17-Aug-2006 By Tony Halstead
Fewer than 50 Punch licensees have exercised their right to jettison the beer tie which would enable them to negotiate lucrative free-trade prices...
Comment: Survival of the fittest
14-Aug-2006
Take a look around the Broad Street/Brindley Place area in Birmingham these days and you will find a plethora of high street names all competing for...
Keen to do a proper job
14-Aug-2006 By Hamish Champ
It's past midnight on a Wednesday in mid-July and the streets circling the Central, St Austell Brewery's snazzy bar in the middle of Newquay, are...
City Comment: Hamish Champ
14-Aug-2006 By Hamish Champ
Recently the brewer had written to the Competition Commission - currently investigating the trading practices of the supermarket giants - to suggest...
Closure order is revoked on Sussex pub
14-Aug-2006
A licensee in Sussex has been left out of pocket despite the decision to suspend his licence being revoked.Joseph Williams, licensee of the Sportsman...
What the Sunday papers said
14-Aug-2006
Alcohol could carry compulsory cigarette packet-style health warnings under plans to tackle excessive consumption. The European Commission is calling...
Inn Direct forced to close after 'misleading' clients
10-Aug-2006 By The PMA Team
Pub industry is plagued by rogue recruitment firms, claims Insolvency Service investigator
10-Aug-2006 By The PMA Team
Greene King executive directors shared a bonus pool of £1.026m in the 2005/2006 financial year, according to the company's annual report. The pool...
Licensees conned by Inn-Direct continue to contact The Publican
10-Aug-2006
Scores of publicans say that they have been ripped off by rogue recruitment company Inn-Direct, which was wound-up by the Department of Trade and...
Licensees optimistic about the future, says The Publican's Market Report
10-Aug-2006
Licensees are in an optimistic mood, according to The Publican's Market Report 2006.Despite what has been one of the most crucial years in the...
Change of venue leads to GBBF triumph
10-Aug-2006
The new Earls Court venue for the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) has been hailed a great success. The eagerly anticipated change of venue from...
Fuller's buoyant as bold statement reaps reward
10-Aug-2006
It's a full nine months since London brewer Fuller's added Gale's 111-strong pub estate to its London-centred business. One senior pubco boss...
Licensee claims poker victory
09-Aug-2006 By James Wilmore
A Gloucestershire licensee is claiming victory in his fight to allow poker to be played in his pub - despite not having a local authority permit....
09-Aug-2006
Paul Symonds, former MD of Spirit Group's Pubs and Bars division, has been announced as the new chief executive of Laurel. He will report to Laurel...
08-Aug-2006
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has slammed proposals to introduce Europe-wide restrictions on alcohol sales which could increase prices...
Westminster restricts pub openings
07-Aug-2006
Westminster City Council is to use planning laws to restrict new pub openings and to encourage more restaurants and cafes in the West End. In its new...
What the Sunday papers said
07-Aug-2006
Police have seized more than 500 fake identity cards from children trying to buy alcohol in a Cornish resort plagued by raucous public school pupils....
07-Aug-2006 By Iain O'Neil
This week sees the launch of the first BII - professional body for the licensed retail sector - Responsible Alcohol Retailing Week. The week will...
04-Aug-2006 By Iain O'Neil
Westminster Council has announced plans to ban any new pubs or bars from opening in London's West End.
04-Aug-2006 By Iain O'Neil
The trade has attacked a report by the Centre for Public Health which says England is a nation of binge-drinkers. The figures, released today and...
03-Aug-2006 By Lucy Britner
Pubco claims Van de Berg dishonestly used information from its position as exclusive advisor.
03-Aug-2006 By The PMA Team
Managed operator Mitchells & Butlers is to convert 11 of its newly acquired 239 Whitbread venues to a new steakhouse brand. The company has been...
Oldham licensees still without certificates
03-Aug-2006
Oldham council has yet to issue a single premise licence certificate, eight months after the legislation came into place.The council is blaming...
Pub cooks shine in WorcesterChef contest
03-Aug-2006
The growing influence of pub food in our national cuisine has been spotlighted by the success of two pub cooks in the 2006 Lea & Perrins...
Teenager given six years for killing publican
02-Aug-2006
The teenager who killed a South Gloucestershire licensee by running him over has been jailed for six years. Alexander Dix, 19, from Chipperfield...
02-Aug-2006 By Graham Ridout
A leading bar operator has warned that the use of false ID cards is escalating.Ultimate Leisure executive chairman Mark Jones said: "It has increased...
