Operations

School opens sensory room thanks to pub

28-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A pub has raised £15,000 for a local school to build a sensory room for children with learning difficulties.

Top tips: innovation on the social bingo scene

28-Jan-2020 By Poppleston Allen

Social bingo is enjoying a revival with many operators providing innovative approaches.

My Shout

‘Nobody will shout about how pubs are helping to promote sustainability if we don’t do it ourselves’

28-Jan-2020 By Kate Nicholls

The recent reports of devastating Australian bushfires have highlighted the ongoing issue of climate change, arguably the biggest issue of our time according to Kate Nicholls, chief executive, UKHospitality

Long shifts are hospitality workers’ biggest bugbear

24-Jan-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

More than half (59%) of pub and bar staff dislike the long shifts and a similar number (54%) said they don’t like unreliable work shift patterns, new research has revealed.

Pubs preparing for 'another a bumper year of sport'

24-Jan-2020 By Stuart Stone

Ahead of a huge year of sport in 2020, The Morning Advertiser spoke to pub operators and industry experts about the events they hope will boost their bottom line in the next 12 months.

Licensee billed £18,000 for illegally screening Sky Sports

23-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

A licensee has been found guilty of illegally screening Sky Sports to customers with the intent of dodging the applicable costs.

My Pub: the Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk

23-Jan-2020 By Gary Lloyd

Former lawyer Brendan Padfield embraced a radical change in career and opened the Unruly Pig only to suffer a devastating fire weeks after opening. However, the Unruly Pig was able to get back on its trotters and has since gone on to win a multitude of...

Lads’ pub crawl leads to £3.5k boost for children’s charity

22-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

A group of young men tackled a 12-stop pub crawl while simultaneously raising £3,561.94 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Food price drops will ‘maximise margins’ for operators

20-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

New research reveals the foodservice sector shows no sign of inflation thereby offering operators the chance to grow sales and margins this year.

Stonegate kicks off ‘UK first’ LaLigaTV partnership

20-Jan-2020 By Stuart Stone

Stonegate Pub Company has become the first UK operator to team up with LaLigaTV – offering visitors to selected sites the chance to watch Messi, Modric and more.

A-Z of on-trade marketing

17-Jan-2020 By Stuart Stone

From the rise of TikTok and the resurgence of Facebook to bar-top point of sale, experts explain what to factor in to your on-trade marketing in 2020.

Top tips: Quieter period may be ideal for training

17-Jan-2020 By Poppleston Allen

The chaos of the festive season has passed and you are probably looking forward to some time to relax and unwind throughout the quieter period of the start of the year.

Return of the small pub met with cautious welcome

16-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The number of small pubs has increased for the first time in 15 years, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

‘Post-election optimism’ fuels festive growth

16-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs benefited from a ‘post-election sense of optimism’ with sales across the board up on numbers from last year, according to a sector benchmark.

Stonegate on verge of winning Best New Wellbeing Strategy

15-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

Stonegate Pub Company could be named Best New Wellbeing Strategy, due to its focus on improving staff and work culture.

Pubs are ‘own worst enemy’ when recruiting teens

15-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs should work with schools and offer more work experience opportunities to encourage more teenagers into the trade, industry bosses have said.

Pub’s room revenue falls ‘off a cliff’ after booking site change

10-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The operator behind a Wiltshire pub says his business is facing an uncertain future after its visibility on a booking website was reduced.

My Pub: St Mary’s Inn, Morpeth, Northumberland

09-Jan-2020 By Gary Lloyd

St Mary’s Inn general manager Robin Freer tells us how this site that serves great food and offers overnight accommodation has quickly established itself as a mainstay despite only being open for 18 months.

Pubs to capitalise on tourism growth ‘as much as possible’

08-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The Government’s tourism agency has said British pubs are set to benefit from an increase in holidaymakers visiting the UK this year.

Sky offers free TV ad to one lucky licensee

08-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

Sky is offering its licensed trade customers the chance to set up a TV advert with an advertising campaign made exclusively for their business, for free.

Pubs go ‘TEA Total’ to boost quieter trading times

07-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

Pubs are backing a ‘Support Your Local, Go TEA Total’ campaign this January to boost the quieter trading times operators can go through during this time of year, especially with the growth of Dry January.

Hospitality Rocks returns for fourth year of fundraising

06-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Hospitality workers will get the chance to celebrate surviving the Christmas bustle while raising money for two industry charities this week.

Pub hits 25th year in the Good Beer Guide

06-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

A pub in Hawkesbury Upton has received an honourable plaque from Dursley & District Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to mark its 25th consecutive year in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide.

December sales dampened

06-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Like-for-like sales across pubs and restaurants were static in December (last month) as wet weather deterred many from venturing out.

Campaigners rewarded for saving ex-GK pub

06-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

Campaigners who saved a historic 17th century pub have been named runners-up in the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Pub Saving Award for their efforts to buy back the pub after it was closed and sold by Greene King in 2014.

