The Botany, Maryhill, Glasgow
28-Sep-2006
Pub profile A typical one-room bar with sandstone-faced tenements above it, the Botany is land-locked, apart from a small area cut into the steeply...
Minto Hotel, Edinburgh
28-Sep-2006
Outlet profile The 22-bedroom privately owned Minto, set on a main road into Edinburgh about a mile from the city centre, faces plenty of competition...
Problems arising as pubs seek variations
28-Sep-2006
As we come towards the end of the first years of the new system of licensing, holders are beginning to look at small variations to their existing...
LETTERs
28-Sep-2006
Time for bosses to have a heart Having been involved with the licensed trade for 40 years, I wonder why so many people are leaving the industry after...
The human touch is key
28-Sep-2006
Pubcos don't do enough to help licensees, we said last week following our annual survey of life at the sharp end. And what they do is often...
28-Sep-2006
"An elegant solution" was the reaction of Alistair Darby, head of Wolverhampton & Dudley's beer and brands, when Young's announced it would be...
Fortune, then LESG took a huge tumble
28-Sep-2006
A few more words on the demise of London & Edinburgh Swallow Group (LESG) seem appropriate. This is, after all, the most worrying collapse since...
Anger over Punch 30% insurance hike
28-Sep-2006 By John Harrington
Hundreds of Punch hosts face increases of up to 30% on building insurance premiums from 30 September. Punch said many pubs have been "significantly...
Five Mile House is top pub
28-Sep-2006
A Gloucestershire pub has been named pub of the year in the 25th Anniversary edition of The Good Pub Guide 2007. The Five Mile House in Duntisbourne...
27-Sep-2006 By Iain O'Neil
Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries has reported good trading but warned energy and minimum wage costs are set to rise by £5million next year.
Special agent
27-Sep-2006
You worked with Heineken when they made the decision to move brewing operations out of England back to Holland, as well as the change in ABV to five...
Bowes' ex-backer sets up new pubco
27-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
Staff working for the new company set up by former London & Edinburgh Swallow Group (L&ES) backers will be paid all outstanding wages,...
Pick of the pubs
27-Sep-2006 By James Wilmore
Being just eight miles from Stonehenge, the Kings Head in Chitterne, Wiltshire, benefits from a year-round tourist trade. The period property has...
Alcohol: the right school of thought?
27-Sep-2006
Alcohol exams for kids is one of the new initiatives designed to tackle concerns about underage drinking. Nigel Huddleston reports Ninety-six pupils...
Safe as public houses
27-Sep-2006
Graham Ridout examines a variety of systems to help protect your staff and customers - along with takings For many licensees it is hard enough to...
26-Sep-2006 By Iain O'Neil
Mitchells & Butlers has announced strong performance but warned about the impact of increasing energy costs and the minimum wage.
City Comment: Hamish Champ
25-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
Was Alan Bowes, executive chairman of the now collapsed London & Edinburgh Inns, the master of spin or merely an industry figure just doing his...
The end of the road?
25-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
A fortnight ago The Publican was alerted to the fact that things were not quite right at London & Edinburgh Swallow Group (L&ES). Insiders...
25-Sep-2006 By John Harrington
The minimum wage is in danger of spiralling out of control and threatening the viability of many small pub companies. Half of all pubs have already...
What the Sunday papers said
24-Sep-2006
The chief executive of hotel chain Travelodge is ready to call for resignation of Shaun Woodward, the minister in charge of tourism, if the...
22-Sep-2006
Administrator Ernst & Young has told London & Edinburgh licensees to contact Scottish & Newcastle if they have run out of beer. NEW COMMENT
Couple celebrate 20 years in same Manchester pub
22-Sep-2006 By James Wilmore
A Manchester couple are this week celebrating 20 years as licensees in the same Manchester pub.Hydes' licensees Michael and Sheila Reynolds are...
