Companies

Marston’s eyes first Isle of Wight pub

18-Jan-2012

Marston’s, the pub operator and brewer, has identified a site for its first pub on the Isle of Wight.

The challenge of vetting under-18s

17-Jan-2012 By Peter Coulson

The recent comment from an independent test-purchasing firm that pubs rely on doorstaff to vet under-18s is perhaps understandable for clubs and other entertainment venues with a strict ‘no-minors’ policy on entry.

Spirit strengthens Costa link up

16-Jan-2012

Spirit Pub Company has strengthened its link up with Costa Coffee by making the Whitbread-owned chain’s branded coffee available across its Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill brands.

BISC: Pubcos 'drinking in last chance saloon'

16-Jan-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Pubcos are “drinking in the last chance saloon” but regulation will not solve the pubco-tenant relationship, Burton MP Andrew Griffiths told MPs last week.

Greene King trials touch-screen kiosks

13-Jan-2012

Greene King has launched touch-screen kiosks — for customers to order their own food — at selected Hungry Horse outlets in a bid to speed up service.

Trade confronts tough times

13-Jan-2012 By Peter Coulson

The mature readers among you will remember the Frankie Howerd comedy vehicle Up Pompeii, in which a diminutive lady would come on crying: “Woe, woe and thrice woe!”

Admiral MD Georgel joins Dartmoor Brewery

13-Jan-2012 By Mark Wingett

Kevin Georgel, managing director of tenanted pub group Admiral Taverns, has joined the board of Dartmoor Brewery, as it prepares for the next phase in its expansion.

Stratford hosts concerned by Westfield late-night plans

13-Jan-2012 By Adam Pescod

Licensees in Stratford have voiced concerns over proposals to turn the roof of the nearby Westfield Shopping Centre into temporary corporate hospitality.

Sky issues copyright warning to licensees

12-Jan-2012 By Adam Pescod

Sky has sent a letter to non-subscribing licensees warning them the use of European decoder cards to air live Premier League football in their pubs may fall foul of copyright laws.

Arkell's decline in profit and turnover continues

12-Jan-2012 By John Harrington

Arkell’s, the Wiltshire-based pub operator and brewer, saw its decline in profits and turnover continue in the year to 31 March 2011, and warned that it’s harder than ever to return to growth.

Pub operators 'cautiously optimistic' for 2012

11-Jan-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Pub and bar operators are “cautiously optimistic” for 2012, a survey of members of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers has found.

Pure Leisure enters administration

11-Jan-2012

Pure Leisure, the Newcastle-based nightclub and bar group, has been placed into administration.

Chef wins Britain's Best Dish with chocolate tart

10-Jan-2012 By Lesley Foottit

An Aberdeenshire chef was crowned winner of ITV1’s Britain’s Best Dish: The Chefs competition.

Stein helps launch fourth Pub is the Hub community scheme

10-Jan-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Pub is the Hub is to launch its fourth local community services champions initiative for Cornwall this month.

Innserve launches Best Cellar Awards 2012

10-Jan-2012 By Adam Pescod

Innserve, the drinks dispense company, has launched its Best Cellars Awards 2012 which reward licensees who display a high level of cellar practice.

Ireland pubs face more closures

09-Jan-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Almost 1,000 pubs have closed in Ireland since 2006 and Irish publicans are warning that a further 5,000 jobs will be lost during 2012.

Licensees "want answers" over pubco-tenant relationship

06-Jan-2012

Campaign group Justice for Licensees (JfL) has sent an open letter to the Government asking it to explain the decision to maintain the tied model.

JD Wetherspoon to open 13 new sites

06-Jan-2012 By John Harrington

JD Wetherspoon, the managed pub operator, has revealed details of 13 sites it plans to open in the first three months of this year.

Punch launches new year recruitment drive

05-Jan-2012

Punch Taverns has placed adverts on the back of Carlsberg delivery trucks as part of a recruitment drive aimed at attracting potential licensees from a range of backgrounds to the company.

Minimum Pricing Could Go Horribly Wrong For Pubs

04-Jan-2012 By Mark Daniels

So that was Christmas. Another year over, a new one just begun. And all that jazz. What with the collapse of capitalism and the Mayan prophecy of doom, 2012 is stacking up to be a good year.

Ronayne takes Enterprise MD role

04-Jan-2012 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

Ian Ronayne, former operations director at Punch Taverns, has joined Enterprise Inns as a regional managing director, as part of a reorganisation of the tenanted and leased operator’s operational divisions.

Arkell's buys Enterprise pubs

03-Jan-2012 By Mark Wingett

Arkell’s, the Wiltshire-based brewer and pub operator, has acquired a pair of pubs from Enterprise Inns.

Punch extends Gamestec deal

23-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Punch Taverns has signed a two-year supply agreement with Gamestec, the country’s largest leisure machine operator.

People who work in pubs have families too

23-Dec-2011

A couple of Christmas Eves ago a family came in to our pub for lunch. The young lad was an ambulance driver enjoying a Christmas meal with his girlfriend and parents before embarking on a long shift rescuing families from turkey-related incidents, and...

Enterprise Inns raises £23.9m from 17 pubs

23-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Enterprise Inns has raised £23.9m from the sale and leaseback of a portfolio of 17 freehold pubs located across the South of England to Hermes Property Unit Trust (HPUT).

Living Ventures to roll out pub concept

23-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Living Ventures (LV), the north west-based restaurant and bar company led by Tim Bacon, is planning to invest c.£8m on new openings next year, including the rollout of its Oast House pub concept.

Snug bar sales to top £2.2m

22-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Full-year sales at Snug Bars, the up-market bar operator led by Giles Fry, are set to top £2.2m an increase of 19.5% on the previous year.

M&B opens landmark Toby/Harvester sites

22-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has opened the first dual-branded and combined sites under its Harvester and Toby Carvery brands and is set to launch its first Toby Sandwich Express unit.

Ex-Punch licensees publish book about life in pub trade

21-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

Two former Punch licensees have published a book recounting their time in the licensed trade, and giving an insight into life behind the bar.

Investigation: Stratford pubs feel the pinch from Westfield opening

20-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

Pubs in Stratford are feeling the pinch since the opening of the new Westfield shopping centre in September, with some licensees reporting a downturn of up to 70%.

Lewis ups stake in M&B again

20-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Joe Lewis, the largest shareholder in Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), has upped his stake in the managed pub operator for the second time in a week, further fuelling speculation that he will mount a further bid for the company next year.

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.

Punch warning on outlook as sales increase

16-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Punch Taverns, the tenanted and leased pub company, continued to see improvement in like-for-like trends across its core estate for the 16 weeks to 10 December, driven by its pubs in the South, which offset declines across its sites in the North, and...

Like-for-like sales up at Spirit

16-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Spirit Pub Company, the managed pub operator, has this morning reported a 6.2% increase in like-for-like sales across its managed estate for the 16 weeks to 10 December, and said it was on track to meet full year expectations.

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.

Punch licensee launches marketing service

14-Dec-2011 By Adam Pescod

A Punch Taverns multiple operator has launched a bargain marketing scheme that is helping to fill other Punch pubs with customers.

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.

Amber unveils latest openings

13-Dec-2011 By John Harrington

Amber Taverns, the fast-growing operator of wet-led freehold pubs, is to open its 72nd site on Monday after opening two outlets this week.

Sales up at Novus Leisure

12-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Novus Leisure, the privately-owned bar and club group led by Steve Richards, has reported a rise in full-year sales on the back of its pre-bookings and continued investment in its existing estate.

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...

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