The MA podcast

Tanner brothers open to new pubs / JW Lees boss on the trade

03-Jan-2020 By Nicholas Robinson

JW Lees managing director William Lees-Jones gives his view on issues in the pub trade and confirms there are no plans to sell the brewery, following similar sales in the trade this year.

Half-price meals for NHS staff at Chestnut pubs

03-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

A pub and restaurant group is showing its gratitude to all NHS workers for their dedicated work over the festive period by offering 50% off all meals throughout January.

What can we expect from the pub trade in 2020?

02-Jan-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

This year has seen a host of mergers and acquisitions plus the intrusion of Brexit and a general election yet trade professionals are hopeful 2020 will bring more certainty.

Opinion

Banishing the post-Xmas blues - I’ll apple-y drink to that

02-Jan-2020 By Pete Brown

Although the tradition of Wassail has taken place, usually around an apple tree, Pete Brown explains how the pub is a great replacement for a community-driven ceremony.

Christmas wishes from The Morning Advertiser

24-Dec-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and all the best for the new year.

The 2019 news in review

24-Dec-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

Here is a selection of news stories featured on The Morning Advertiser website throughout the past 12 months

Belle of the ball: how the Griffin Belle became a home away from home for Brazilian football fans

20-Dec-2019 By Stuart Stone

Mike Reed, operations director at Belle Pubs & Restaurants, explains how the Griffin Belle in Vauxhall, south London, has become a matchday mainstay for fans of Brazil's most supported club, Flamengo.

The Morning Advertiser Quiz of the Year

20-Dec-2019 By Ed Bedington

It’s nearly the end of 2019 and it has been quite the year, but have you kept up to speed on the various issues and challenges that have faced the sector?

Opinion

How to grow your microbrewery/distillery from a financial perspective

20-Dec-2019 By Richard Pepler

Richard Pepler, CEO of invoice finance specialist Optimum Finance, discusses the key elements of ensuring financial growth for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the drinks sector.

Greene King goes green with its crackers

18-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

This year, Greene King is pulling a greener Christmas as it offers an eco-friendly cracker to its customers as a step to reduce its environmental impact.

Pubgoers spending more on nights out

18-Dec-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Consumers are now spending an average of £69.64 on a night out – a year-on-year rise of 3.9%.

TV faves Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford front Heineken beer campaign

18-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Sparking the festive season, morning TV hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford are fronting the fourth year of Heineken’s Brewing Good Cheer campaign to help boost community spirit in UK pubs.

Licensee to serve Christmas dinner to homeless for sixth year in a row

18-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Two publicans are preparing to feed the homeless a hearty dinner this Christmas – a project one of the duo began in 2014.

Nominate your favourite suppliers in the Readers’ Choice Awards 2020

17-Dec-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Pub operators have two days left to nominate the suppliers that make their businesses tick in The Morning Advertiser’s annual Readers' Choice Awards 2020.

Stonegate launches female mentoring scheme

16-Dec-2019 By Nikkie Thatcher

Stonegate Pub Company has unveiled a female mentoring programme in a bid to push the representation of women in leadership roles across the group.

Are these the UK’s most Christmassy pubs?

13-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

From a pub that boasts 100 Christmas trees to another that has a real-life reindeer in the garden, CAMRA is celebrating its 12 Pubs of Christmas, each offering something special for the festive season.

900 pubs sign up to trial live sport streaming

12-Dec-2019 By Stuart Stone

Six pub groups boasting a total of 900 sites have committed to trial live sport streaming in partnership with Screach and Premier Sports.

Charity challenge sees hungry eaters tackle 2lb pig in blanket

12-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Despite national reports of a seasonal shortage of festive favourites pigs in blankets, a Cumbrian gastropub is out to discredit this fear in a culinary charity challenge.

Operators alter sites for social media

12-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Social media is proving to have quite an impact on small businesses as operators reshape their sites to make them more visually enticing.

Should Christmas dinner be had at home or the pub?

12-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Family feuds, dietary requirements and the washing up are among the reasons consumers are opting for Christmas dinner at the pub this year, but cost remains a barrier.

Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs

Hare’s to 20 more years

12-Dec-2019 By Nicholas Robinson

After two decades in the biz and five years at their gastropub the Kentish Hare, chef brothers James and Chris Tanner have a desire to hop into another pub site.

My Pub: The Dog at Wingham, Kent

11-Dec-2019 By Gary Lloyd

Creative Marilyn Brigden had designs on owning a hotel. So when fate brought the opportunity of rolling a pub, restaurant and hotel into one, she seized the chance. Here, her son Marc Brigden – co-owner – tells us about the strength of the bite at the...

What are 2019’s top jukebox tracks and artists?

10-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

Jukeboxes across the UK have been playing an eclectic mix of tracks this year, from both established artists and brand-new faces on the scene.

Train strikes ‘concern’ for London pubs

09-Dec-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Railway strikes mean that London pubs are seeing a downturn in Christmas trade as punters have to make their way home earlier in the evenings.

Why your pub's back bar should be front of mind

06-Dec-2019 By Nigel Huddleston

Changing customer demands have given the back bar an increasingly prominent role, with a variety of new services available to provide an effective operation.