Pubs Direct on defensive after 'rip-off' complaints
22-Apr-2004
Would-be licensees have slammed a York-based company for failing to give them a route into the pub market.Pubs Direct, of Piccadilly, York, has been...
Gerry Martin takes on 2nd London pub
22-Apr-2004
Pub entrepreneur Gerry Martin has taken on a second central London pub five months after opening the Springbok sports bar in Covent Garden. Martin...
Laurel honours its top pubs
22-Apr-2004
The Skyrack in Leeds, which makes £1m a year in profit, and Casa in Solihull have been named as Laurel Champion Pubs of the Year in a glittering...
Hooked, line and sinker
22-Apr-2004
It may be run today as a modern drinks business, but beer writer Roger Protz could not help feeling he was in an enchanted time warp when he visited...
Time to tackle the hidden risk
21-Apr-2004
Time is running out for compliance with the Control of Asbestos at Work regulations.Licensees now have less than a month to ensure their premises are...
Game, set, Match
20-Apr-2004
Jonathan Downey, founder of the Match bar group, is making a name for himself with his forthright views on the industry. Lorna Harrison finds out...
Wiltshire pub launches taxi service
20-Apr-2004
Licensee Peter Gill has no qualms about driving customers to drink - he can also make sure they get back safely.Peter now operates a taxi service,...
Revealed: the richest people from pubs and brewing
19-Apr-2004
The Sunday Times has published its annual list of Britain's wealthiest people.The highest placed person with a connection to the world of pubs and...
What the Sunday papers say
19-Apr-2004
The Sunday TelegraphBreath test machines are to be installed in hundreds of pubs across Britain so that drinkers can check if they are over the...
Sky crackdown angers licensee
16-Apr-2004
A licensee says Sky TV has accused him of dishonesty by asking him to sign a declaration that he will not show the satellite TV service in his...
Pub owner jailed for manslaughter
15-Apr-2004
A Kent pub owner has been jailed for 12 years for killing his accomplice when he torched his own premises. Keith Willoughby, 53, was convicted of...
BBPA's campaign call to off-trade
15-Apr-2004
by MA Reporter The British Beer and Pub Association is urging the off-trade to join its campaign to present a united front on issues affecting the...
Mushrooms' raw deal axed
15-Apr-2004
by Max Gosney Raw commercially-farmed mushrooms are safe for use in salads according to new advice from the Food Standards Agency. The Food Standards...
No half measures
14-Apr-2004
With the possibility of smoking bans high on the industry's list of worries, Lorna Harrison speaks to the director of ASH (Action on Smoking &...
Bar Med brand set for major surgery
14-Apr-2004
Bar Med, one of SFI's three core brands, is set for a major overhaul which could see the bar chain re-named.Executive chairman Stuart Lawson, who...
Licensee fights back against death threats
14-Apr-2004
A licensee who received death threats from vandals is fighting back by turning his pub into a fortress with hi-tech CCTV.Dave Powell who runs The...
Licensees 'upset' by local newspaper criticism
13-Apr-2004
Publicans Chris and Isabella Hartwell have been 'greatly upset' by criticism of their decision to ask a carer to calm down a disabled...
We operate well-run and orderly pubs'
08-Apr-2004
Ian Payne of Laurel (Morning Advertiser 1 April)criticises JD Wetherspoon for "irresponsible" pricing, yet the pub industry itself was found by...
Making
08-Apr-2004
headway ScotCo's new head injection tap was billed as the biggest innovation since the widget. John Harrington considers its impact one year on There...
Nearly 100 licensees fleeced by fraudster
08-Apr-2004
More than 100 licensees have been fleeced out of tens of thousands of pounds by the conman targeting pubs across England and Wales. The man uses...
Trade blasts Tim Martin's call for smoking ban
08-Apr-2004
JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has shocked and upset the trade by calling for an outright smoking ban in pubs.The outspoken chairman of the high...
Publican jailed after arson attack
08-Apr-2004
A Kent publican has been jailed for 12 years after a botched attempt to burn down his pub which ended in the death of his accomplice.Keith...
Sheps plugs gap in village postal services
08-Apr-2004
Kent brewer and pub company Shepherd Neame has become the first in the country to launch mobile post offices at four of its rural houses. The pubs...
So many questions.....
06-Apr-2004
Hi,I have so many questions concerning Pub Life and I don't know if anybody will be able to help me with these, but let's hope so.Firstly, I should...
The great like-for-like debate
06-Apr-2004
Like-for-like sales are the usual barometer for the health of a business. But are they valid? By Mark Stretton.It was a classic triumph of spin over...
