Companies

Ei to invest £1.4m in new Craft Union site

22-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

Ei Group is set to transform the Grade II-listed Wakefield & Barnsley Union Bank building on Westgate, Wakefield, in its latest Craft Union venue.

Ei partners with prison restaurant charity

21-Feb-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Ei Group is to help offenders qualify for work as chefs in the pub business after their release, in a partnership with a charity focused on reducing re-offending rates.

£1m revamp at former 'cannabis factory' pub

20-Feb-2019 By Robert Mann

A disused pub that was raided by police after a tip-off it was a site for cannabis production is set to reopen following a big investment.

Revere Pub Company to open 15th site

19-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

The premium arm of pub company Marston’s, has revealed plans to open the Lazy Pig in the Pantry in Chesham, Buckinghamshire.

Back-of-house pay rises while front falls

19-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Average salaries for kitchen staff in London increase by 14.8% in 2018, according to new analysis data.

Punch pub reopens after £380k investment

19-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

The Rising Sun pub in Bath, Somerset, has reopened as the Claremont following a £380,000 revamp.

MA at 225

‘We started selling beer from our living room and now we have a pub’

19-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Minnie Miggins and her husband Frank launched London’s Old Moon in the 1830s. While recent changes in law have thrown a few hurdles in the way of the business, new styles of beer and increasing footfall have seen things go from strength to strength.

Star launches leased and tenanted business booster

18-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Heineken-owned pubco Star Pubs & Bars has announced a raft of new tools to help tenants and lessees increase sales.

Bake Off’s Candice Brown on work experience at Kerridge’s Coach

18-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Great British Bake Off 2016 winner Candice Brown was spotted on work experience at Tom Kerridge’s Michelin-starred the Coach, Marlow, last week in preparation for opening her own gastropub.

Pubs see January sales slump worsen

18-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Managed pub and restaurant sales fell in January 2019, following a strong Christmas, according to new figures.

MA500

Businesses must blame themselves for poor trade, says McVeigh

15-Feb-2019 By Robert Mann

With the casual-dining market recently experiencing upheaval and challenges, experienced pub operator Charlie McVeigh says losing sight of their customer is the reason businesses are suffering.

MA500

Ei looks to boost managed portfolio by 15 pubs

14-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Ei Group is seeking partners outside London to open three pubs per year, for the next five years, to its Managed Investments division of the business.

Great British Menu chef bids to transform closed pub

12-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

TV chef Matt Gillan has launched a crowdfunding campaign to turn a West Sussex pub into a “hospitality retreat”.

Stonegate plans more ‘targeted’ acquisitions

12-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Stonegate will seek more acquisitions in the year ahead, after growing its portfolio to almost 800 sites, the pub company’s latest financial results state.

Second site for the Swan

11-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Operators of the award-winning Swan in Bampton, Devon, are taking on a former bakery and turning it into a restaurant.

Award-winning freehouse on sale for £900k

11-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

After 15 years of ownership, husband and wife team Ashley and Kelly McCarthy have decided to sell the Ye Old Sun Inn, Colton, North Yorkshire, for £900,000 to pursue “numerous other business interests”.

Inn Collection Group ‘pubs with rooms’ portfolio hits double figures

11-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

North-east UK-based operator, The Inn Collection Group has expanded to 10 sites with the purchase of the Queens Hotel in Ambleside, Cumbria – its second property in the Lake District.

MA at 225

14 pubs of historical significance

11-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

For as long as modern society has been shaped by pivotal decisions, there have been pubs for those wielding power to ponder them in.

MA500

Kate Nicholls: is Brexit worth it?

08-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls will be revealing where we are at with Brexit and what the pub sector should expect with the various scenarios on the horizon, when she addresses MA500 at Stamford Bridge, west London, this week (13 Feb). Here...

Cornish pub handed award after sheltering stranded motorists

08-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

The Jamaica Inn in Cornwall has been presented with a special welfare award by Highways England after it provided a safe haven for motorists trapped in heavy snow.

Ei Group to convert 62 more tenanted and leased sites to managed pubs

07-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

In a trading update for the 18 weeks to 2 February 2019, Ei Group set out plans to expand its estate of managed pubs to 460 sites.

MA500

MA500 London study tour

07-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

The all-important study tour for the MA500 business club in London this month (February) can now be revealed.

Greene King smashes £5m target for Macmillan Cancer Support

06-Feb-2019 By Robert Mann

Greene King has raised a staggering £5m for Macmillan Cancer Support – in just six years.

NewRiver completes Hawthorn Leisure integration

05-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Retail estate investment business NewRiver has announced it has finished the integration of the Hawthorn Leisure pub and leisure business, eight months after its acquisition.

Charles Wells to double size of UK managed estate

05-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Last year saw Charles Wells move forward with a huge rise in profit and a dedication to investment. The group reveals what is in store over the next 12 months

The Old Spot Pub Company to open two new venues

05-Feb-2019 By Stuart Stone

The Old Spot Pub Company, an Ei Managed Investments venture, is poised to open two new venues in the next month.

Project plans to address harassment in hospitality

05-Feb-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A platform aimed at holding industry employers accountable on issues of harassment and discrimination will launch at the end of next month.

