Crooked Billet
27-Mar-2008
Stoke Row, Berkshire Brakspear tenancy Part of the charm of the Crooked Billet is that it dates back to 1642 and continues to remain "unmodernised"....
City diary
20-Mar-2008 By The PMA Team
A right carrier on Marston's straight-talking managed division boss Derek Andrew, below, was pretty furious on Budget day last Wednesday. After...
City diary
13-Mar-2008 By The PMA Team
Pub trade job is just what the doctor ordered Who says working in the pub trade is badly paid? A medical student working in the Newcastle branch of...
10-Mar-2008
Last call to complete the MA trade survey and stand a chance to win £500 in cash
06-Mar-2008 By The PMA Team
PC Hansen & Co, the corporate finance advisor, has renamed itself Sapient Corporate Finance
City diary
06-Mar-2008 By The PMA Team
Opening bars of the Bluus Marston's is lining up a City of London opening for its Bluu Bar Brasseries chain, acquired from the Fat Cat Group a few...
Fleurets warns sellers of dip
06-Mar-2008 By Joe Lutrario joe.lutrario@william-reed.co.uk
In a frank assessment of the market, Fleurets has warned sellers that they will have to expect less for their business this year than in 2007, in...
Sizing up the way to sell or expand
06-Mar-2008
Peter Hansen, partner with MA100 sponsor Sapient Corporate Finance, explains finance-raising and selling Smaller companies have the same financial...
Madge buys her local for £2.5m
06-Mar-2008
Pop icon Madonna has gone into the pub business after forking out a reported £2.5m to buy the historic Punch Bowl in Mayfair, London. And it's a...
City diary
28-Feb-2008 By The PMA Team
Inventive record breaking Although trading is tough, some companies are steaming through. Revolution vodka bar owner Inventive Leisure, taken private...
28-Feb-2008
How are pubs really faring in the post-smoke-ban world? The Morning Advertiser is determined to find out - and you can help by filling in our...
27-Feb-2008 By John Harrington
Marston's has launched a new online payroll system that is available to all licensees.
City diary
21-Feb-2008 By The PMA Team
We know a man who can Anyone on the managed side looking to recruit a highly-regarded former JD Wetherspoon (JDW) operations director with 10 years'...
20-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
Over 2% of pub licensees are still ripping off customers by passing off cheap spirits as premium brands. The International Federation of Spirits...
City diary
14-Feb-2008 By The PMA Team
Not so narrow margins Can Gordon Ramsay's version of the gastropub cut the mustard? There are early signs of success at the Narrow, in London's...
Scots off-trade included in 'polluter pays' scheme
13-Feb-2008 By James Wilmore
Scotland's supermarkets and off-licences - as well as pubs - will be forced to pay a charge for tackling alcohol-related issues, under new government...
Back to Basics: Rent concessions
11-Feb-2008
I recently obtained a rent concession from my landlord Punch Taverns. This was in response to a serious downturn in trading experienced in the second...
Chris Maclean: A financial dilemma
11-Feb-2008 By Chris Maclean
I bank with the Post Office. My bookkeeper tells me it is the cheapest option, they are open at more convenient hours and they are good for supplying...
City diary
07-Feb-2008 By The PMA Team
Cannon has plenty to grouse about A little local difficulty for serial entrepreneur Michael Cannon who has been left facing a legal bill for nearly...
07-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 5.5% to 5.25% in a bid to spark growth in the economy. The move will benefit homeowners and borrowers...
Making the cash flow
07-Feb-2008
MA SWOT team expert Ali Carter gives the George, in Higher Bebington on the Wirral, the benefit of her industry know-how There's not much to go on...
'Toughest trading conditions in 30 years, says Regent Inns boss'
06-Feb-2008
The chairman of Regent Inns Bob Ivell said yesterday that the industry was suffering some of the toughest trading conditions of his 30-year career -...
04-Feb-2008 By Ewan Turney
An increase in alcohol tax would put 50,000 jobs at risk and cost the Treasury £200m while doing nothing to combat binge drinking. That is the stark...
City diary
31-Jan-2008 By The PMA Team
It's bad to talk A tenant of a major pubco claims a change of policy means phone numbers of business development managers (BDMs) are no longer...
It's all gloom, doom and despondency. Apparently
28-Jan-2008 By Hamish Champ
It's getting so's you only have to get out of bed in the morning and WHAM!, there's a new economic survey just waiting to scare the pyjamas off you....
