Ofgem audits will need 'firm hand'
Energy-supplier audit due later this year Energywatch says moves to regulate complaints handling of energy suppliers will help pubs — but only if...
Archives for April 16, 2008
Brewing industry set for further consolidation
Leading figures in the brewing industry have suggested that further consolidation in the cask ale industry is inevitable.Speaking less than a month...
M&B eyes Punch's Spirit pubs
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has turned the tables on Punch Taverns by suggesting it buys its managed-pub division, Spirit. The company is in...
Kop resolves not to sing Blues
The all-English Champions League semi-final clash between Liverpool and Chelsea guarantees that at least one Premier League side will reach the final...
Moves
Marston's appoints new marketing execs Marston's Pub Company has appointed Amelia Cree as its new marketing executive. Her role is to support the...
The agent
Graham Allman, managing director, GA Select I have been privileged in being involved with the licensed trade all my working life — it's been an...
Kids' stuff
Punch lessee Stephanie Corcoran talks Lucy Britner through her kids' menu revamp Stephanie Corcoran is a firm believer that licensees have to be...
Underage checks: Must do better
Manny is your typical 18-year-old, down to the slouching walk and the slightly-too-baggy trousers. But one thing sets him apart from his school...
Fleurets directors take up new posts
Fleurets has announced the appointment of three new divisional directors. Nick Earee, Lesley Watmough and Chris Irving will assume their new...
Pubs slowdown on way
A slow period for the market has been predicted after a rush of sales to beat the changes in CGT tax and the effects of the downturn in the economy...
Administrators start marketing ex-Laurel pubs
Kroll, the administrators of the 90-site rump of the old Laurel Pub Company, has appointed property agents Colliers CRE to market the sites to...
Luminar sells 26 sites to new company
Luminar has agreed the transfer of 26 units to a new operator, Cavendish Bars.The disposal, which will see Luminar make a net loss on disposal of...
Feel the burn: sales slump to stoke unavoidable failure rate
The current perfect storm will batter the entire pub market, says The PMA Team A few weeks ago, I talked about the savage shake-out in the...
Coulson: Smokers' noise annoys
It was only a matter of time, of course, before the effects of the indoor smoking ban created major problems for a licensee, says Peter Coulson
Screen savers
Many licensees are moving away from standard tills and taking advantage of the efficiency offered by EPoS. Graham Ridout reports If the cellar is the...
ePub: Biometrics at the till
A pub in South Wales has introduced cutting-edge fingerprint recognition to improve the efficiency of its EPoS system.Graham Evans, who runs Bar...
Protz: If it ain't broken then don't fix it
Brewing companies seeking success and profit interfere with well-loved and unique beer brands at their peril, says Roger Protz Brands rather than...
Licensee's fury over outdoor glass ban
A frustrated licensee has branded an outdoor glass ban at his bar as "completely unfair". Rob Bates, licensee of the Rhu Bar, in Basingstoke,...
S&NPE aims at up to 500 more pubs
S&NPE nears single-site acquiaition target Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises (S&NPE) is looking to add between 300 and 500 pubs over...
EPoS: The agile EPoS system
The Millstone is a thriving leasehold that proves one-pub operators can benefit from EPoS as much as the big boys.Simon and Juliet Devine acquired...
Business boosters Ideas for driving food sales at your pub
Wedding fairs Where: the Granville @ Barford, Barford, Warwickshire www.granvillebarford.co.uk The idea: The Granville has recently become popular...
Licensees to get help to identify fake ID cards
£20,000 to get ID check scheme going Pubs will be sent "crib cards" to help staff identify genuine proof-of-age ID. A total of 175,000 cards have...
Profit boost for Thorley
Thorley Taverns, the Kent-based pub and hotel operator, has reported a return to profit in its most recent financial year. The company, which...
'Government to ease bank cash-flow crisis'
A ground-breaking plan aimed at easing the gridlock in the mortgage markets is being finalised by the Bank of England and Treasury after months of...
A black mark on your licence and hefty fines — is it worth it?
Record fines are being dished out to pubs that show Sky football via domestic contracts. John Harrington reports What's the offence? Using a domestic...
Paying the PRS what it's due
A licensee friend of mine is having a battle royal with one of the copyright organisations so beloved of licensees the length and breadth of the...
Bar Talk
Has the big rise in raw materials meant a review of menu prices? Alan Vaughan Countryman Inn Shipley West Sussex We are having to think about...
