Diageo reports operating profits of £2.6bn
Drinks giant Diageo, currently facing a revolt over its plans to close plants in Scotland, has reported a 13 per cent increase in operating profits...
Archives for August 26, 2009
Reality check at Sam Smith's
The Tadcaster-based Samuel Smith's business lives in its own bubble. Parts of its world are charming. It eschews well-known brands and piped music....
How to... keep cask beer at the right temperature
So you've worked out how to taste beer, how to look after it in the cellar, how to serve it and how to sell it your customers. But none of that...
Couple to quit over single noise complaint
A licensee couple who rely heavily on income from gigs are planning to quit their pub after a council clampdown - based on just one complaint from a...
Online music service for pubs
The online music streaming service Spotify is in talks about the launch of a version for pubs and bars. Under its current licensing deals with...
BII to toughen pubco code scheme
The BII has promised to toughen its scheme that benchmarks pubco codes of practice for clarity. Having codes re-accredited annually, and publishing quarterly update reports, are among the changes.
Batemans grows its sales
Lincolnshire brewer and pub retailer Batemans has reported an 8% increase in barrelage in its most recent year to just over 30,000 barrels....
Coercion in disguise
The idea of "voluntary" agreements has been around for a long time in the licensed trade, and has not improved with age. The latest, in Rotherham,...
Diageo: no to public funds to help keep jobs
Diageo boss Paul Walsh has said he is not interested in receiving public funds to help keep its bottling plant in Kilmarnock open. Speaking at its...
Councils deny following Oldham
Three councils deny reports that they're meeting officials in Oldham to examine the authority's hard-line approach to licensing. Oldham continues to...
Johnnie Walker campaigners protest at Diageo HQ
Campaigners fighting to save hundreds of jobs at Diageo's bottling facility in East Ayshire took their protest to the company's London headquarters...
Publican staff get behind the bar
I've abseiled down a very tall building in a blizzard. I've walked through Manchester city centre at four in the morning wearing a very short skirt....
Bar Room Bar's £16m debt
Bar Room Bar is set to leave creditors out of pocket by around £16m, a report by administrator Zolfo Cooper indicates.
The kings of Corfe castle
A thriving year-round trade means the pubs in Corfe are in rude health
Distress sales up — but at good prices
More "distress" sales of pubs are taking place than ever and their relatively cheap prices mean they're being snapped up quickly. That's according...
Input costs hurt Taylor
Timothy Taylor, the company that brews Madonna's favourite tipple, Landlord, has reported an increase in turnover but a drop in profit after being...
Scottish licensing: act now, licence later
A new Licensing Act takes full effect in Scotland this week, but according to industry chiefs the transition is looking "chaotic". As if pubs didn't...
Licensees' Choice Awards: winners for a reason
The Licensees' Choice was launched this year and it has proved to be an unqualified success. The results have drawn huge interest from across the...
Pubco refuses rent cuts
The firm that manages Wellington Pub Company's free-of-tie estate says it doesn't expect to offer any rent reductions to licensees. Tenant says Wellington's view is that they are not like Punch and Enterprise.
Trade outrage over plastic pint glass plan
Government plans to produce a new type of plastic pint glass for pubs have provoked outrage from the trade. Licensees, trade and consumer groups...
Sheps freezes beer prices for tenants until 2011
Shepherd Neame is freezing prices on its beer products for more than a year as part of a major new support package for tenants, The Publican can...
Minimum pricing debate will hot up
The onset of the August bank holiday weekend sadly reminds us that summer is almost over and the political conference season will soon be upon us....
Majority to see fall in business rates bill
Sixty per cent of businesses will see a fall in their business rate bills next year, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government...
Bulmers Pear ditches draught
Scottish & Newcastle has announced it is axing Bulmers Pear on draught after just under a year, preferring instead to concentrate on the bottled...
AB InBev sells Tennent's to C&C
Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInbev) has sold Tennent's lager and its associated trading assets to C&C Group for £180m.
FSB: pubs struggle due to tie
One in eight tied pubs are struggling to survive because of the beer prices charged by their pubcos, according to a new Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) survey.
Amber Taverns sells on four former Cains pubs
Preston-based pub company Amber Taverns has sold for an undisclosed amount four of the pubs it bought from Cains in April. The pubs, which include...
'Binge-drinker Brits sober up'
Young people are cutting back on binge-drinking as the Government's health message gets across, new statistics show. The number of women between 18...
AB InBev sells Tennents brands to C&C Group for £180m
Following months of speculation, drinks giant AB InBev has finally sold its Tennents lager brand to Magners cider maker C&C Group for £180m....
Diageo CEO effectively says 'no' to Scottish plant compromise
Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh today effectively ruled out any compromise over the proposed closure of two of the group's bottling plants in...
Diageo: earnings up in challenging year
Drinks giant Diageo, whose brands include Guinness and Smirnoff vodka, has reported a 10% rise in annual earnings despite a challenging year. In Britain, net sales were up 2% driven by strong spirits and wine performance.