Mark Daniels: Smoking shelter fumble
I'm quite fussy about locking up the pub's car park at the end of the day. When the pub shuts I go round, check the car park for abandoned vehicles...
Archives for October 12, 2009
S&N to close Dunston brewery
Scottish & Newcastle has announced its intention to close its Dunston brewing operations in Gateshead, by mid 2010. The company proposes to...
Arran Brewery eyes Diageo's Kilmarnock bottling plant
A Scottish island brewery could move its bottling operation into the doomed Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. The firm behind the Arran...
Stephen Magorrian: Don't hold out for help from Darling
Just under a year ago, when the magnitude of the financial crisis started to become apparent, Alistair Darling reduced VAT to 15 per cent in an...
Orchid to look at re-opening north-east base for PBR
Orchid boss Rufus Hall has said that the company will look to re-open a base in the north-east for Premium Bars and Restaurant (PBR) after Orchid completes its take-over plan.
MPs agree to ban on cig vending machines
A ban on cigarette vending machines now looks certain to happen after MPs agreed they should be outlawed. An amendment to the Health Bill by Labour...
Sam Smith's appeals against tribunal decision
Brewer Sam Smith's is to appeal against the decision of an employment tribunal which ruled it unfairly sacked one of its pub management couples....
Value offers drive Whitbread's pub business
Beefeater operator Whitbread said its 375-strong pub restaurant business put in a "robust performance" in the first six months of its financial year,...
Merchant Inns placed in administration
Merchant Inns, the pub operator founded by Robert Breare, has been placed into administration with Deloitte and its six pubs are now up for sale....
Cider industry dismayed by Tory duty plan
The cider industry has reacted strongly to last week's speech at the Conservative Party Conference by shadow home secretary Chris Grayling. Chair of...
Make it the Minimum hits 1,000 mark
More than 1,000 people have now added their names to The Publican's Make it the Minimum campaign - designed to bring an end to irresponsible...
Comment: Sambuca alcopop anyone?
There we all were waiting for a sambuca-based RTD and along come two at once. The RTD category is apparently in terminal decline, pubs selling 15.4...
Pubs see benefits of AWP prize ticket system
Pubs are reaping the benefits of a new type of AWP system which prints a ticket receipt for a winning player, instead of offering a coin payout. The...
New advice on keeping poker legal in pubs
A leaflet alerting licensees to how to keep poker legal in pubs has been produced by the Gambling Commission and the British Beer & Pub...
Merchant Inns goes into administration
Six pubs belonging to award-winning pub company Merchant Inns, the chain set up by property magnate Sir John Ritblat, have been placed on the market...
AWP tickets boost pub incomes
Games machines where customers retrieve prize money behind the bar are to be rolled out to thousands of pubs after boosting machine income up to 35%...
Booker reports strong sales growth
Booker, the UK's leading food & drink wholesaler, has increased its like-for-like sales to catering customers by 12.6% for the 24 weeks to 11th...
Scottish & Newcastle to close Dunston brewery
Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) has announced plans to close its Dunston brewery in Gateshead - which produces its Newcastle Brown Ale - by the...
Cigarette machines may be banned
Pubs may soon be forced to remove cigarette vending machines as MPs agreed to have them outlawed last night. MPs supported an amendment to have the...