Amphire acquires Barbox
04-Aug-2008 By Hamish Champ
Barbox, the online ordering service provider aimed at the independent pub sector, has been acquired by rivals Amphire UK for an undisclosed...
Cains to thrash out new rescue package with its bank
04-Aug-2008 By Hamish Champ
Cains Beer Company hopes to reach an agreement with its bankers within the next few days to stop the taxman from winding up the business next week.In...
McNamara to leave job as BII boss
04-Aug-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
BII chief executive John McNamara is stepping down after six-and-a-half years in the job. After working out his notice and helping the search for a...
04-Aug-2008 By John Harrington
Amphire, the provider of e-commerce and purchasing services to the hospitality and foodservice industries, has bought Barbox, the leading online...
'Health campaigners condemn Luminar's 80p-a-drink plan'
03-Aug-2008
A nightclub chain which has slashed the price of its drinks to 80p has been condemned as "irresponsible" by health campaigners. Pub and club giant...
01-Aug-2008 By The PMA Team
Two major managed pub companies, Yates's operator Town & City Pubs and Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), have taken disciplinary action against staff after food hygiene lapses uncovered in a BBC documentary.
Leading trade union weighs into Spirit Group staff contracts row
01-Aug-2008 By Hamish Champ
Trade union Unite has condemned plans by Spirit Group to create a single set of terms and conditions for more than 600 of the pub operator's...
Cains still in crisis talks with banks
01-Aug-2008 By Hamish Champ
Troubled Cains Beer Company remains in crisis talks with its bankers as it seeks to avoid being wound up by the taxman over an unpaid tax bill.Her...
Prince Charles visits first ever Pub is the Hub project
01-Aug-2008 By James Wilmore
The first ever pub to benefit from the Pub is the Hub initiative received a boost in trade yesterday thanks to a royal visit. Prince Charles, patron...
Whitbread: All tips go to staff
01-Aug-2008
Whitbread has defended its record on service charges in the wake of the government's call for pubs and restaurants to distribute all tips to...
31-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
The managed pub sector is using its scale to hold prices or offer sharper discounts to grab market share from an under-pressure tenanted sector, says The PMA Team.
31-Jul-2008 By Peter Linacre
Lately, tales of woe seem to be gaining credibility, says GlassHouse chief executive Peter Linacre.
31-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is to swap 21 of its hotels for 44 Whitbread pub restaurants in a straight asset swap worth £78m.
31-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) chief executive Tim Clarke has claimed that the boarding up of pubs is taking place on a "considerably greater scale" than occurred in the recession of 1990-91.
31-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
TCG Acquisitions, the managed company owned by Alchemy Partners, is preparing to split itself into as many as five different legal entities. The...
31-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
A question mark hangs over the ownership of Dawnay Day's 29.4% stake in Premium Bars & Restaurants, in the wake of the investment fund being...
Whitbread and M&B in hotel/pub asset swap
31-Jul-2008 By Hamish Champ
Whitbread has agreed to swap 21 hotels owned by Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) and currently operating as Express by Holiday Inn sites in exchange...
30-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
Highly acclaimed Scottish author and Telegraph columnist Anrdew O'Hagan has launched a scathing attack on pubs for fuelling binge drinking and...
29-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
Liverpool brewer and operator Cains is in breach of its banking covenants and executives at the Bank of Scotland are considering its future.
28-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
Trading remains challenging due to the smoking ban, weakening consumer confidence and higher costs, warns Marston's.
28-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
The award-winning Bar Sport chain, which runs four sites, has gone into administration with Butcher Woods after over-investment. Bar Sport, which...
Mark Daniels: Sounds Of The Summer
28-Jul-2008
Fond as I often appear to be of finding something to whinge about, I actually prefer good news and I've been desperately looking for something...
Hamish Champ: Do Edinburgh's troubles point the way for the rest of us?
28-Jul-2008 By Hamish Champ
Last week saw me in Edinburgh, the city where my mum was born and yes, my spiritual home.In glorious - if somewhat uncharacteristic - sunshine and in...
Marston's tenanted pub profits down as beer sales fall
28-Jul-2008 By Hamish Champ
Marston's has reported overall turnover for the 43 weeks to July 26, 2008, up two per cent on the same period last year.The group's managed pub arm...
28-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
Chancellor's alcohol duty increase has had a dramatic effect on on-trade beer sales but off-trade sales have risen once again.