TV chef sings pub food's praises
06-Apr-2004
"Pub food is the back bone of the UK," according to celebrity chef Phil Vickery.Mr Vickery, who is known for his passionate defence of British food...
Alphameric Wins Multi-million Order
05-Apr-2004
The Spirit Group, the largest Managed Pub Company in the UK, has selected Alphameric Hospitality to supply its next generation back office system for...
Bob Ivell out of Premier Lodge race
05-Apr-2004
Bob Ivell has dropped out of the race to buy Premier Lodge, the budget hotel chain put up for sale for £600m by Spirit Group.The former Scottish...
Ireland strife?
05-Apr-2004
The UK will be watching the effects of the fledgling smoking ban in Ireland very closely. Tom Sandham visited Dublin to see how the capital's pubs...
Wetherspoon chairman calls for smoking ban
05-Apr-2004
JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has called on the government to ban smoking in all pubs by January 2006.He said that an outright ban would be the...
What the Sunday papers say
04-Apr-2004
The Mail on SundayCasino operators banking on a gaming free-for-all are likely to be disappointed when the details of the Gambling Bill emerge on...
A lasting legacy
02-Apr-2004
Pyramid, which was once again highly commended in The Publican Awards, is a company that does not shy away from a challenge. Mark Stretton met the...
Waverley TBS poised to be top wholesaler
01-Apr-2004 By The PMA Team
Scottish Courage has confirmed plans to create the UK's number-one drinks wholesaler through the merger of its Waverley Group wines & spirits...
Scars and stripes
01-Apr-2004
It has been a year since a ban on smoking in public places was implemented in New York and mixed messages are being sent across the pond. Michelle...
01-Apr-2004
Pub chefs from around the UK battled it out to try to win the first Food & Drink Chefs of the Year contest. Here's a taste of what happened....
01-Apr-2004 By Nigel Huddleston
On a stark piece on Kent coastline sits a pub with a huge food reputation. Nigel Huddleston meets Steve Harris. Steve Harris can sit in the...
01-Apr-2004
Talented young chefs from Manchester to Merseyside will battle it out to become North West Young Chef of the Year this September. The North West Fine...
01-Apr-2004
Chef Paul Morgan of Surrey pub the Hampshire Arms - a finalist in the Food & Drink Chef of the Year competition - puts together some stunning...
Doorman cleared of assault
01-Apr-2004
Leicester Crown Court has cleared a doorman of grievous bodily harm after an incident that left a man with permanent brain damage. The defence...
JDW and Exel in £100m deal
01-Apr-2004
JD Wetherspoon has confirmed it has given a contract to logistics firm Exel to manage deliveries to its entire estate,as the Morning Advertiser...
Leeds price plan risks OFT action
01-Apr-2004 By John Harrington
Leeds, where Labour MP John Grogan helped pioneer the 24-hour city concept, has become the latest place to propose aminimum-pricing scheme. The...
Laurel and union agree on 48-hour initiative
01-Apr-2004 By Claire Hu
Laurel will work towards implementing a 48-hour working week for pub managers who request it, as part of a drive to encourage employees to "work...
Greene King out to fly the flag
01-Apr-2004
Greene King is calling on all its pub managers to apply for bar extensions on St George's Day after a court refused to recognise it as a special...
Edinburgh hosts face curfew in crackdown
01-Apr-2004 By John Harrington
Pubs and clubs in Edinburgh that fail to cut violence on their premises could be forced to close at 10pm. Cheap drinks promotions and extended happy...
Fighting fit
01-Apr-2004 By Andrew Pring
The family feud atShepherd Neame has failed to dent the Kent-basedcompany's performance. The dramas of last October's civil war did nothing to...
Feeling the heat wave
01-Apr-2004 By Tony Halstead
Pubs stand to benefit froma dining-out revolution', reports Tony Halstead. Lifestyle and leisure industry forecasters believe the "eating-out market"...
Ultimate and Urbium prosper
01-Apr-2004
Nightclubs and high-street bars have had a torrid time. Customers are no longer scrambling for admission and those still around have cut back on...
With a spring in her step
01-Apr-2004
Max Gosney catches up with tenant Bernadette Laventure as she approaches one year at the helm of the Hollybush in Redbourn and finds that food is...
Williams tells...
01-Apr-2004
Nigel Huddleston meets a head chef with a passion for quality. The first thing to note about Anthony Williams is the fact that he runs the kitchen in...
O'Neill's stays strong
01-Apr-2004
O'Neill's, the 86-strong Irish chain operated by Mitchells & Butlers, is defying claims that the Irish bar boom is over in the UK. M&B boss...
