Companies

JDW

Wetherspoon's responds after poster telling Muslims to 'get the f*** out' appears on pub notice board

24-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Wetherspoon’s has responded after a poster telling Muslims to “get the f*** out of our countries’ appeared on a noticeboard at the Moon in Square in Feltham

City news

Punch agrees £53.5m disposal to NewRiver

24-Aug-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Punch Taverns has this morning confirmed it has agreed to sell a package of 158 non-core pubs to NewRiver Retail, the UK REIT that specialises in the food and value sector, for £53.5m.

Drinks

New world order

21-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

The New World Trading Company is putting interesting drinks at the forefront of its offer as the nine-strong group marches into the UK’s city centres. Liquor sales account for 66% of the group’s sales, and Botanist’s Newcastle branch has sold a cocktail...

We Want Plates founder: bad presentation in pubs is "epidemic"

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Pubs are by far the worst culprits when it comes to bad presentation of food, according to We Want Plates founder Ross McGinnes.

Chef recruitment crisis

“Fancy chefs don’t want to drop down to our level” - top London pub chef talks chef shortage

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The current shortage of skilled chefs and the problems caused by it are “never ending”, according to Jesse Dunford-Wood, chef patron of Parlour, in Kensal Green, London.

Training

'50 shades of data': Yummy's Ed Harper shares his advice for managing staff costs

20-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

What has been the biggest challenges you've faced when it comes to managing staff costs?

Award-winning Bristol chef to open third site

20-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Award-winning Bristol chef Toby Gritten, owner of the Pump House, Hotwells and the Bird in Hand, Long Ashton, is set to open third site the Redan Inn, Chilcompton, later this autumn.

Campaigners refuse to let pub’s £350,000 price tag stand in their way

19-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Campaigners fighting to save Somersham’s the Duke of Marlborough say they are ‘determined’ to reopen the pub as they prepare to raise the £350,000 needed to buy it.

JDW

New beers for JDW pubs during festival

18-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

JDW pubs will be serving ten beers from around the world as part of a 17-day festival. It will be the first time many of the beers will be served in the brand’s pubs, with some brewed exclusively for the festival.

MA300

Hundreds of operators competing as London sites change hands for 'crazy money'

18-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Operators looking for sites in the booming central London market will be competing with up to 100 rivals according to Inception Group co-founder Charlie Gilkes.

London

London licensee forced out of pub by sky high London rents

17-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Shoreditch licensee has spoken of her sadness after spiralling London rents forced her to sell the lease on ‘beloved’ pub the George and Dragon.

Charity

Prostate Cancer UK hails pub trade support - and the PMA

17-Aug-2015 By Mike Berry

The PMA has been praised for its role in getting the trade to support Prostate Cancer UK’s new campaign which sees pubs converted into ‘Men United Arms’.

Finance

Poll shows 70% of operators fear living wage rollout

17-Aug-2015 By MC Allegra FS

The planned introduction of a new national living wage (NLW) for the over-25s continues to generate a mixed response across the sector, with more than 70% of operators in the UK’s eating and drinking-out market believing it will have a negative impact...

MA300

Five minutes with…. Chris Hill, New World Trading Company

17-Aug-2015 By MC Allegra FS

M&C takes five minutes with Chris Hill, managing director of New World Trading Company, to talk about future growth, the twin challenges of soaring property prices and wage pressures and who is doing something special in the sector.

Backlash builds against sale of one of 20 JDW pubs up for sale

14-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Watford locals have mounted a campaign to save one of the 20 pubs put up for sale by JD Wetherspoon.

Amber Taverns to grow 'gin palace' sites to seven

14-Aug-2015 By M&C Allegra Foodservice

Amber Taverns is set to grow its Hogarths ‘gin palace’ brand to seven sites by the end of the year.

Charity

Charity pub wheelie bin race proves a hit

14-Aug-2015 By Mike Berry

The annual Wheelie Bin Race at the Three Horseshoes pub in Hernhill, near Faversham, has this year raised £3,128 for charity.

SMALL TALK

Daniel Clifford on new pub The Flitch of Bacon and Great British Menu

14-Aug-2015 By Emma Eversham

Daniel Clifford, chef-patron of the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House, speaks exclusively to Big Hospitality about returning to Great British Menu and opening his own pub, the Flitch of Bacon, in Essex.

Champion Beer of Britain

Champion brewer Tiny Rebel plans new pub and brewery

13-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

Two self-confessed “beer geeks” who met at university as engineers and started brewing together for fun are expanding their brewery and opening a second pub after winning the Champion Beer of Britain.

Careers

Greene King reaches apprenticeship milestone

13-Aug-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Greene King has recruited its 1,000th apprentice this year, putting the company ahead of schedule in its pledge to recruit 2,000 apprentices in the year to March 2016.

Pub sales flat as public 'benefit from greater choice'

13-Aug-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Restaurants recorded like-for-like growth of 4.3% in July but pubs remained essentially flat, according to the latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

Christmas planning

Enterprise reveals Christmas support package

12-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

Enterprise Inns has revealed its publican support package for Christmas – the busiest time for trade.

GBM

Great British Menu 2015: Kingham Plough chef makes surprise appearance

11-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Emily Watkins, chef patron of the Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire, made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of BBC2’s Great British Menu as a veteran judge.

Club numbers down 'because of bad operators'

11-Aug-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

A leading operator has said the reason nightclub numbers had almost halved over the past decade is because far too many were badly run.

Licensing

Lincoln late-night venue wins back 4am licence

11-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Lincoln-based bar Status has won a battle to serve alcohol to 4am after police previously cut its hours to 3am earlier this year.

