Companies

JDW reports 3.3% increase in sales

11-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

JD Wetherspoon has reported a 3.3% increase in like-for-like sales for the 52 weeks to 26 July, with revenue up 7.4% to £1.51bn, but pre-tax profit down 2% to £77.8m.

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales slow

11-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales have slowed compared with last year, as the pub giant’s chairman criticises excessive food taxes on pubs and a leading City analyst blames a rise in casual dining.

Great British Pub Awards 2015: Winners crowned

10-Sep-2015 By Mike Berry

The Shibden Mill Inn in Halifax, West Yorkshire has been crowned the Sky Great British Pub of the Year 2015.

Chef Shortage

Emily Watkins: standard of training for chefs "no good"

10-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The standard of professional training for chefs has dropped, contributing to the industry-wide skills gap, according to Emily Watkins, chef patron of award-winning Oxfordshire pub the Kingham Plough.

Rare burger rule change ‘costly’ for pub chefs

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Serving rare burgers in UK food businesses could be expensive and remain potentially dangerous, even with new Food Standards Agency (FSA) controls in place, a leading food safety consultant has warned.

Brunning and Price to create 90 chef roles

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

More than 90 chef roles could be created by the Brunning and Price (B&P) group, after it announced plans to open three new pubs this year and buy up to six more in 2016.

Newcastle’s pub scene has ‘transformed’ – MA300 to discover

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Newcastle’s pub and bar sector has switched from venues offering cheap and plentiful drink, to one filled with “quirky” and “stylish” pubs serving great food and upmarket drinks, commentators have said ahead of the latest MA300 event.

UK's oldest gay pub becomes a listed building after destroying it labelled 'unthinkable'

09-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

The UK’s oldest gay pub has become a listed building just months after the country’s leading architects said destroying it would be ‘unthinkable.’

Fuller's hosts Chef's Guild graduation for rising kitchen stars

09-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Fuller’s has marked the achievements of chefs across its 189-site managed estate with the first graduation ceremony for Chef’s Guild scholars.

NewRiver deal

Punch sell-off: Discarded Liverpool pub approved ACV

08-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

A Liverpool pub discarded by Punch Taverns in its sell-off to NewRiver Retail has reacted swiftly to ensure the pub is protected as an Asset of Community Value.

City news

Greene King: Sales up & Spirit integration 'going well'

08-Sep-2015 By Ruth Williams, MC Allegra FS

Greene King has this morning announced that like-for-like sales across its managed retail estate grew by 1.3% in the 18 weeks to 6 September, with growth of 1.9% in the last 10 weeks.

City news

Punch agrees sale of Matthew Clark stake to Conviviality

08-Sep-2015 By Ruth Williams, MC Allegra FS

Punch Taverns has agreed to sell its 50% shareholding in drinks supplier Matthew Clark to Conviviality Brands, the Bargain Booze operator, for £100.7m.

TripAdvisor tops line-up for this month’s MA300 event in Newcastle

08-Sep-2015 By James Evison

The latest MA300 event takes place on 24 September in Newcastle and features a raft of top speakers designed to provide inspiration for multi-site pub operators.

Chef Shortage

BII chairman: "If you're working over 55 hours a week, you're not managing your staff correctly"

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chairman Anthony Pender has spoken out on the need for a more positive outlook on the ongoing chef shortage.

Woman drinks at more than 600 Red Lion pubs

07-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Lancashire woman has completed her quest to drink in every pub named the Red Lion in the UK.

Campaign group stops pub becoming McDonalds

07-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Southampton community group has taken on fast food giant McDonalds in a bit to save their local- and won.

Chef Shortage

Great British Menu star Dom Chapman: "I want a civilised bunch of chefs in the kitchen"

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training from the grass roots up and nurturing talent is fundamental to combatting the chef shortage, according to BBC2 Great British Menu star Dominic Chapman, chef patron of the Beehive, White Waltham.

Conference

Speakers revealed for Tenanted Pub Company Summit

07-Sep-2015 By M&C Allegra Foodservice

A high-class line up of speakers have been revealed for the highly anticipated Tenanted Pub Company Summit, hosted by the PMA's sister title M&C Allegra.

M&B brand Toby Carvery to attempt roast dinner world record

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Mitchells & Butlers brand Toby Carvery is attempting a Guinness World Record for the largest photo album of roast dinners.

Crowdfunding

BrewDog promises bars for towns with 200 investors

07-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

BrewDog is promising to build a bar in all towns and cities with 200 “Equity for Punks” investors as its Crowdfunding bond scheme gathers momentum.

City news

Punch sell-off: NewRiver seeks pub operator to manage sites

07-Sep-2015 By James Wallin

Real Estate Investment Trust wants an experience pub operator to manage its portfolio of pubs.

Training

Find a new leader within your ranks

04-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Teething problems are part and parcel of adding new sites to a business. But by building a good team at established sites, which is strong enough to drive growth, multiple-site operators can focus their energy on getting new sites off the ground.

MA300

Shine on: Dark Star talks expansion plans

04-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

It’s been an impressive journey for Dark Star, going from a tiny brew plant in the cellar of a Brighton pub to a successful craft brewer on the brink of rolling out 20 pubs.

Events

TripAdvisor expert tops MA300 bill

04-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

The line-up for this month's MA300, held on 24 September in Newcastle, has been revealed, with a raft of top speakers sharing their insights into the trade.