22-Sep-2006
A group of Inverness licensees have hit out at plans by Barracuda to convert an old city centre bank into a bar
21-Sep-2006 By Tony Halstead
Nightclubs and disco bars have lost out to pubs in the post-reform battle for trade says Tony Halstead
MyShout
21-Sep-2006
Ken Lupton says that Town Hall officials could learn a thing or two from the industry's 'can-do' approach
John Young RIP
21-Sep-2006
John Young, who died on Sunday after a long battle against cancer, was, at 85, by far the oldest and longest serving chairman in the British brewing industry. His death came in the final week of brewing in Wandsworth. Below, we reproduce selected hig
Oliver: buying out will not be tolerated
21-Sep-2006 By The PMA Team
Union Pub Company, the tenanted and leased arm of Wolverhampton & Dudley, has told its business development managers (BDMs) they must crack down...
London & Edinburgh licensees need support
21-Sep-2006
London & Edinburgh Swallow Group (L&ES) licensees have slammed the company for failing to help them as it slid into administration. The...
Licensee opens door to police
21-Sep-2006
A landlord in Blackburn, Lancashire, has opened his doors to the police in the hope it will improve communication between his regulars and community...
21-Sep-2006 By John Harrington
Licensees who plan ahead and make the best use of their resources will survive the fall-out from the smoking ban. That is the message from licensees...
21-Sep-2006
Real ale may grow on trees Real-ale drinkers are helping to restock dwindling British woodlands. By giving away 665 English oak trees to real-ale...
Time to reflect on LTC progress
21-Sep-2006
The Licensed Trade Charity's annual conference next month offers a packed business agenda - plus two superb evening functions
21-Sep-2006 By Andrew Pring
Our annual survey of how licensees are feeling about their businesses and their pub companies highlights what a tough time many are having. Half of...
21-Sep-2006 By Graham Ridout
High-street operator Regent Inns is turning away business potentially worth around £4m per year in pursuit of its responsible retailing campaign....
BarTalk
21-Sep-2006
Do you think there should be a deposit scheme for beer barrels, to avoid them being stolen?
20-Sep-2006
Leading trade bodies accuse the Welsh Assembly of not 'thinking through' its early smoke ban announcement. NEW COMMENT
Licensees declare lollipop campaign a success
19-Sep-2006
Two licensees in Montrose, Scotland, have armed themselves with a new weapon in the ongoing battle against alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour -...
Turnover falls at Ultimate Leisure
19-Sep-2006
Ultimate Leisure has reported a 10 per cent fall in turnover as it continues to face tough conditions for late night operators.The company is seeing...
19-Sep-2006
Pubs are being warned to prepare for changes to the Noise Act which could see noisy pubs hit with £5,000 fines. From next month, the Act has been...
What the Sunday papers said
18-Sep-2006
Sunday papers 17.9.06The former business partner of Alan Bowes, chairman of the collapsed hotels and pubs company Swallow Group has bought more than...
18-Sep-2006
A NHS Trust in Manchester is to target pregnant women who drink in a series of adverts in pub toilets. The ads, which ask "Are you pregnant or...
Sometimes the mighty fall…
15-Sep-2006
A mate of mine has been asked to work on a temporary basis for a Football League club (I'd better not name them - let's just say they're a couple of...
From Liverpool with love
15-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
Timing, as they say, is everything. A few years ago brothers Sudaghara and Ajmail Dusanj turned up at Ludgate House on London's South Bank to pitch...
Prepared to be pragmatic
15-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
When JD Wetherspoon (JDW) revealed its annual results recently - and the impact of the Scottish smoking ban - shares in the chain fell four per cent...
Onwards and upwards
15-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
To suggest it has been an 'interesting' year for Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) would be an understatement. Having seen off the advances of one R....
City comment: Hamish Champ
15-Sep-2006 By Hamish Champ
JD Wetherspoon's results encapsulate the concerns of those who fear a smoking ban. Sales in its non-smoking Scottish pubs are dipping and margins...
14-Sep-2006
The Association of London Government (ALG) has denied rumours it has asked the Government to introduce a "plate tax" to help local authorities raise funds.
MyShout
14-Sep-2006
Barry Gillham says that pubcos need to resolve rent disputes quickly and cheaply
Yule cheer
14-Sep-2006
Beer comes into its own in the festive season, says Sue Nowak, and with the many seasonal brews there's something to pair with most Christmas dishes
Mood brightens as JDW sales momentum grows - Comment
14-Sep-2006 By The PMA Team
Last Friday's JD Wetherspoon press conference was the most bullish results briefing held by the company in a number of years. I remember a...
