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Archives for July 18, 2007
Spirit's filth 'lets down pub world'
Spirit Group, the managed division of Punch Taverns, has promised that remedial action is already underway to rectify its woeful food-hygiene...
Lord Blyth to retire as Chairman of Diageo
The Board of Diageo plc has today announced the appointment of Dr Franz Humer as the next chairman of Diageo plc. Dr Humer will take up his...
Pubs forced to operate illegally
Scores of pubs are believed to have been opening illegally for nearly two years thanks to a council cock-up.Licensees in North Cumbria are outraged...
Net profit concerns
Property agents have expressed concerned about the way in which reconstituted net profits (RNP) are calculated. The figure, which is sometimes...
What the papers say - July 19, 2007
The number of alcohol-related visits to hospital has trebled since the introduction of 24-hour licensing laws, a study suggests. The study, led by...
Licensing@aol.com
Trains and boats and planes Q Under the old licensing laws, certain moveable objects, such as boats and trains, gained exemption from licensing and...
LETTERs
Time to fight for smoking rights A number of pubs across the UK are now allowing smokers to light up again. The licensees have realised how much...
Pubs open shops with rural funding
Residents in three far-flung villages have been thrown a vital shopping lifeline, thanks to the trade's rural regeneration group Pub is the Hub....
Let them eat wasabi mix
Philip Christopherson's eureka moment came when he hit on the idea of gastro-morsels. Adam Edwards reports Every cloud - albeit a nicotine one...
Five leasehold pubs for sale
Christie+Co is offering five leasehold pubs in London and Slough on behalf of the Three Wishes pubco. The portfolio of high-street businesses...
MyNewPub
Romping Cat Old Woods, Shrewsbury Agent: Sidney Phillips Robin Beddoes and his wife, Lyn, are refitting the Romping Cat, a Shrewsbury pub...
A change in Fortunes
When Carol Fortune had problems she turned to the LTC. Now she's back on track In the first half of 2007, the Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) - the...
Pub group questions A&E report
The BBPA has questioned a new study, based on figures at one hospital, which says the new licensing laws trebled alcohol-related admissions to A&E departments.
M&B's underage policy gets results
Staff in Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) pubs are refusing service to 50,000 young people each month, thanks to the company's beefed up alco-hol...
THE AGENTS
Paul Breen Director Colliers CRE For any aspiring pub, bar or restaurant operator, the recent sale of groups such as Bel & the Dragon, Living...
Diageo gets new chairman
Dr Franz Humer is to succeed James Blyth as chairman of drinks giant Diageo from July next year.The group's board said Humer, currently a...
London Town lets going well
Fleurets has reported strong interest in the 43 London Town sites that came onto the market last month. The publicly-listed tenanted pub company is...
The MP's arms
It was the day that Parliament went to the pub. From Glasgow to Glossop, Bridgend to Brighton, more than 100 MPs across the UK took up the...
Chris Maclean: what's up with the French?
Last week's trip to France was quite an eye-opener in many ways. I often visit northern France and know many areas quite well but I am surprised at...
InBrief
A pub, by any other name... A licensee is reportedly installing beds in her pub and calling it a hotel room in a bid to dodge the smoking ban. Dawn...
Getting high on the agenda
I have just been to a re-screening of the film Pulp Fiction, in which drug-taking features largely and dramatically. Fictional it may be, but young...
The big cleanup
Walls of water, flooded cellars and stinking sludge are just some of the horrors of the recent floods. Noli Dinkovski reports from the scene When he...
Beer nirvana
Camra's 30th birthday celebrations are among highlights at this year's Great British Beer Festival. Adrian Tierney-Jones reports Forget high-season...
NewsDigest
Three renegade licensees are continuing to defy the smoking ban, with local councils showing no sign of taking action. Customers at the Swan,...
Big day for inconsistent England
England's three-Test series against India gets under way today, with the start of the first Test at Lord's. Michael Vaughan will captain the England...
Blackpool wizard
Adrian Clay tells Tony Halstead how he increased sales four-fold in four months when he took on the Trust Inns tenancy of the Raikes Hall in...
Smoking out what's going on, by Andrew Pring
So how's it been for you since The Ban? Up? Down? Or simply, What's the Big Deal?
NEWS OF THE BREWS
Newcastle Brown Ale Gateshead's Millennium Bridge is featured for the first time on a new-look label for Newcastle Brown. The limited-edition label...
Siba urges Punch to join cask scheme
Small brewers are calling on Britain's biggest pub operator Punch to commit itself to the independent sector by joining the industry's...
Ringwood: victory for Marston's, says Roger Protz
When, some 30 years ago, I set out to write an article about the new Ringwood Brewery, in Hampshire, the term "micro" was in its infancy. There was...
Marston's acquires £19.2m Ringwood
Marston's has bought Hampshire-based Ringwood Brewery for £19.2m. The brewery, which was founded by Peter Austin in 1978, produces around 30,000...
MyShout
No patterns have yet emerged but Peter Linacre is already hailing the smoke ban a success It might not be quite the equivalent of "Where were you...
Licensee builds bedroom to try and dodge smoking ban
A Nottinghamshire licensee is converting part of her bar into a bedroom in a bid to dodge the smoking ban.Dawn Clarke, licensee at the Old Ship in...
Don't pay £50 gaming fee until you have to, advises Peter Coulson
On 1 September this year, in less than two months' time, the new gambling laws stagger into operation. I say "stagger" because that appears to be...
How a web presence can help build your business
Like all good technologies, the web keeps getting faster, cheaper and easier to use - so there is no excuse for pubs not to have a good website. It...
My Proud of Pubs Week diary
Proud of Pubs Week has been one of the Fox & Grapes' busiest weeks since last Christmas and New Year, even though it is usually a high turnover...
No boozing - just spinning
As an ex-alcoholic, Alastair Campbell (AC) might be expected to have shown more than passing interest in the Government's licensing plans....
Pubs suffer 'huge inflationary creep'
Community pubs are facing a "huge inflationary creep" in the cost of abiding by government regulations. That is the view of the British Beer &...
MyShout
Don't hedge around the controversial issues raised by the smoking ban, says Stephen Oliver As any journalist or exam student knows, one of the scary...
Glass ban threat recedes
Trade leaders believe police may have softened their stance on the blanket use of plastic glasses in town and city-centre pubs. It follows clear...
Greene King fined over hygiene breach at pub
Greene King has been fined £25,000 plus costs over breaches of food hygiene at a managed pub in Winchester, Hampshire.The pub operator said it was...