Companies

Pub staff raise £680k for cancer charity in just one month

18-Jun-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Staff at Greene King pubs have raised well over half-a-million pounds for a cancer charity in a month after teams organised swimathons, long distance cycle rides and music festivals.

New pubco ‘doesn’t see the value in opening sites in London’

17-Jun-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

The co-founder of new pub company Prospect Pubs & Bars is aiming to open sites outside of the M25 because of high property prices in London.

Changing trends forces GBPA winner to close

14-Jun-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

A former Great British Pub Awards winner is shutting its doors because it “has become uneconomical to continue trading”.

Redcomb Pubs founders plough £1.75m into new venture

12-Jun-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

The two founders of Redcomb Pubs have launched a new pub group and its first acquisition of a freehold site for £1.75m.

Loungers hits ‘exciting milestone’ with 150th site

12-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

The operator behind the Lounge and Cosy Club brands has today (12 June) unveiled its 150th venue – its 11th new site since the start of 2019.

Beds & Bars to invest £7.5m in new and existing venues

11-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

The operator of hostels, bars and pubs across 10 cities in seven countries, Beds & Bars, is planning to treble the amount spent on new and existing sites during its next financial year.

Liberation Group appoints new chiefs at Butcombe Brewery

10-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

Channel Islands and West Country-based pub company Liberation Group has recruited a new managing director and a new sales director for Butcombe Brewery.

Trio agrees deal to upgrade 161 fan-friendly pubs

10-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

Ei Publican Partnerships, Molson Coors and Sky Sports have agreed a partnership that will see them deliver bespoke sports experiences across Ei’s estate of leased and tenanted pubs.

A look into Berkeley Inns

10-Jun-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

Derbyshire-based pub group Berkeley Inns has only been running for five years but, with five sites under its belt already, the business looks set to soar with its future plans

MA500

The Manchester study tour: the great sites MA500 members visited at night

10-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone & Nicholas Robinson

The MA500 crowd took to the streets of Manchester to see what the city had to offer

Top 50 Gastropub chef wins best chef gong

10-Jun-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

A Suffolk pub chef has fought off stiff competition to bag victory at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2019.

Chris Jowsey to head up Admiral Taverns

06-Jun-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Heineken’s head of on-trade Chris Jowsey has been announced as current Admiral Taverns' chief executive Kevin Georgel’s successor next month.

Loungers hits £153m revenue in the last 12 months

06-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

The operator of behind 148 Cosy Club and Lounge bar sites across the UK revealed a £31.9m year-on-year increase in revenue during the 52 weeks ended 21 April.

Investigation after Fuller's bouncer seen kicking homeless man

05-Jun-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Fuller’s has asked its security firm to investigate after a video showing one of its door staff kicking and chasing a homeless man outside one of its London pubs drew criticism.

Apprentice-brewed Greene King beer launches nationwide

03-Jun-2019 By Stuart Stone

A beer brewed by apprentices at Greene King is to be rolled out across the brewer and operator’s nationwide estate of pubs.

London pub’s £4m National Lottery-funded transformation

03-Jun-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Historic south London pub the Fellowship and Star in Bellingham will reopen later this month following £4m makeover funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Migration reform ‘needs to go further’ to support hospitality

31-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Recommendations to relax migration restrictions for jobs with skills shortages would not do enough to help the hospitality sector, trade bodies have claimed.

Marston’s pulls cask ale from its Scottish pubs

30-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Operator and brewer Marston’s is removing cask ale from all but one of its Scottish managed sites and replacing the lines with keg beers.

Community and pubs join forces to help family of fire-damaged pub

30-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Local pubs and residents of Horley have teamed up to demonstrate community power after a fire at the historic Ye Olde Six Bells left a family living above the pub homeless.

Fire devastates M&B Vintage Inns site

29-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Customers had their meals and drinks cut short as a fire broke out at one of Mitchells & Butlers Vintage Inns sites in Horley, Surrey, on Tuesday (28 May) evening.

NewRiver aims for £2.8m spend on pub projects

24-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Following what NewRiver’s CFO Mark Davies described as a “pretty eventful” year – both he and Hawthorn Leisure’s CEO Gerry Carroll believe that the company’s pub business is well placed to develop further.

Fancy getting paid £2,000 to review pubs in the UK?

23-May-2019 By Robert Mann

Brewer and pub operator Greene King is searching for its first event tester – who will get paid £2,000 to travel the country and taste beer.

Sales up at Young’s despite ‘tough start’ to 2019

23-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Pub group Young’s has celebrated strong annual growth, attributing a sales lift to the unexpected World Cup success and warm weather.

NewRiver income from pub portfolio increases by £9.2m

23-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

NewRiver’s pub net property income rose from £12.7m to £21.9m despite the FTSE 250 company’s overall loss of £36.9m after tax, according to its latest financial results.