Five Après on the cards
Town & Country Inns, the bar business led by entrepreneur Keith Williams, is to open at least five new Après Bar sites before the end of the...
ePub: The all-seeing eye
A tiny turbine spins as the liquid passes through a tangle of beer lines and the rudimentary-looking contraptions to which the whole thing is...
ePub: Things are hotting up for Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi hotspots for web surfers are on the verge of an explosion - and pubs should be at the centre of the revolution.That's the view of Joe Brunoli,...
My New Pub
The Golden Boar Inn Freckenham, Suffolk Agent: Christie+Co The Golden Boar is set to be a true family business under new owner Vaggy Spyrou. Front of...
My pub juke box
David Elliott, the managing director of Greene King Pub Partners chooses his favourite tracks 1. Lean on Me Bill Withers Reminds me of my first date...
Your say
Britain's brewing heritage at risk Burton-on-Trent is quite simply one of the greatest brewing towns in the world. Within it is the Coors visitor...
The agent
Andrew Coulter, Redwoods Dowling Kerr The image of the Great British Pub is changing. Lifestyles, the economy, trends, the smoking ban and continuing...
Diary
Jamie lease story not quite true There have been suggestions that chef Jamie Oliver is taking on a Young's lease at the Cock & Camel in Oxford...
Illegal TV boss gets suspended sentence
Supplier is first to get such penalties The boss of a firm that supplied foreign satellite football systems to pubs has been given a 10-month...
Out of the wet and into the dry
Peter Martin, founder of marketing consultancy Peach Factory, reveals how tastes in pubs are changing from drink to food It really isn't all doom and...
Luminar sells 26 clubs for 19p each
Luminar Leisure has sold 26 nightclubs for 19p each to Cavendish Bars. Cavendish has agreed to buy the leaseholds via the sale of five disposal...
Frozen assets
As the weather warms up, no pub can be without an efficient ice-making machine - Graham Ridout reports Magner's is widely recognised as being the...
Chris Maclean: Ten things I hate about customers
Before I write a thing let me make it perfectly clear that I love my customers ~ mostly. But among my many customers are some with the most annoying...
Full marks for the Allmarks
A pub dedicated to real ale is a worthy CaskForce winner, the Marston's beer-quality initiative supported by the MA For Les and Wendy Allmark,...
A Pond rich in life
Giving the Inn on the Pond a major makeover requires investment, but owners Jane and Peter Eyles hope it will reap dividends from Surrey's affluent...
Beam Global relaunches Sauza tequila
Beam Global UK is relaunching Sauza Blanco and Sauza Reposado with new look packaging as part of a £650,000 marketing investment in the tequila...
Q&A
Bereavement rights Q. A local pub near here has been closed down by council officials because the family failed to apply for a transfer of the...
It's time to rock the boat
The future looks dark for pubs — unless the trade combines to decide how to tackle the forces ranged against it, says Phil Dixon The 12 March 2008...
The Guv'nor Godfrey Page
Mayhem on the streets? Don't blame the pubs I would like to start by saying that the future of pubs is looking good. But I can't. In 2005 when the...
Cool's gold
As extra-cold products become more popular Graham Ridout looks into how pressure on pubs' chilled-dispense equipment is growing Super-cold drinks are...
Licensees ordered out after £20,000 refurb
A pair of licensees are refusing to quit the pub they have spent £20,000 renovating despite impending legal action by owner Enterprise Inns. Stephen...
MPs urged to support pubwatch
National Pubwatch writes to every MP stressing how pubwatches help reduce crime
Forging ahead
Amanda Wragg finds out how Mark Wilson and Alexandra Warricker, chef/proprietors of the North Yorkshire Anvil Inn, have made their business a success...
Batham & Son toasts first XI
Snifter is pleased to report that at a time of closures and administrations all is not doom and gloom for one brewery. Swimming against the tide is...
Business boosters
Ideas for driving food sales at your pub Retro nights Where: the Larwood & Voce, West Bridgford, Nottingham www.larwoodandvoce.co.uk The idea:...
Facebook: friend or foe?
Social networking websites are all the rage. Kelly Smith investigates whether they pose a threat or an opportunity to real communities in pubs It's...
Credit goes west
The West Country pub property market is starting to feel the bite of the UK's economic slowdown. Tony Halstead reports West Country pub sales have...
Trade slams notion of 'passive drinking'
The trade has slammed the notion that "passive drinking" exists and that taxes should be raised to stop the damage done by it
My Shout: Tony Jennings
Our Gov't needs more beer, less carrot juice