Punch sell-off

Furious Punch hosts slam sale of pubs to NewRiver

04-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

Outraged licensees have slammed the unexpected sale of 158 Punch Taverns pubs amid uncertainty and fears of closures following the £53.5m deal.

Hail to the chef

VIDEO: John Calton of the Staith House

04-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

On why produce gets him excited and why he chose to open his own pub...

Hail to the chef

VIDEO: Mark Anderson of the Ruddington Arms

04-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

On the Great British pub and making it as a chef patron...

Punch sell-off: Protest planned outside Liverpool's Roscoe Head

03-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Campaigners are planning a protest outside Liverpool’s the Roscoe Head, one of the 158 pubs sold by Punch Taverns to NewRiver Retail.

DIGITAL FEATURE

Hail to the chef

03-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Whether you’re an established restaurateur looking for the next step or a dedicated upstart wanting to make a name for yourself, taking on a pub is no minor feat. In this exclusive feature, Daniel Woolfson looks at the particular challenges faced by chef-patrons...

MA300

Heartstone Inns grows estate

02-Sep-2015 By Mike Berry

Heartstone Inns has taken its estate to 12 with the acquisition of a Monmouthshire pub.

Knockout blow for 158 Punch pub licensees

02-Sep-2015 By Ed Bedington

Interestingly enough, following on from my last piece on paranoia and the pub trade, Punch seemed determined to underline this by selling off a lot of pubs that it has been suggested would have been moving down the market rent-only option (MRO) route.

VAT campaign

VAT Club proposes staggered tax reduction

02-Sep-2015 By Mark Wingett, M&C Allegra Foodservice

The hospitality VAT cut campaign has put forward a plan to the Government for a staggered reduction in the level of the tax for hospitality businesses.

Pubs and roasts in top 10 things Brits miss when abroad

01-Sep-2015 By James Evison

Research by Mitchells and Butlers brand Toby Carvery has shown Brits miss the pub and a Sunday roast when on holiday.

Enterprise publican raises a glass after racking up 35 years at his pub

01-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

An Enterprise publican is celebrating with regulars after notching up 35 years at his Surrey pub.

City news

Red Oak Taverns acquires 146 GRS pubs

01-Sep-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Red Oak Taverns, the Mark Grunnell-led pub operator has acquired the 146-strong GRS tenanted pub portfolio, in a deal thought to be worth c£35m.

Pub Sales

Greene King exchanges on 16-strong pub package

01-Sep-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Greene King has exchanged contracts on the sale of the 16 pubs it was required to dispose of by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), with the bulk of them going to Star Pubs & Bars.

Sports bra scandal

Women wearing sports bras and leggings to get free drink at Oakman Inns

28-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Pub group Oakman Inns has taken on coffee chain Costa Coffee by offering any woman who visits its pubs wearing just leggings and a sports bra a free coffee.

Abandoned south London pub wins £3.8 million lottery windfall

28-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A semi-derelict south London pub will go from abandoned shell to thriving community hub after landing a multi-million pound grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Chef recruitment crisis

“No half decent pub chef is paid enough” – ex-chefs on why they left the industry

28-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Sub-standard wages and long hours are driving chefs out of the sector, contributing to the industry-wide chef shortage, according to ex-pub chefs.

Marston's

'Disappointment' for locals determined to prevent pub from becoming convenience store

28-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Campaigners fighting to save the Seven Stars in Sedgley have described a meeting with Marston’s CEO Ralph Findlay as ‘disappointing.’

Enterprise Inns

Enterprise tenants offered website service

28-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

New licensees at Enterprise pubs can benefit from individually tailored websites as part of a new support package from the pubco.

BrewDog

In pictures: BrewDog's dead donkey stunt

27-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

BrewDog has aimed to cement its reputation as a ‘maverick’ brewer by inviting guests attending the launch of its much-anticipated Brighton bar to arrive on a dead donkey.

Chef spotlight

Northern powerhouse: the Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire

27-Aug-2015 By Helen Gilbert

For the second year in a row, The Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire has ranked number one in the Good Food Guide’s Top 50 Pubs. Helen Gilbert catches up with chef-patron Steven Smith to discover what the latest accolade means to him, his Michelin Star...

Pubs Advisory

Call for review of pubs code after Punch sell-off raises suspicions

27-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

The Pubs Advisory Service has called on the Government to review the pubs code in reaction to Punch Taverns' sale of 158 pubs to New River Retail.

Punch Taverns sells

Punch sell-off: CAMRA urges NewRiver to keep sites as pubs

27-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

Pubs to be sold by Punch Taverns have the backing of The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which will encourage NewRiver Retail to continue running the sites as going concerns.

Chef recruitment crisis

Could training prison inmates help solve the chef shortage?

26-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training convicts in chef skills could help solve combat the critical shortage of skilled chefs affecting the hospitality industry.

Greene King Leisure Tracker

Poor weather to blame for decline in drinking out

26-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

Poor weather in July has been blamed for a sharp decline in drinking out spend and a rise in eating out.

NewRiver Retail buys 158 Punch pubs

'Gobsmacked' licensee questions Punch motives after £53m sale

25-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

An award-winning licensee of 20 years is questioning Punch Taverns’ motives for selling 158 “non-core” sites after her family pub was discarded by the pubco as a "going concern".