What the Sunday papers said
30-Jul-2006
Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) has complained to the Competition Commission about supermarkets selling cheap alcohol in order to attract...
City Comment: Hamish Champ
27-Jul-2006 By Hamish Champ
The Publican's City desk would like to pass on its congratulations to Messrs Turner, Emeny and Roberts over at west London brewer Fuller's regarding...
A brand with bite
27-Jul-2006 By Hamish Champ
Pulling back from a planned stock market flotation can be cause for a few raised eyebrows, but Karan Bilimoria, who as a 27-year-old accountant...
The Crehan verdict
27-Jul-2006
The "big man wins again" was how licensee Bernie Crehan summed up the loss of his landmark court case in a statement last week. The licensee had...
Heatwave brings problems for pubs
27-Jul-2006
While the hot weather has brought soaring profits for many pubs, licensees have also been experiencing some unexpected problems.The continuing...
Smallest pub in the world?
26-Jul-2006
The Signal Box Inn at Cleethorpes, in Lincolnshire, opens this weekend claiming to be the smallest pub in the world. The pub, which measures eight...
Michael Turner gets top job at Fuller's
25-Jul-2006 By Hamish Champ
Michael Turner, Fuller Smith & Turner's chief executive, is to become the brewer's executive chairman when Anthony Fuller retires at next year's...
25-Jul-2006 By Iain O'Neil
CAMRA has said it is disappointed London Underground has axed a series of spoof tube adverts for next month's Great British Beer Festival. The ads,...
25-Jul-2006 By Iain O'Neil
Scottish licensees call emergency meeting with their MSP to discuss the effects of the smoking ban. NEW COMMENT
25-Jul-2006
Fuller's has reported a good start to the year but says chairman plans to retire next year.
City Comment: Hamish Champ
24-Jul-2006 By Hamish Champ
Operating drinking establishments on the nation's high streets is not for the faint-hearted. Regent Inns's Bob Ivell suggested as much this week,...
What the Sunday papers said
24-Jul-2006
A leading US hotel and property group is believed to be interested in launching a £3bn bid for Whitbread. Starwood Capital, which is understood to...
21-Jul-2006 By Iain O'Neil
Whitbread has this morning announced the sale of 239 pub/restaurants to Mitchells and Butlers for £497million. The deal, for 235 open pubs and 4...
Put your house in order
20-Jul-2006
If you're thinking about selling your pub, there's plenty to be done before the estate agents get involved. TONY HALSTEAD reports
Are you responsible enough?
20-Jul-2006
The MA's Responsible Drinks Retailing is returning for a third year, and we're looking to honour pubs and pubcos that are committed to the cause. JO GROBEL talks to previous winners
Watch out!
20-Jul-2006 By James Wilmore
The debate over foreign satellite systems is once again back on the radar.Earlier this month in Portsmouth, the FA Premier League (FAPL) and Media...
Licensees face up to fall out of Crehan case
20-Jul-2006
Up to 600 licensees are facing legal action from former pub company Inntrepreneur following the loss of the Bernie Crehan case yesterday. Mr Crehan...
Heat wave brings mixed fortunes for pubs
20-Jul-2006
As temperatures have soared to 34C in London and the South East pub licensees and managers have reported mixed fortunes from the exceptionally hot...
Licensees continue to contact The Publican over scams
20-Jul-2006
Floods of licensees have contacted The Publican claiming they have been ripped off by rogue advertising companies. Following the exclusive story last...
20-Jul-2006 By John Harrington
Councils should be able to choose whether applications to vary premises licences are advertised via mailshots to residents instead of in local...
High street operators report mixed fortunes
18-Jul-2006 By Hamish Champ
Regent Inns, which operates the Walkabout and Jongleurs comedy venues chains, claims to have had a good World Cup, with England remaining in the...
Charity chefs take over pub kitchen
17-Jul-2006
Aspiring chefs are being given the chance to feel the heat of running their own kitchen, as well as raise funds for good causes, by a Kent pub.The...
What the Sunday papers said
16-Jul-2006
Tadcaster brewer Samuel Smiths has told its pub landlords it expects them to serve pints of draught ale to be served with approximately a five per...
Back at the branch
14-Jul-2006
Charles Wilson is, in the nicest possible way, accosting customers as they wheel trolleys around a branch of Booker. "Sorry to interrupt you," he...
