Companies

JDW to invest €33.4m into new site – largest investment in company’s history

03-Aug-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has pumped €27.4m into developing a site in Dublin, alongside a further €6m on the purchase of the pub – totalling the equivalent of about £28m.

Interview: Licensee reflects on 35 years running his pub

03-Aug-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Licensee Paul Monk of the Bowling Green Inn on Brook Street in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, has received a prestigious award to mark his 35th anniversary at the pub.

Star Pubs & Bars negotiates supplier deals to help licensees in wake of Covid-19 pandemic

03-Aug-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Star Pubs & Bars has revealed that it has negotiated new supplier savings for its licensees as they focus on cost-cutting in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shepherd Neame ‘back on path to recovery’

30-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Kent-based brewer and pub group Shepherd Neame has reported near pre-pandemic levels of trading since reopening.

Mitchells & Butlers: Trading has been 'volatile'

29-Jul-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the operator of managed restaurants and pubs including Harvester, Toby Carvery and Nicholson's, has revealed sales have been “volatile” since full reopening on Monday 17 May.

Marston’s: Trading has been ‘better than our expectations’

28-Jul-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Pub group Marston’s has revealed that trading since the relaxation on Monday 17 May has been “better than expectations”.

Mark Davies resigns as NewRiver CFO but remains CEO of Hawthorn

28-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Current boss of Hawthorn Mark Davies will relinquish his position of parent company NewRiver’s chief financial officer (CFO) with immediate effect but will remain head of the pub business.

Robinsons paid more in tax in 2020 than it received in Government support

27-Jul-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Robinsons, the Stockport based brewer and pub company, has revealed it paid more in tax to the Government in 2020 than it received in pandemic support.

Admiral acquires Hawthorn for £222.3m

26-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Hawthorn, the Community Pub Company has been sold to Admiral Taverns for an expected gross aggregate cash consideration of about £222.3m, taking the latter’s estate to more than 1,600 sites.

MA's review of the week

‘Pingdemic’ staff shortages pose question over which pubs to ‘sacrifice’

23-Jul-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser’s Ed Bedington and Liberation Group’s Jayson Perfect reflect on a week’s worth of pub sector headlines following ‘Freedom Day’ on 19 July.

‘Our job is to put the party back into people’s lives’

22-Jul-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Stonegate Group’s operations director for its late-night division has said venues still have a responsibility to reduce the spread of Covid, as the sector is finally freed of legal restrictions.

Pubs ‘cannot continue’ amid self-isolation shortages

22-Jul-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Bosses have urged the Government to stop "dithering” and introduce a ‘test to release’ scheme to allow self-isolating workers to return to work quicker.

BrewDog’s online sales growth fails to offset bar closures

22-Jul-2021 By Dominic Allport

BrewDog has reported a pre-tax loss of £13.1m during 2020 despite achieving 10% revenue growth during 2020. The strong growth in online sales was not enough to offset the impact of bar closures.

Arc Inspirations’ trading tops pre-pandemic levels by 35%

22-Jul-2021 By The Morning Advertiser

Bar operator Arc Inspirations has revealed that trading across its 17 sites has been 35% higher than the equivalent period in 2019 since indoor trading resumed on 17 May.

Loungers’ pre-‘Freedom Day’ sales 23.7% up versus 2019 levels

22-Jul-2021 By The Morning Advertiser

According to its latest financial update, café bar operator Loungers revealed that sales across its estate of 175 venues were up by 23.7% in the nine weeks from 17 May to 18 July 2021 versus the same period in 2019.

JDW to sell 7 pubs

20-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has appointed two agents to dispose of seven of its sites in England and Wales for an undisclosed sum.

Young's post-lockdown trade nears 2019 levels

20-Jul-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Young’s has experienced trading “ahead of expectations” since pubs reopened this spring, its chairman has said.

Stonegate files £845m lawsuit against insurers

19-Jul-2021 By Georgi Gyton

Stonegate Group has filed a £845m lawsuit against its insurers: MS Amlin, Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe and Zurich, in the latest sector dispute over business interruption policies.

MA’s review of the week

Unlocked US states suggest spike as UK restrictions ease won’t be ‘exponential’

16-Jul-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington reflects on another week’s worth of headlines with hospitality investor and Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh.

Young’s sells 56 sites to Punch for £53m

12-Jul-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Young’s has announced it is to sell most of its tenanted pubs to Punch for £53m.

MA'S REVIEW OF THE WEEK

‘I’d love to see the media brought into the Covid-19 public inquiry’

09-Jul-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington speaks with Rekom UK’s Peter Marks to reflect on some of the week's biggest headlines.

Fuller’s ‘perfectly placed’ to benefit from return to normal life

09-Jul-2021 By Finn Scott-Delany

Fuller’s has hailed a resilient performance after seeing its revenues fall by 77% in a year dominated by lockdowns, according to reports by MCA Insight.

Opinion

‘Freedom Day’: ‘After numerous false promises, I will only believe it once I see it’

08-Jul-2021 By Kate Stewart, the Sandon, Liverpool

Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday (5 July) was obviously a positive one for the hospitality industry and many others who have been repeatedly devastated by the ongoing restrictions and lockdowns that have been imposed on our country.