Greene King vows to improve social mobility

01-Feb-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Pubco Greene King has pledged to challenge the barriers of social mobility and provide a commitment to create the best opportunities from all backgrounds in hospitality, a new report has revealed.

Pub puts up over 100 snow-trapped travellers in makeshift beds

01-Feb-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

A Cornwall pub came to the rescue of more than 100 people yesterday (Thursday 31 January) by taking in travellers trapped by heavy snow – an act that undeniably shows the true spirit of the great British pub.

Heineken invests record £2.2m in pub upgrade

30-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

Heineken and the East London Pub Co have completed a £2.2m investment in the Gun in Spitalfields, London – the brewer’s largest ever investment in a single pub from its Star Pubs & Bars estate.

Pub announces foodbank partnership

30-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

The Jolly Brewers in Shouldham Thorpe, Norfolk, has announced a partnership with King’s Lynn Foodbank to tackle the pub’s edible food waste output.

Table for two? JDW unveils ‘luxury’ £20 Valentine’s Day meal

30-Jan-2019 By Robert Mann

JD Wetherspoon is playing matchmaker this year by bringing back its £20 Valentine’s Day meal for two – that's perfect for lovebirds.

Dan Doherty leaves Royal Oak pub after misconduct allegations

30-Jan-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Gastropub chef Dan Doherty has left the Royal Oak in Marylebone, central London, following accusations of sexual harassment by staff.

Stonegate’s biggest deals: a timeline of the pubco

30-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

Formed in 2010 by private equity firm TDR Capital to acquire 333 pubs from Mitchells & Butlers, Stonegate Pub Company has acquired 88 sites in the past six months – growing its portfolio to 772 sites nationwide.

Ei expands school leavers scheme

29-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Ei Group has increased its training scheme to encourage school leavers into working in the pub sector.

JDW staff claim Brexit materials are ‘exploitative’

29-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

JD Wetherspoon employees have formed a group to protest the pubco chairman’s advocacy of a no-deal Brexit within his pubs, arguing “migrants don’t drive down wages; but wealthy, exploitative bosses like Tim Martin do”.

Coach & Horses opposes 'vanilla managed makeover'

28-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The licensee behind the famous Coach & Horses pub in Soho has pushed back against Fuller’s intentions to take over the lease, saying regulars “don’t want or need a vanilla managed makeover”.

Brexit has 'raised the stakes' for pubs in 2019, says Clive Watson

25-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

Speaking to The Morning Advertiser after City Pub Group's latest trading statement, chairman Clive Watson discusses what impact Brexit, veganism and the decline of casual dining could have on pubs.

Spencer to replace Pavli at Punch

25-Jan-2019 By MCA

Paul Pavli is to leave his role as managing director of operations at national pub operator Punch, MCA has learnt.

Pleisure launches 'plucky' beer in lease campaign

25-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A licensee hopes a locally-brewed beer will raise awareness of his campaign for a lease renewal from Ei Group.

Cornish pub awarded £50,000 from Government’s Coastal Revival Fund

23-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

A project by The Peninsula Trust to revive the Old Ship Inn in Cawsand, Cornwall, following a fire has been awarded £50,000 from the Government’s Coastal Revival Fund.

Farmhouse Inns offer free cake for 'designated pushchair drivers' after radio plea

23-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

‘Designated pushchair drivers’ pulled away from meals to soothe young children will receive consolation in the form of free cake when they visit any Greene King Farmhouse Inns site, following a call from radio presenters.

Stonegate acquires Fever Bars and more sites from Novus Leisure

23-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

Stonegate Pub Company has announced the acquisition of Bar Fever Ltd (Fever Bars) and six sites from Novus Leisure – both for undisclosed sums.

Young’s acquires Redcomb Pubs for £34m

23-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

The operator behind 15 sites across London, the Home Counties and the south-west, Redcomb Pubs, has been sold to Young’s for £34m.

Marston's curtails expansion to reduce debt

23-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Marston’s has scaled back plans to expand in a bid to slash its debt over the next few years, outlined in its latest trading report.

Wetherspoon to open up to 10 new pubs

23-Jan-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Tim Martin plans to open up to 10 new Wetherspoon sites this financial year, after opening two earlier and selling six.

Almost a quarter of NewRiver sites are pubs

21-Jan-2019 By Nikkie Sutton

Some 671 pubs now account for 22% of NewRiver’s total portfolio, it has announced in its third quarter trading update.

MA500

Met Police Detective Sergeant on how to tackle pub drug problems

18-Jan-2019 By Ed Bedington

MA500 operators will be hearing from a night czar and television stars – and more – when they meet at Chelsea’s Premier League football ground in London next month.

Ei remains quiet on sale details

17-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

One of the UK's largest pub operators Ei Group has remained quiet on the details of its recent £348m property sale, but "will communicate with publicans" soon.

City Pub Group increases annual turnover by 22%

16-Jan-2019 By Stuart Stone

The City Pub Group has revealed total turnover of £45.6m for the 52 week period to 30 December 2018 – a year-on-year increase of approximately 22% – in its latest trading statement.