Yesteryear Pub Company boss in buyback bid
Tony Callaghan, founder of Wigan-based pubco Yesteryear, is close to buying back some if not all of the company's assets after it went into...
Archives for December 14, 2009
Sharkey hits back at LGA over music plans snub
UK Music chief Feargal Sharkey has criticised a council chief for raising a "moral panic" over plans to change licensing laws around live music. A...
Major shareholders at M&B revealed
A further three racing magnates have been revealed as major shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers. Together Michael Tabor, Dermot Desmond and...
Industry must try harder, says Marston's Alistair Darby
Speaking to the Business, Innovations and Skills (BIS) Committee last week Marston's Pub Company boss Alistair Darby admitted relationships between...
Alcohol charity Drinkaware gets £15m funding
Alcohol education charity Drinkaware has secured more than £5m funding each year for the next three years, from producers, pub operators,...
Pub Bitch: Bridget Simmons, Brigit Symmons or Brigid Simmonds?
Slapstick politics Marston's Pub Company boss Alistair 'Cuddly' Darby was given a robust introduction to the rough and tumble of politics at the BIS...
Buffalo Joes up for grabs
Buffalo Joes, a nightclub and bar operation in Tyneside, is on the market after going into administration. The freehold interest in the venue,...
Expect VAT to rise, warns leisure industry expert
A leading leisure expert has warned the pub sector should prepare for a possible hike in VAT in the near future. Richard Hathaway of accountants KPMG...
'Poor weather dampens pubs' sales'
The UK's leading pub and restaurant groups suffered a sharp slide in sales in November, ending a run of upbeat trading figures. Sales last month were...
Union slates undercover cops in pubs
Licensees Unite's concerns follows reports that police in some areas are to station themselves in bars over the festive period.
Bompas & Parr flood building with punch
Food architects Bompas and Parr have been at it again. After the success of their walk-in gin and tonic in May, last week saw the pair flood palatial...
Liverpool strikes blow to national ID roll-out
Councillors in Liverpool have struck a blow to the Government's national ID card scheme, which could be used to check the age of customers in pubs....
Industry gives Drinkaware £15m boost
Pub companies and brewers are among the companies that have pledged £15m to fund alcohol education charity Drinkaware. A total of 50 companies in...
Hamish Champ: Whose truth is truest?
Attending the BIS committee evidence hearing thing in Westminster last week was an interesting if at times rather predictable way to spend a Tuesday...
Mark Daniels: Rage Against The Machine
Who, or what, do you blame when the glasses coming out of your glasswasher fail to clean properly? Without doubt, we nearly all point the spotty...
Whitbread shines in the gloom
Whitbread said today its focus on value had helped drive business across its pub restaurant business in recent months, but warned the tough trading...
Union anger as undercover cops target pubs
A trade union has criticised police for bringing back undercover officers trying to catch licensees serving drunks. The Home Office initially...
Beers without the booze
Recently on Twitter.com I was lucky enough to become the 2,000th follower The Publican's Twitter account, @ukpubs - and I won a T-shirt. The shirt...
Enterprise raises almost £12m at auction
The latest auction of Enterprise Inns pubs saw seven lots sell raising almost £12m. Enterprise sold the freeholds of seven London pubs at an...
Are regional brewers in a better place than the pubcos?
The City appeared to ignore last week's BIS shindig, but there may be signs of a shift in the tectonic plates of the industry all the same. Sitting...
Enterprise denies legal threat claims
Enterprise Inns has denied allegations from Greg Mulholland that it has made legal threats against the Parliamentary Committee probing pubcos, as well as the media. But the MP has hit back.