JDW to increase food prices by 40p per meal

07-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon will be increasing the price of its food by 40p per meal when the VAT rate increases to 12.5% later this year, it announced in a trading update.

Inception Group: isolating staff is 'number one concern'

07-Jul-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Recovery for Inception Group’s central London sites will not be “an overnight big bang,” according to the group’s co-founder.

Local on-trade partnerships can stimulate ‘accelerated growth’ amid pandemic recovery

06-Jul-2021 By Stuart Stone

Smaller, like-minded, regional businesses joining forces will become a more common on-trade feature as the economy recovers from its Covid symptoms, according to Salcombe Brewery chairman John Tiner.

Petition to pay JDW staff double on bank holidays reaches 50k signatures

06-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

A petition to permit workers to earn double pay on bank holidays at JD Wetherspoon (JDW) pubs has received more than 50,000 signatures.

Opinion

Isolation notices: The shark in the shallows

06-Jul-2021 By Tim Tomlinson, operator of the White Cross, Merchants 1688, the Stonewall Tap, Lancaster, Lancashire

I am sure everyone in the sector is extremely happy about the news we will be allowed to open more or less as normal from 19 July.

Reopened Revolution Bars trading at 86% of 2019 levels during roadmap

05-Jul-2021 By Stuart Stone

Revolution Bars Group’s 66 sites have traded at almost 90% of 2019 levels since resuming indoor trade, according to an update ahead of the operator’s year end date on 3 July.

MA's Review of the Week

‘Staying open is a challenge’

02-Jul-2021 By Ed Bedington

This week’s headlines highlight the ongoing staffing challenges faced by the sector alongside closures of venues due to self-isolation. The Morning Advertiser editor Ed Bedington also caught up with Alastair Scott, managing director of Catton Hospitality...

City Pub Group nears 2019 trading levels

28-Jun-2021 By Emily Hawkins

The City Pub Group has reported trading levels at 90% of 2019 levels since pubs opened after the third lockdown.

Exclusive

Wells & Co claimed almost £4m in furlough support

28-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Bedfordshire-based operator and brewer Wells & Co received £3.9m in furlough money across its UK and France portfolio, it has revealed.

ETM Group owners raise £4.3m to fund Maven Leisure sites

18-Jun-2021 By Emily Hawkins

ETM Group’s owners have raised a £4.3m fund to inject into central-London premium bars under the Maven Leisure group.

Rileys Sports Bars reports above expected trading

18-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Thirteen-strong multiple operator Rileys Sports Bars has announced growth of 9% compared to 2019 across its estate for the three weeks since reopening on Monday 17 May.

Indoor reopening helps Loungers to 26.6% sales boost

17-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

Nationwide café bar operator Loungers has reported that like-for-like sales during the four weeks from Monday 17 May were up 26.6% versus to the same period in 2019.

Real estate adviser appointed to sell 8 Marston's pubs for £21.6m

16-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Global real estate adviser CBRE has been appointed by Aviva Investors to sell a collection of Marston's sites worth more than £20m.

Opinion – Pride 2021

‘The role of LGBTQ venues within the community is more important than ever’

11-Jun-2021 By Scott Frankham, head of media at Greene King

I first paid a visit to an LGBTQ pub when I was 18 – I’d just moved to Birmingham to start university and I was introduced to the Village Inn, a central hub of Birmingham’s gay quarter.

Opinion

Post-lockdown pub sector presents ‘once in a decade opportunity’

11-Jun-2021 By Nigel Parson director, research, Finncap

The hospitality sector is on tenterhooks over the Government’s proposed roadmap out of lockdown on 21 June – dubbed ‘Freedom Day’ – according to Nigel Parson director, research, at strategic advisory and capital raising service provider Finncap.

BrewDog and pub partners pledge 15% carbon cut in the next year

09-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

Independent brewer and bar operator BrewDog has joined forces with hospitality businesses including Brewhouse & Kitchen, Urban Village Pubs and Pub Love to work towards a carbon neutral on-trade.

Drake & Morgan CVA approved

09-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

London-based cocktail bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan’s creditors have approved a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – with 90% voting in favour of proposals.

Nightcap trading ‘significantly ahead’ of expectations

09-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

The firm behind London Cocktail Club and the Adventure Bar Group has revealed post-lockdown revenues almost matched the figures recorded during equivalent weeks in 2019.

Big Interview

The fun of expanding: ‘It's our duty to take what we love and give it to more people'

08-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

Despite leading the Adventure Bar Group into uncharted territory – in every sense – during a transformative pandemic year, co-founder Tobias Jackson explains that with new owner Nightcap eyeing nationwide expansion it’s far from journey’s end.

‘Crucial’ that Gov bases decisions on science, not media speculation, says Hawthorn boss

03-Jun-2021 By Stuart Stone

Giving an update on the pub company’s performance, Hawthorn CEO Mark Davies has stressed the importance of an “evidence-based approach” to the lifting of pandemic restrictions on Monday 21 June.

Tim Martin claims most businesses would support visa system for EU workers

02-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) boss Tim Martin has suggested most hospitality firms would be likely to be in favour of a preferential visa scheme for European Union workers to tackle the recruitment issues in the sector.

MA's review of the week

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