Operations

On-the-door drug swabbing

Pubs warned growing drug swabbing trend could damage trade

14-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A growing trend of on-the-door drug swabbing tests risks needlessly criminalising customers and damaging the trade’s reputation, industry leaders have warned.

Comment

What licensees can learn from British Cycling's journey from also-rans to heroes

14-Apr-2016 By Mike Berry

One of the challenges of running a pub I repeatedly hear is finding time to work ‘on’ the business, rather than ‘in’ it.

Euro 2016

BBPA gives guidance for making the most of Euro 2016

14-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

With less than two months to go until the start of Euro 2016, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has produced guidance for pubs to make the most of the tournament.

Queen’s 90th Birthday

Pimm’s puts out 12,000 activation kits for Queen’s birthday

14-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Diageo-owned Pimm’s is pushing hard on the Queen’s 90th birthday to help boost sales in the on-trade by giving 12,000 outlets nationwide activation kits.

Pub group seeks 'head of random acts of kindness'

13-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

The Yummy Pub Co is on the hunt for applicants for an unusual new position – 'head of random acts of kindness'.

Football

BT Sport and BBC secure FA Cup until 2021

13-Apr-2016 By James Evison

BT Sport and the BBC have retained the rights to The FA Cup until 2021, extending their shared coverage for another three years.

Pub's barred list goes viral: "Don't serve the flat cap coke fiend!"

13-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A former iconic music pub’s unconventional list of barred customers has resurfaced as the venue looks set to reopen as food-ledpub.

Glassware

Serving in the perfect glass – what’s new?

12-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

You may have the best selection of drinks in your area, but if your glassware has seen better days and your staff aren’t trained to serve them in the best possible manner, then the chances are customers will look elsewhere. Fiona McLelland reports

Distribution

New global drinks distributor launched for UK on-trade

12-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

International drinks distributor and retailer Interbev Limited has launched a new UK arm of its business – Interbev Brands – aimed at providing the on-trade with exclusive access to overseas brands.

Wine

VIDEO: Get your summer wine list right with these top tips

12-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Prosecco, English whites and light reds are three types of wine that operators should consider when putting together the perfect summer wine list, according to advice from a leading expert.

awards

Finalists for BII Licensee of the Year announced

11-Apr-2016 By James Evison

The finalists for the BII Licensee of the Year awards, sponsored by BT Sport, have been selected - including the reigning champion of the Publican's Morning Advertiser's Great British Pub of the Year, the Shibden Mill Inn.

Cider

Seven innovations in cider

11-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Cider makers are set to launch new products during the coming weeks in a bid to make a successful play of the, hopefully, warm and dry weather this summer. In the meantime, we look back on seven of the top cider trends that snatched our attention over...

Entertainment

Licensee defends decision to ban dominant pub quiz team

11-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee has defended a decision to ban a regular pub quiz team, after the group’s dominance led to a drastic decline in the event’s popularity.

Sports

Planning for Euro 2016 & the Queen's birthday

11-Apr-2016 By Poppleston Allen

The Government announced last week that pubs will be permitted to sell alcohol on the evenings of Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June until 1am the following morning.

Coffee

‘Sexy’ baristas important for consumers' choice in coffee venue

07-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

'People watching' and attractive baristas are two of the most important qualities customers look for when seeking a coffee venue, according to research from Brita.

Punch director: 'Are your staff empowered to give great customer service?'

07-Apr-2016 By Paul Pavli, Punch

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a fantastic customer service experience recently. In fact it was so good, I can't stop telling everyone about it and now I'm about to tell you too…

Local authorities

Council roadworks 'nightmare' could cause pub closure

07-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

An outraged licensee fears he is on the verge of having to close his pub because nightmare roadworks have devastated his trade.

PMA events

What’s the future of beer and cider?

07-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The first Future Trends: Beer and Cider event organised by the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) will be held in London on 22 June and will arm the trade with insight into the sector’s latest new product development and innovation.

People

Crowdfunding campaign for story of first woman to become sole licensee

06-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Author Laura Thompson has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a book telling the story of her grandmother, the first woman to be given a publican’s licence in her own name.

Illegal football: pubco fined £120,000 and three employees face criminal records

06-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A pubco and three of its employees have been ordered to pay a record total of more than £120,000 for broadcasting Sky Sports illegally in three pubs.

Barman shames sexist customer who abused his staff

05-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A barman has publicly shamed and barred a 60-year-old customer he accused of being sexist towards female staff in his pub.

Beer

Meantime invests in sales team after CEO Miller steps down

05-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

SABMiller-owned Meantime Brewing Company has announced plans to bolster its sales team, just days after Nick Miller stepped down as the firm’s CEO.

Awards

Final call for entries: The Beer Marketing Awards

05-Apr-2016 By PMA

Following the success in its inaugural year, the Beer Marketing Awards has returned for 2016. The deadline for entries is 11 April, so if you have been involved in innovative and effective marketing ideas and campaigns from the UK’s brewing industry,...

Outside furniture

How to attract customers to your pub garden

04-Apr-2016 By Fiona McLelland

Fiona McLelland warms to the idea of enjoying a drink and a meal in a pub garden in the coming months and investigates how your pub’s outside area could do more to attract customers.