Greene King launches LGBT+ network at London’s oldest gay pub

23-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Bury St Edmunds-based brewer and pub operator Greene King has officially launched LGBT+ network, The Village Greene, at what is thought to be London’s oldest LGBT+ pub.

The most popular pub names in 2019

22-May-2019 By Christopher Lowe

Ever wondered what the most popular pub names in the UK are?

Greene King probes ‘we don’t do disableds’ claim

22-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Bury St Edmunds-based brewer and pub operator Greene King is investigating an accusation that a customer at one of its pubs was refused service on the grounds of being disabled.

GBPA 2019

Is your young chef the best?

22-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

There is still a week to go before entries to the Great British Pub Awards’ Young Chef of the Year category closes.

Number of premium and all-day bars increases by 4.1%

22-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

CGA Insight and AlixPartners’ latest quarterly Market Growth Monitor has revealed the number of premium bars and licensed cafés has increased by 4.1% in the year to March 2019.

MA500

Hospitality at the heart of urban regeneration projects

20-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Who is leading the way when it comes to hospitality-centric regeneration of the UK and its high streets and how are they doing it?

Pubco Beerhouses celebrates 25 years with events series

20-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Northern pub group Beerhouses is celebrating a quarter of a century in business with a series of charity events.

MA500

Exit music – what do you need to know when it’s time to go?

20-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Building up a hospitality business is one thing, but what do you do when it’s time to cash out?

Pub openings boost TRG sales

20-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The Restaurant Group’s (TRG) pub openings contributed to a total sales boost of 57% for the first part of its financial year.

MA500

Death and drugs: how to manage a PR nightmare

20-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

A crisis can lead very quickly to bad publicity and could easily break a business if not handled in the right way, according to two public relations bosses.

Inn Collection Group taps into water bottle refill campaign

20-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

North-east-based operator the Inn Collection Group has partnered with award-winning environmental campaign Refill to slash the number of plastic bottles dumped in the world’s oceans.

MA500

How to start a comedy night – the dos and don’ts

20-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Funny man Kevin Dewsbury believes there is no great science to putting on a comedy night, but advises operators to consider the basics if they want a success on their hands.

City Pub Group year-on-year sales up 35%

20-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

The City Pub Group has provided an update on trading for the 19 weeks to 12 May and its latest acquisitions ahead of its AGM.

Big interview

When is a micropub not a micropub?

20-May-2019 By Phil Mellows

Small pub operator BeerHeadZ offers something different to the norm. Phil Ayling and Martin Johnson explain the ethos behind their tiny chain.

MA500

How to create an award-winning sports concept

17-May-2019 By Stuart Stone

Arc Inspirations’ CEO Martin Wolstencroft lifts the lid on 2019 Publican Award-winning concept The Box in Leeds.

MA500

Dan Davies outlines Rockpoint regeneration vision

16-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

After selling CPL Training last year, founder Dan Davies has launched a new venture called Rockpoint Leisure, which was founded to regenerate coastal towns.

MA500

Employee ownership – good for pubs?

16-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Allowing employees to buy into and own the pub they work in can, according to one operator immersed in the movement, help turn around struggling or closing sites.

MA500

3 operators on evolving a vegetarian offer

16-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

The trend towards reduced or no meat intake among consumers is set to continue and even grow, but getting the offer right can be tricky, explained three leading operators with a keen eye on the trend.

Pizza, Pots & Pints expands with three new sites

16-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Brewer Charles Wells has launched its Pizza, Pots & Pints brand in the East Midlands with a trio of sites.

Marston’s stockpiles £6m of Estrella ahead of Brexit

16-May-2019 By Robert Mann

Pubco Marston’s has revealed it stockpiled around £6m of Spanish lager Estrella Damm amid concerns over a no-deal Brexit.

Marston’s to open 9 new pubs in next 12 months

15-May-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Pubco Marston’s is looking to open nine new pub-restaurants and adding three new sites to its accommodation offer, its CEO Ralph Findlay told The Morning Advertiser.

Sharp’s Brewery appoints new head brewer

15-May-2019 By Robert Mann

Cornwall-based Sharp’s Brewery has announced it has a new head brewer at the helm.

Edinburgh pub honours engineers after £500k revamp

15-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

An investment of £500,000 has transformed a Scottish pub into a tribute to the country’s famous engineers, with a feature water wheel and decor made from salvaged materials.

Ei Group’s managed sites prove prosperous

15-May-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Pub giant Ei Group has delivered a 6% sales growth within its “largely wet-led” managed pub estate in the past six months.

£150k crowdfunding target to save music venue

14-May-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

A Cheshire music venue has launched a crowdfunding campaign to transform it into a community-owned venue and keep it in business.

8 in 10 chefs suffer from poor mental health

13-May-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Some 81% of UK chefs working in professional kitchens have experienced poor mental health during their careers, a new survey has discovered.