Financial

Pubwatch

Licensees to share barred customer details with Pubwatch scheme

19-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Pubwatch is ramping up support for licensees with a street pastor scheme and an online platform to ban customers and share key information.

National living wage 'to cost hospitality sector £13.2m by 2020'

16-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

The hospitality and leisure sector will be hit with a £13.2m increase in wages by 2020 when the national living wage (NLW) comes into force.

Booker interim results: high aspirations for 2016

15-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Booker expects to see continually strong performance in the pub sector in 2016, it said, after posting its interim results this morning.

Professional services

Need a lawyer?..professional service providers you need

12-Oct-2015 By Fiona McLelland

You’re probably in the business because you love running your own pub. Not for the love of paperwork, legalities and accounts. That’s where professional service providers come in. 

JJ Food Service eyes new sites after profits up

09-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

JJ Food Service has posted record profits of £12m for the year ending March 31 2015 – up 55% year-on-year – the majority of which would be pumped back into the company’s existing and new sites.

Mobile phone and internet

Rural pubs' phone and internet boosted in Vodafone pilot

05-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Rural pubs will benefit from reliable mobile phone signal and internet access for the first time in a pilot scheme which is set to be rolled out across the UK.

Food-focused pub accommodation booking site launches

28-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

A new website has been launched to showcase and arrange bookings for food-led pubs with rooms.

Pub property

Is it a good market for first-time buyers?

23-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Baker

Nicholas Baker provides us with his thoughts on the current environment for pub finance and tips for applying for finance as a first-time buyer.

Car park sale

NewRiver licensee faces fierce opposition to Co-op store

21-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

A licensee who wants to save his pub by selling part of the car park is facing fierce opposition from Dudley councillors and residents.

Technology

Taking the pain out with Flypay

18-Sep-2015 By James Evison

Following a £7m investment from Time Out, PMA caught up with Tom Weaver, the CEO of UK start-up, Flypay, to discover what the app can do for pubs.

Faucet Inn's journey from pubs to all-day dining

17-Sep-2015 By James Wallin, MC Allegra FS

After building up a successful chain of pubs across London, Faucet Inn is now focusing growth on two all-day dining concepts, with a strong pipeline both domestically and internationally.

City news

Pug pubs funding to grow to ten sites

17-Sep-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Pug Pubs, the Midlands pub company set up by former M&B director Nigel Pinegar and former openings manager Matthew Crowther, is exploring funding options for expansion from 2016, M&C has learnt.

Tip the balance in favour of our sector

10-Sep-2015 By Ed Bedington

The issue of tipping has hit the headlines this week, and it’s good to see that the likes of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers has made a move to announce it is revising its code.

ALMR to revise tips code

10-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

The Association of Multiple Retailers (ALMR) is to re-vise its code of practice to help pub operators navi-gate the tipping minefield that has dominated recent headlines.

Leisure

All work and no play for 80% of licensees who are concerned at shortage of free time

04-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

 Publicans are increasingly worried about the pressures of the job, with almost 80% reporting that they are ‘concerned’ at the shortage of free time they have.

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.

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...

Poll

98% tell friends about poor service, but only 48% complain

12-Aug-2015 By M&C Allegra

A new poll has shown that while 95% of customers would complain to their friends about slow service in a pub or restaurant, only 48% would tell the venue.

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.

Finance

Funding advice: Are we 'in the money'?

17-Jul-2015 By Phil Mellows

As pub industry confidence returns, so is lenders’ faith in the ability of operators to give them a return on their money. Phil Mellows reports.

Living wage or just a new minimum wage?

15-Jul-2015 By Ed Bedington

As ever, when it comes to government and fiscal matters, they give with one hand and take away with the other.

Property Hunt

Pubs for sale in the south-east

09-Jul-2015 By PMA

Find out the hottest properties for sale in the south east of England.

Publicans

'We had just the clothes we were wearing'...on turning around a fire-ravaged pub

09-Jul-2015 By Oli Gross

How a husband and wife team and first-time licensees turned around a fire-ravaged pub - and trade is now thriving.

Why it would pay to pay the living wage

25-Jun-2015 By Ed Bedington

There’s been an increased focus in recent months on making the trade more appealing as a career, and so it was refreshing to read the story of the Prospect Inn in Exeter.

Utilities

Pubs save thousands after utility bills challenged

01-Jun-2015 By Oli Gross

Pubs have saved thousands of pounds thanks to a service which discovers if the property is being overcharged for utility bills.

Pub 'appalled' with waste collection service

28-May-2015 By Oli Gross

A pub freeholder is appalled with a waste collection service after four weeks of rubbish accumulated in her pub garden.

Star Pubs and Bars

Beer sales boost after Smart Dispense installation

28-May-2015 By Oli Gross

A boost in beer sales following the installation of Smart Dispense systems has lead Star Pubs and Bars to expand the project.

Eating out sector up 4% year-on-year in April

26-May-2015 By James Evison

Brits celebrating Easter by enjoying a meal out prompted a peak in leisure spending during April, according to the latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker.