ACVs

CAMRA survey: ACV status 'positive for pubs'

11-Aug-2015 By Mike Berry

The majority of licensees at pubs listed as Assets of Community Value (ACV) believe the status has benefitted their pub.

Tom Kerridge to run "Tom's Table" pop-up at Harrods

10-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Tom Kerridge is set to run a week-long pop up residency, called Tom’s Table, at the food hall of Harrods on Brompton Road, London.

Operator Profile

VIDEO: Dylan Murray, Drake & Morgan

10-Aug-2015 By PubFood

The group's operations director talks pushing breakfast and the benefits of an all-day menu. 

Chef spotlight

Development chef profile: Liezel Bezuidenhout, Admiral Taverns

07-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Name: Liezel Bezuidenhout Job title: catering development manager, Admiral Taverns

Top beer stories

Why I’m banning the C-word

07-Aug-2015 By Tony Leonard

When we re-opened the Snowdrop Inn nearly six years ago, we were one of a tiny handful of pubs and bars specialising in what was termed ’craft beer’.

Marston's

Protest planned outside Marston's head office to save pub from Morrisons

06-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Campaigners fighting to stop Sedgley’s Seven Stars from being turned into a Morrisons are facing bitter disappointment after the planning inspectorate overturned Dudley council’s original decision not to grant planning permission to the supermarket giant.

Carlton Tavern

Bulldozed pub developers fight ruling it must be rebuilt 'brick by brick'

06-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Developers who bulldozed the historic Carlton Tavern are fighting an enforcement order that orders the pub to be rebuilt.

Enterprise 'on track' for 30 managed pubs by September

06-Aug-2015 By M&C Allegra

Enterprise Inns has increased its number of managed pubs, and is on track to have 30 operational by September 30.

JD Wetherspoon

JDW defends pub after claims centipede was found in breakfast

05-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

JD Wetherspoon has defended a pub after a centipede allegedly crawled out from underneath a customer’s hash brown when he was eating breakfast.

Licencing

Brighton's oldest gay pub faces licence review after underage drinking sting

04-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Sussex police have demanded that the licence of Brighton-based pub the Bulldog be reviewed following ‘increasing concern’ about the way it is run.

Brixton licensee blames 'insatiable appetite' of London developers for closure in heartfelt open letter

04-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Brixton pub manager has blamed the ‘insatiable appetite’ of property developers for the closure of his pub, Brixton’s the Canterbury Arms in a heartfelt open letter.

Thatchers opens managed pub after £1m Somerset investment

04-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

Thatchers Cider has opened the doors of its redeveloped pub following a £1m investment in Somerset.

City news

Adnams turnover down 3% but profits up

04-Aug-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Suffolk-based brewer and pub operator Adnams has reported beer volumes down by 5% in the six months to 30 June after an 18% hike last year.

St Austell Brewery fighting chef recruitment "absolute nightmare" with new incentives

03-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

St Austell Brewery has launched a range of incentives designed to entice new chefs into the kitchens of its managed pubs.

Glendola Leisure purchases Saltire Taverns

03-Aug-2015 By James Evison

Glendola Leisure have announced the purchase of Saltire Taverns in Edinburgh from local operator Billy Lowe.

Wanted: People to help build a pub by hand

31-Jul-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Many of us have thought about starting our own pub after one too many but a mysterious group in Manchester has taken it one step further by starting to build a pub by hand.

Star Pubs & Bars

Inglenook Inns and Taverns takes on first Star pub

31-Jul-2015 By M&C Allegra

Inglenook Inns and Taverns, the Lancashire-based pub group, has taken on its 18th pub – it’s first with Star Pubs & Bars.

People News

Andy Slee departs Punch Taverns

31-Jul-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Punch Taverns has announced that external affairs and central operations director Andy Slee is leaving after almost five years with the company.

Loungers' Nick Collins shares the secrets of a successful all day concept

30-Jul-2015 By Emily Sutherland

It’s a topsy turvy world for multiple site operators. Research from CGA Peach showed there’s a ‘strong appetite’ for coffee shops serving alcoholic drinks, with up to £77m extra revenue up for grabs from serving cocktails alone. June’s Greene King Leisure...

Yummy Pub Co launches 'tea themed' pub in London

30-Jul-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Yummy Pub Co has secured its sixth site and its fourth with Charles Wells for its first high street pub, which will offer 100 types of loose-leaf tea.

Technology

Are multiple operators appy people?

29-Jul-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Do multiple site operators need an app to help promote offers and appeal to those tricky millennials? 

JOIN THE PUB BRIGADE

Video: Tom Kerridge of the Hand & Flowers on the chef shortage

29-Jul-2015 By James Evison & Daniel Woolfson

Watch the double Michelin-starred chef speak on the issue.

Newcastle

Talk of the Toon in Quayside

29-Jul-2015 By Roger Protz

Roger Protz is delighted to discover Newcastle’s thriving food and drink hub in the formerly derelict docklands area.

Join the pub brigade

Celebrity pub chef: 'I'd love to see more young people choosing hospitality as a career'

29-Jul-2015 By Josh Eggleton, chef patron of the Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, Somerset

When I joined the trade, life as a chef was tough - with long hours, hard work and not a lot of time off. But that didn’t deter me at all and I’ve loved it since day one. 

City news

M&B reports 1.3% sales growth

29-Jul-2015 By James Wallin, MC Allegra FS

Mitchells & Butlers has reported like-for-like sales growth of 1.3% for the 43 weeks to 25 July, and said it is “assessing a wide range of options” to mitigate the effects of the National Living Wage.