Sports

Pubs set to benefit from huge night of British boxing

04-Apr-2016 By PMA

There’s a huge night of boxing in store on April 9 as Anthony Joshua faces Charles Martin at The O2 in London, with pubs and bars set to benefit as support for Joshua continues to rise amidst a renaissance for British boxing.

Illegal football: Premier League collects £100k in costs

01-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

The Premier League will receive costs of almost £100,000 from pubs that have screened football matches illegally in February and March 2016.

Food safety

Pubs should push meat origin after monkey meat find

01-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food-serving pubs should push assured meat and produce on their menus, following the recently revealed record global haul of illegal food and drink by the European police agency Europol last month.

Best April Fool's Day jokes from the pub industry

01-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Summer favourite Pimms announced a major new sponsorship with iconic London landmark Big Ben. 

Punch to trial energy cost-saving scheme

01-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

Punch will trial an energy deal that aims to help its licensees cut the cost of utilities and reduce admin burdens.

Beer

Marston’s celebrates Queen’s 90th with new ale

01-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Marston’s has revealed a new guest beer created especially for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations, an event which pubs are allowed to extend their opening hours to 1am.

Zonal launches Acquire

31-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Zonal has launched Acquire, a new web based product that offers operators ‘an easy to use order to invoice solution.’

Big Interview

‘Pub’ is the buzz word for Diageo, says sales director

31-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

‘Pub’ is the current buzzword at Diageo as the drinks giant’s sales director Ronak Mashru is very keen to get across. Nicholas Robinson finds out why

FLVA president: good relationship with BDM is vital

31-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Licensees must strive to forge closer relationships with their business development managers (BDMs) and pub companies, according to Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA) president Michelle Dwan.

Wholesalers

Booker’s total group sales up by more than 10%

31-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Booker's group sales for the fourth quarter (Q4) rose by 10.6% for the 12 weeks to 25 March 2016, with its foodservice arms putting in a strong performance, resulting in high praise from City analysts.

NLW

PMA survey: Only 20% see the new national living wage as positive

30-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

Only one fifth of licensees think the new national living wage (NLW) is a positive development for the pub trade, an exclusive poll of Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) readers has revealed.

Pub Success

Pub Success: Part 3 - Going multiple

30-Mar-2016 By Nigel Huddlestone

You’ve got your foot on the pub ladder, improved your premises or even traded up, and now you want another site. Nigel Huddleston looks at what you must consider

Carlsberg’s new Strawberry & Rhubarb cider available on draft

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Carlsberg will expand the Somersby cider portfolio with the addition of a new draft Strawberry & Rhubarb flavour, the beer and cider giant has revealed.

Video: What you missed at the 2016 Publican Awards

29-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

The best pub companies in the business were crowned earlier this month at the Publican Awards, at a an exciting new venue to mark the event's 25th anniversary.

Chips: sure fry way to boost gross profit

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

There’s more to chips than you might expect and, if potatoes can boost your profits, it’s definitely worth taking note. Nicholas Robinson reports

Brakes’ first time distributing beer and cider

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Brakes, the foodservice supplier, will distribute bottled beers and ciders for the first time, it has announced.

Advice

How to deal with the National Living Wage

29-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

Comment and advice from licensees, multiple operators and pubcos on how best to deal with the National Living Wage.

Legislation

Top tips for licensees on dealing with the National Living Wage

29-Mar-2016 By PMA

How to deal with the introduction of the National Living Wage and make it work successfully for your business.

Analysis

The National Living Wage: How is it going to impact pubs?

29-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

The new National Living Wage (NLW) comes into force on 1 April and for many licensees will be as welcome as a bad prank on April Fool’s Day.

Sport

Sky to own sole rights to F1 from 2019 until 2024

24-Mar-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Sky will be only place to watch Formula 1 (F1) as the broadcaster has agreed a new deal for exclusive coverage between 2019 to 2024.

Partnerships

Foster's becomes official lager of English & Welsh Cricket Board

24-Mar-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Foster’s has become the Official Lager of England Cricket having signed a two-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Events

Cameron announces pub hours can be extended for Queen's birthday

23-Mar-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Pubs will be granted extended opening hours on Friday, 10 and Saturday, 11June, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday, Prime Minister David Cameron had announced.

Beer

Beer and chocolate pairing tips for pubs this Easter

23-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Beer and chocolate is a match made in heaven and one that pubs could take advantage of this Easter, according to those taking part in a pairing masterclass held by the women in beer group Dea Latis.

city news

Miller to step down as Meantime CEO

23-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

SABMiller has appointed Laura Edwards from Miller Brands as general manager for Meantime Brewing Company, who will continue to run the firm as a stand-alone business, following outgoing CEO Nick Miller's move to step down later this month.

city news

Greene King leisure tracker: Spending falls harder in London than regions

23-Mar-2016 By MCA

Consumer confidence remains fragile with 34% of people feeling worse about their financial situation than five years ago, compared to 29% who feel better.

Fuller’s chefs face off in Chefs’ Guild Scholarship finals

23-Mar-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Fuller's chefs enrolled in the London-based pub company's Chefs' Guild internal training and development programme faced each other at a cook-off at the University of West London yesterday (22 March).