Offer for S&N upped to £7.8bn
24-Jan-2008 By The PMA Team
Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) is expected to recommend a 800p-a-share offer from rival brewers Carlsberg and Heineken today. The move comes...
£200m tax reprieve for small businesses
24-Jan-2008
Alistair Darling will try today to rescue Labour's business reputation with a £200 million climbdown on capital gains tax designed to help owners of...
Lancashire hot pub
24-Jan-2008
Kath and Chris Bell tell Amanda Wragg about the trade secrets of Enterprise's White Bull, in Ribchester, Lancashire Our background Chris: I started...
22-Jan-2008
Orchid Group has now completed 208 refurbishments in 18 months since it was set up
A timely reminder on pricing
17-Jan-2008
While I am a great supporter of Pubwatch and also of good liaison with the police, I cannot lend my wholehearted support to a system that seeks to...
CardSafe seeks fast growth
17-Jan-2008
More than 1,000 pubs and other outlets are now using the CardSafe scheme to beat the prospect of credit-card fraud. CardSafe is a toughened plastic...
Dark days, yes, but perhaps a buying opportunity
13-Jan-2008 By Hamish Champ
Speaking to City analysts last week there is no doubt that the outlook for the licensed sector is a darn gloomy one. Shares in listed operators have...
City diary
10-Jan-2008 By The PMA Team
Carveries: the cutting edge of pub food missed by Coren City Diary has an obsession with the humble pub carvery. And no apologies for it. Shocking,...
'Quirky' Grolsch gets £8m spend
10-Jan-2008 By Rosie Davenport rosie.davenport@william-reed.co.u
Coors Brewers is putting Grolsch back in the spotlight, splashing out £3m on its TV return. The brewer wants to play up to the beer's "quirky Dutch...
City diary
13-Dec-2007
by The PMA Team Ramsay's carvery nightmare Multiple pub operator Gordon Ramsay was decidedly sniffy about the all-week carvery at the Priory, in...
13-Dec-2007 By John Harrington
Ida Bowes says her ex-husband and discredited pubco boss Alan is living in a £1.8m mansion in Edinburgh
06-Dec-2007 By John Harrington
The forthcoming keg-deposit scheme will be "cash-neutral" for licensees
29-Nov-2007 By John Harrington
BBPA pleads for duty freeze as MPs are warned that brewers face the "perfect storm"
29-Nov-2007
Supermarket giant Morrisons has been criticised for selling premium branded spirits at just £8 a bottle
City diary
29-Nov-2007 By The PMA Team
Undercover operations in green light district We've all heard share-buying theories over the years. The sale of Grolsch to SABMiller reminds City...
Sell More, Save More is back for more
29-Nov-2007
Publican readers are being urged to step forward for year two of our industry leading 'live' project aimed at boosting the business of pubs across...
28-Nov-2007 By John Harrington
Larger pubs and clubs and those open later are likely to pay the most in an alcohol disorder zone (ADZs). Most supermarkets and off-licences will...
New Century staff share £19m payout
22-Nov-2007 By The PMA Team
Directors and staff at New Century Inns will share about £19m after the sale of the company's 49 pubs to Greene King for £32.6m. The company's...
15-Nov-2007 By John Harrington
Campaigners and the MA have vowed to have one last push to get pubs more protection from energy rogues
Supermarket price wars under attack
15-Nov-2007 By Tony Halstead THals22851@aol.com
The big supermarkets found themselves under attack again this week as a new stores price war saw the cost of lager cut to just 28p a pint. The...
Diverse interests
15-Nov-2007
Tony Halstead meets Paul Baker, the man behind Thwaites' multi-layered business strategy Northern drinkers tend to associate Daniel Thwaites with...
Laurel in talks with banks about debt
13-Nov-2007 By The PMA Team
Discussions are underway between Laurel Pub Company and its banks with a view to restructuring the company's borrowing facilities. The company made...
12-Nov-2007
Beer is now just 22p a can in supermarkets and cheaper than cola and water
City diary
08-Nov-2007 By The PMA Team
Learning by trial and PR When you've got a big new concept you're trialling and want to keep under wraps, it's not always easy. Spare a thought for a...
Insurance warning
25-Oct-2007 By John Harrington john.harrington@william-reed.co.u
Three out of four pubs and other small businesses risk fines of up to £2,500 a day because they don't have the right insurance. That is the stark...