Beer

Infographic: The rising cost of beer to tenants

21-Apr-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

Tenanted pubcos react to wholesale increases.

Guidance

Licensed Trade Charity launches sickness guidance

20-Apr-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

The Licensed Trade Charity has launched new guidance to help prevent long-term sick and disabled people working in the licensed trade getting into financial problems.

property

Pensions freedom stirs lease market

17-Apr-2015 By Ed Jefferson and Stephen Taylor

Investors turn to bricks-and-mortar pubs in order to secure better returns from their pension pots

Property

Money maker: Growing trend for pubs with beds

09-Apr-2015 By Paul Davey, Davey Co

Pub accommodation can drive sales and increase revenue — but make sure your rooms represent value for money.

Running a pub

Running a pub: Going multiple

25-Mar-2015 By Glynn Davis

In the third and final part of our series on the challenges of running a pub business, Glynn Davis looks at the problems and benefits of increasing the number of outlets in your estate.

Pub is the Hub secures £100k funding

23-Mar-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

Pub is the Hub has secured a £100,000 injection of funding from the Government for its Community Services Fund that will go directly to pubs that are looking to diversify.

SMALL TALK

Jasper Cuppaidge of Camden Town Brewery on crowdfunding and running 'awesome' pubs

20-Mar-2015 By Emma Eversham

Camden Town Brewery launched its Hells Raiser crowdfunding campaign to help finance a new brewery in February and has already over-reached its £1.5m target. Founder Jasper Cuppaidge talks about his reasons for going down the crowdfunding route and why...

Running a pub

Running A Pub: Trading up

18-Mar-2015 By Glynn Davis

In the second of our series on the challenges of running a pub, Glynn Davis looks at the practicalities of taking those first steps in expanding your horizons by running a large premises or more than one outlet.

Riverside pub with unique flood defences for sale

16-Mar-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

A riverside Oxfordshire pub, which has unique flood defences has been put on the market.

Pubs warned over business rates info request

16-Mar-2015 By Mike Berry

Licensees have been urged to respond quickly to requests for information from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) about their pub’s trading performance, if they want to avoid fines and unnecessary red tape.

Hospitality operators among "1000 Companies to Inspire Britain" in 2015

12-Mar-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Several hospitality operators have been named in the London Stock Exchange's list of 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, celebrating some of the UK’s fastest-growing small and medium sized businesses.

Challenges of a lease

11-Mar-2015 By Jessica Mason

Carmel Daly-Fletcher, BII Licensee of the Year 1998, has been widely recognised as being one of the top pub managers in the country. But when she made the transition from manager to leaseholder, even with her first-class credentials, she found it a challenging...

Experience

Running a pub: Personal experience of starting out

10-Mar-2015 By The Publican's Morning Advertiser

When John Cavanagh took up a five-year lease at the Hamilton Russell Arms, in Thorpe Thewles, County Durham, four years ago, it had lost much of its trade following a fire.

Recruitment

Running a pub: How pubcos recruit publicans

10-Mar-2015 By The Publican's Morning Advertiser

Matthew Ralphs, recruitment marketing manager, for Enterprise Inns explains how the pubco recruits tenants and lessees into its business.

What does a pubco mean by 'reasonable' and 'fair'?

10-Feb-2015 By Robert Sayles

Pubcos always appear keen to reassure demands placed on licensees are both ‘reasonable’ and ‘fair’. However, these terms are vague and ambiguous - needless to say, there’s invariably a very good reason for this dearth of clarity, writes Robert Sayles.

Charles Wells to enrol new tenants on Passport to Profit

05-Feb-2015 By Mike Berry

Charles Wells is to automatically enrol all new tenants onto its Passport to Profit scheme following its success across selected sites in its pub estate.

Editor's Comment

Price hikes defy logic

05-Feb-2015 By Rob Willock

Pub customers are understandably confused. And so are licensees. And so am I, frankly.

Vast majority of bar staff paid less than Living Wage

04-Nov-2014 By James Wallin, M&C Report

New research has shown that 90% of bar staff and 85% of waiters and waitresses are paid under the Living Wage – as the rate was raised again.

BrewDog commits to paying staff the living wage

03-Oct-2014 By John Harrington, M&C Report

BrewDog, the Scottish brewer and pub operator, has made a commitment to pay all its UK 314 staff at least the living wage.

Lessee opens third site in her home town after £210k refit

03-Oct-2014 By James Wallin

A Hampshire multiple operator has taken on her third lease with a £210,000 refurbishment in collaboration with Star Pubs & bars.

Marston’s ordered to pay damages in latest PICA-service hearing

11-Aug-2014 By James Wallin

The Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration (PICA)-Service has ruled against Marston’s over complaints about poor communication and failure to provide regular business reviews.

9,000 pubs now have Cask Marque accreditation

25-Jul-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

Cask Marque, the industry watchdog responsible for assessing the quality of cask ale, has accredited its 9,000th pub.