Host jailed for perversion of justice
The former licensee of a Hull pub who deleted the CCTV footage of an alleged assault outside his venue has been jailed. Sean Walsh, 29, was given a...
Archives for December 9, 2004
Now's the time to be as snug as a bug
A bit of lateral thinking this week: from snugs to jugs. I received a phone call from BBC Radio 5 Live asking me to adjudicate in a debate about the...
Councillors must behave properly and listen to the evidence
It isn't often I make it onto the back page of the Morning Advertiser, mainly because I like to keep the vagaries of my private life out of the reach...
Grogan in fresh push for exclusion orders
by John Harrington All Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman John Grogan has vowed to make "one last bash" in this Parliament to encourage the...
Master
of all he surveys A Kentish licensee's rise from pub manager to tenant, lessee and now freehouse owner, has well prepared Russell Roberts for his...
Birmingham Broad Street is saturated'
Birmingham has become the latest city to declare a "saturation zone" in a bid to block new pub applications. The city's famous Broad Street, dubbed...
Landlords must open books for fairer rents'
The rent review process is heavily weighted against the pubco tenant, argues ALEX SALUSSOLIA, chairman of the Association of Licensed Multiple...
Would sirs like axes to accompany dessert?'
by John Harrington Members of a 100-year-old secret drinking club for students at Oxford University appear to have been responsible for a bizarre...
Gastro-pub fare on track with GNER
Two of the country's top gastro pubs are getting a burst of publicity across the length of the UK since their menus began appearing in the dining...
Pair get ahead of the game with Chequers
A village freehouse, which was the Good Pub Guide's 2002 Cambridgeshire Dining Pub of the Year, has changed handsfor the first time in more than20...
Greene King to focus on Laurel integration
Suffolk-based brewer Greene King said today the integration of Laurel was going ahead as planned.As the company released its interim results figures...
Punch sells 545 InnSpired pubs
Punch is to sell 545 of the pubs it bought from InnSpired in September to a new company, Pubfolio, for £162.5m or £300,000 each. The deal, for a...
From cheap plonk to Fit-ou for a king
I've just come back from the largest vineyard in the world. I'm talking Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France, which produces more wine than...
Greene King managed hosts in Pubwatch push
by John Harrington Greene King has started a drive to get its managed pubs involved in their local Pubwatch after a survey carried out by them...
Let the smoke clear
As an industry we seem to be reacting to the Government's decision on smoking in two ways: doom and gloom or with a sigh of relief. I can understand...
'Tis the season
to trade upwards Enticing customers to buy more expensive wine during the Christmas period can really boost the bottom line. Wine consultant David...
M&B tightens age policy after inquest comments
by John Harrington Mitchells & Butlers has vowed to review procedures for preventing under-age sales following the inquest into the death of a...
Licensing regime defended
The new licensing regime has been fiercely defended by the senior civil servant who heads up licensing at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Irresponsible promos' ban looms in Scotland
by John Harrington Drinks promotions deemed "irresponsible" will be banned from Scottish pubs early next year, a top minister at the Scottish...
500 M&B pubs may stop food to service smokers
by The PMA Team The proposed smoke ban in pubs offering food would force Mitchells & Butlers to end its food service at 500 pubs, chief...
Beware technology risk
Q Although we run a village pub we are very switched on and are able to offer WiFi wireless broadband to our customers. What are my legal obligations...
Kippen
it simple A food-orientated pub that lives by the motto of "keeping it simple" is pulling in the punters. Alice Whitehead reports on the winning...
Line chancing
Do you know which are your top-20 selling lines? If you don't, then you should, as chances are that these 20 products will represent about 70% of...
Former debt collector jailed for theft
A former debt collector who stole from a major brewery to put cash away "for a rainy day" has been jailed for four-and-a-half years and ordered to...
Paper-roll scam firms are still hitting pubs'
Paper-roll scam firms are still hitting pubs'
JDW agrees lamb deal to boost menu transparency
by Max Gosney JD Wetherspoon has boosted its menu transparency after agreeing a deal with producers in the North of England to supply farm-assured...
Safety in numbers?
Licensing practitioners all over the country have been very busy in recent weeks ensuring that the licences that their clients hold are in apple-pie...
It's a Field day as life of Brian enters new era
Following his brutal, if not unexpected, departure from Ridley's at the behest of Nicholas Ridley (one wonders who next will be brave and/or foolish...
Door staff to don bright jackets
Door staff in Burnley, Lancashire, are being asked to wear fluorescent jackets at night to make it easier for punters and CCTV cameras to detect...
Warning: smoking will kill your trade
by Mark Stretton, editor The Government's predictable fudge on smoking (yes, sorry, another piece on the subject, to be filed under "boring but...
Gone for a Burtonwood
Wolves & Dudley has snapped up the 460-strong Burtonwood estate in a deal that strengthens the company's position as a super-regional. The PMA...
Punch shows clout in NITAs
Punch Taverns scooped the award for the best development programme in non-managed estates at the National Industry Training Awards (NITAs) held by...
Hosts to deter drink-drivers
Licensees are doing their bit to stamp out drink-driving this Christmas as part of the Department of Transport's festive campaign. Posters with the...
Caddick puts new spin on Springbok
England cricketing ace Andy Caddick is hoping his sporting know-how will prove an asset when the pub he co-owns undergoes a major revamp. Caddick...
Clarity key to future of rent reviews: Salussolia
Alex Salussolia, chairman of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, has launched a fierce attack on the rent review process in the week leading up to the publication of the Trade & Industry Select Committee (TISC) report
Trade unites against Ofbooze' regulators
Officials would rank pubs on social responsibility' by Dizziana Rossi The Home Office wants pubs and drinks companies to fund a new regulatory body...
Union launches national smoking ballot
Drinkers are being given the chance to shape the future of pubs in a nationwide smoking ballot, launched this week by Burton-based Union Pub Company....
Welsh councils on back foot over price schemes
by Ewan Turney Local authorities have once again been warned that they do not have the power to introduce minimum pricing under the new licensing...
Be on your card
The January deadline for licensees to change their tills to Chip & PIN is looming large over the trade. To guide you through the process,...
Calculating yield
QMy stock report shows a yield but I don't really understand what it is. Can you explain how it is calculated? AThe yield percentage displayed on...
HR for independant free houses?
Pubcos/managed pubs are taking the initiative in the pub sector and recognising the importance of meeting and exceeding customer expectations through...