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Business Support

All the latest tips and ideas on how to improve your pub's performance

Pub Mentors: Softs put fizz into business

22-Feb-2012 - Executing ‘brilliant basics’ on soft drinks and using targeted promotional activity to drive new footfall were the two key areas that lessees Duncan and Natalie Entwistle and I talked about on my first visit to their pub, the Greets Inn in Warnham, West Sussex.

The Big Interview: David Wilson

21-Feb-2012 - Nearly a year into his post, David Wilson, the British Beer and Pub Association’s (BBPA’s) public affairs director, tells Gurjit Degun about his love of a good campaign and how the industry needs to work together to tackle the elephant in the room — the beer-duty escalator.

Pub Mentors: Making Greet strides

21-Feb-2012 - As my three-month mentoring programme with the Greets Inn comes to an end, it is wonderful to reflect on how far Duncan and Natalie have come in such a short space of time. I believe we have achieved all we set out in our action plan — and more.

Pub footy: Kitchin-sink drama goes on

20-Feb-2012 - It is not surprising that initial reactions in the trade to the latest round of the satellite TV football arguments appear rather confused (the PMA’s front page last week)

Making the most of sharing foods

17-Feb-2012 - Sharing foods have enjoyed a rise in popularity over recent years. Sheila McWattie looks at 10 different ways to pull the groups in

Doorstaff Games alarm

16-Feb-2012 - Earlier this month, a diktat was sent to Whitehall departments by Government spin doctors, effectively ordering them to produce three good news stories a day in the run up to this summer’s Olympic Games.

Tom Palmer: Another victory down to character

15-Feb-2012 - We certainly won’t have been handed too many laurel wreaths to us for our performance in Rome on Saturday but we eventually prevailed against a stubborn Italian side who, it must be remembered, defeated World Cup finalists France in last year’s RBS 6 Nations.

Pub Mentors: Surge in soft drink sales

15-Feb-2012 - Martin Sampson, out-of-home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, keeps tabs on his protégés.

Pub Mentors: The Elephant makes its mark

14-Feb-2012 - On a return visit to the Elephant in Bristol, trade consultant Alastair Scott, who runs Catton Hospitality, discovers that licensees Ben Bartrip and Sarah Eskins have been hard at it implementing many of his suggestions.

The Big Interview: Marco Pierre White

13-Feb-2012 - Marco Pierre White tells Matt Moggridge about the role of aspirations and frozen peas in successful food-pub development.

What’s hot in gastro land?

09-Feb-2012 - Lesley Foottit explores the emerging trends in gastropubs and pinpoints what we can expect in 2012.

Toasting our gastropubs

09-Feb-2012 - Think what you like about the term ‘gastropub’, it provides an instantly recognisable phrase to the public about what they should expect when stepping into such a pub.

Tom Palmer: 'Character and team spirit see us through'

08-Feb-2012 - With so many new faces in the England squad for the 2012 Six Nations campaign ( making the average age of the players 25 ) plus a new coaching team in place led by Stuart Lancaster it was no surprise to us all that the approach to preparation for the first game at Murrayfield was different to previous years.

Pub Mentors: Soft sell pays dividends

08-Feb-2012 - Martin Sampson, out of home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, keeps tabs on his protégés’ progress at the College Arms. Stratford.

The Big Interview: Roy Ellis

08-Feb-2012 - Inventive Leisure has consistently expanded its business for more than 20 years. Chief executive Roy Ellis tells Lesley Foottit how he weathers the storms and keeps the brand fresh.

Pub Mentors: Graduation day

07-Feb-2012 - When Jay Smith, owner of Montey’s Rock Cafe in York and Harrogate and star of TV’s Save Our Boozer, made a return visit to the College Arms at Lower Quinton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, he found that owners Jo Arevalo and Marilyn Herdman had been hard at work putting into practice the suggestions he made to turn the business around.

Pubwatch: How to watch out for trouble

06-Feb-2012 - It’s a busy Saturday afternoon and the atmosphere in your pub is electric. Two local football teams have just played out a highly-charged match on your big screen, and your bipartisan customers are all in lively, but friendly, voice.

Experience key to survival

02-Feb-2012 - I’d rather be running a pub than a shoe shop right now. And that’s not just because the idea of handling people’s feet all day turns my stomach.

The Big Interview: Mark Hunter

31-Jan-2012 - Mark Hunter is keeping a positive eye on the road ahead for beer and pubs — with no encouragement from Johnny Rotten. Phil Mellows meets the new British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) chairman.

Pub Mentors: Optimising soft drinks service

27-Jan-2012 - Martin Sampson, out-of-home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, reviews progress on improving soft-drink visibility at the Great Lyde in Yeovil, Somerset.

'Double your money': Pub Mentors, The Great Lyde, Yeovil

26-Jan-2012 - On a return visit to this Somerset pub, trade consultant Ali Carter finds that manager Ben Scott has been busy putting into practice many of her suggestions, has already doubled turnover and is well on his way to taking on the tenancy of the Palmers outlet.

Enlightened self-interest

26-Jan-2012 - One of the most rewarding duties that befalls the editor of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (besides all the press launches, beer tastings, industry dinners and, ahem, skiing trips) is to get involved with judging for the Publican Awards.

Are you up for the Pub Cup?

25-Jan-2012 - Last week’s launch of the Carlsberg Pub Cup is more evidence of the brewer’s seemingly unwavering commitment to English football and, of course, pubs. But it also got me thinking: do pubs do enough to support local sports teams, football or otherwise?

The Big Interview: Kevin Charity

24-Jan-2012 - Five years ago Boston-based multiple operator Kevin Charity swapped all his pubs for hotels. Phil Mellows discovers a new breed of Bulldog.

Keep an eye on the ball

18-Jan-2012 - If I was naive enough to think the Government’s response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report on the pubco-tenant relationship would draw a line under the matter, I have been well and truly disabused of that notion.