is being raffled off in a prize draw for £25 per ticket. The leasehold of the Arbor Lights' pub in Walsall...

Punch sells two freeholds to TRG

06-Mar-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has sold two freeholds to The Restaurant Group for £1.5m — the sale is in line with the Punch policy of offering sitting tenants the chance to buy their pubs.

Punch's valuation gap

05-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A number of Punch Taverns tenants attempting to buy their pubs are finding out their offers are failing to match up with the pub company's...

Punch Taverns freezes staff pay as recession bites deeper

02-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has confirmed it is freezing pay for all staff across the company, with the exception of its frontline bar teams.The move comes as the...