'Pub chains flouting their own rules on responsible drinking'
27-Jul-2008
Pub chains are flouting their own rules on responsible drinking by selling double measures of spirits cheaper than singles, offering two-for-one...
Northern Star
26-Jul-2008
Stephen Magorrian's office sits just next to the River Lagan, the de facto border of County Down and County Antrim, right in the very heart of...
What price goodwill and loyalty?
26-Jul-2008 By Hamish Champ
Part of my job in reporting City and business news demands a degree of devil's advocacy. Take the employment contract situation at Spirit (see our...
Spirit Group plans to merge employment contracts spark staff fury
26-Jul-2008 By Hamish Champ
Proposals to replace dozens of existing Spirit Group employment contracts with a single set of terms and conditions have been condemned by staff who...
25-Jul-2008 By Roger Protz
Flavour and character, not brand or bigness, are key qualities for western beer drinkers says beer expert Roger Protz.
25-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has reported a 1.1% rise in like-for-like sales for the 10 weeks to 19 July fuelled by its value food offering.
Food sales driving M&B growth
25-Jul-2008
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has reported an increase in sales across the 10 weeks to July 19, with its succesful drive to take more share from...
MBE awarded to charitable licensee
25-Jul-2008
A licensee has spoken of her delight at being awarded an MBE for her work for charity.Pat Ost, who runs Punch Taverns pub the South Western Hotel in...
24-Jul-2008 By Andy Slee
Coca-cola Enterprises on-trade director Andy Slee gives his thoughts on how pubs have changed and are changing.
24-Jul-2008 By Andrew Pring
One of the biggest contributors to declining standards of Government has been a pathetic over-reliance on management consultants, says MA editor Andrew Pring.
24-Jul-2008 By Mark Brumby
The profitability of the average tenancy could drop by £30,000 next year requiring very expensive support from the big pubcos, argues Blue Oar Securities analyst Mark Brumby.
24-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
Herald Inns & Bars, the company headed by Julian Sargeson, has entered a pre-pack administration. A new company, Cougar Leisure, headed by...
24-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
Luminar boss Stephen Thomas has defended offering all drinks on selected nights for 80p or 90p. The company is trialling a number of discount...
24-Jul-2008 By The PMA Team
Grand Union, a company that has opened four eponymous pubs in London focused on a quality burger offer, is looking to double in size in the next 18...
Licensee takes on Opus online
24-Jul-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
A licensee who has been in an on-going saga with electricity supplier Opus Energy has taken the battle into cyberspace. Mike Lyons signed up to have...
So, so Proud!
24-Jul-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
From top MPs visiting their locals to pub staff setting sail in a raft made by customers, Proud of Pubs Week provided the perfect platform to...
Love Your Local launches in London
24-Jul-2008
Stella Artois has launched a major new campaign to celebrate pubs as the heart of the community.The Love Your Local initiative will see one lucky pub...
24-Jul-2008 By Paul Collins
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Jason Flemyng would rather be serving punters in his pub than filming in Los Angeles. At the launch of the...
24-Jul-2008 By Paul Collins
Punch Taverns says it is focusing on small and rural pubs in attempts to get reductions on business rates. These pubs have been hit hardest by the...
Fox & Grapes: Our Proud of Pubs Diary, second year running
23-Jul-2008
What a week! Exhausting but well worth the effort...MONDAY: RADIO INTERVIEW & QUIZTune into Chester's Dee 106.5 for the Gavin & Becky...
Back to Basics: Insurance for pubs
23-Jul-2008
While publicans are tightening their belts and looking for ways to reduce overheads it's important to spend a little time checking that your business...
Watch out for mass bookings scam
23-Jul-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
A quick-thinking licensee has avoided being ripped-off and wants to warn others about a potential scam. Sunnil Panjabi, of the Punch Tavern in...
Traditional pubs club together
23-Jul-2008
An award-winning licensee is breathing new life into his community by pursuing a pubwatch scheme purely for traditional pubs.Chris Saddington, who...
23-Jul-2008 By John Harrington
Pubs face tougher regulation on the way they sell alcohol after the release of new reports claiming they act irresponsibly. Restricting happy hours,...
23-Jul-2008 By Ewan Turney
The contents of beer hunter Michael Jackson's office have been donated to Oxford Brookes University. Top beer expert Michael Jackson died aged 65...
