Hot topics

09-Dec-2004 - Punch Taverns scooped the award for the best development programme in non-managed estates at the National Industry Training Awards (NITAs) held by the British Institute...

Petitions as piped music axed

09-Dec-2004 - Customers at a number of Samuel Smith's pubs are set to petition the brewer to bring back music after it scrapped background tunes following an...

JDW agrees lamb deal to boost menu transparency

09-Dec-2004 - by Max Gosney JD Wetherspoon has boosted its menu transparency after agreeing a deal with producers in the North of England to supply farm-assured...

Gone for a Burtonwood

09-Dec-2004 - Wolves & Dudley has snapped up the 460-strong Burtonwood estate in a deal that strengthens the company's position as a super-regional. Paul Charity reports ...

Couple win £10k to spend on pub

02-Dec-2004 - Husband and wife team, Renny and Elaine Dobbs, of the Hussar pub in Margate, Kent, have won the Pubvision '04 competition, which required entrants to...

Cask Belgian ale is first for JDW chain

02-Dec-2004 - JD Wetherspoon pubs across the UK are now exclusively serving a Belgian ale on draught. It means it is the only UK pub company...

Average freehold value hits £540,000

02-Dec-2004 - The average value of a freehouse in the UK has topped £500,000 for the first time, according to chartered surveyors Fleurets in its annual survey...

Pioneer focuses on local heroes' drive

02-Dec-2004 - Pioneer Pub Company has urged its managers to become "local heroes" at its inaugural conference held at Newbury racecourse. The conference attracted over 110...

Sector's rating stalls Soho float

02-Dec-2004 - by Paul Charity Soho Bars and Restaurants will wait until the managed sector is more highly rated by investors before seeking to list on...

Spirit Group completes its refinancing

02-Dec-2004 - Managed operator Spirit Group has completed a refinancing process that puts it in a better position to float next year. The company has raised...

MA launches Beer With Food Week

25-Nov-2004 - In an exciting new initiative for licensees, the Morning Advertiser is linking with Greene King to launch a national Beer With Food Week next year....

Pubco power report due out shortly

25-Nov-2004 - The long-awaited Trade & Industry Select Committee report into pubco power is set to roll off the Government presses within the next fortnight. The...

Good behaviour trial at Trust Inns

25-Nov-2004 - by John Harrington Manchester-based Trust Inns, the former Pub Estate Company, is making troublemakers sign contracts promising good behaviour, in a ground-breaking move that...

Charles Wells scrutinises first franchise

18-Nov-2004 - Brewer Charles Wells is studying early results from its first-ever UK franchise pub trading agreement launched last month at the Fox & Hounds, Riseley, Bedfordshire....

Burtonwood boosts sales and profits

18-Nov-2004 - Cheshire-based pub operator Burtonwood has overcome poor weather in the summer to boost its first-half sales by 5% to £29.5m and its profit by £1m...

Braced for the Christmas rush

18-Nov-2004 - A steady but unspectacular pre-Christmas period has not dampened the spirits of Yates's manager Paul Robinson especially when the phone's at the Newcastle outlet...

Pitcher & Piano's tune-up speeds on

18-Nov-2004 - The refurbishment of the Pitcher & Piano estate, owned by Wolverhampton & Dudley, is gathering pace with six sites now completed and a further six...

Sales slow-down denied by Laurel

18-Nov-2004 - Laurel Pub Company has denied that its sales growth had declined during the summer. The high-street bar operator has revealed that its 70-strong Hog's...

NALHM drive to double numbers

18-Nov-2004 - The National Association of Licensed House Managers (NALHM) is starting a recruitment drive to double membership within one year

Trade takes a bow at responsibility awards

18-Nov-2004 - by MA Reporter Mitchells & Butlers, the pub company that runs All Bar One, It's A Scream, and Harvester, among other national chains, has...

U-turn on price cuts as JDW sees margins fall

18-Nov-2004 - by Paul Charity High street operator JD Wetherspoon has performed a U-turn and increased its prices in an attempt to boost its margins. ...

Let's open books'

11-Nov-2004 - Peter Linacre, managing director of Massive, argues that the pubco rent review process still brings an implicit penalty for success'. He maintains a fairer...

Yates hits high street with two-for-one meal deals

11-Nov-2004 - by John Harrington High-street managed company Yates Group has started offering two-for-one meal deals across its Yates's outlets, except for its Ha! Ha! Bar...

Yates monitors service refusals for police data

11-Nov-2004 - by Tony Halstead Staff in 153 Yates Group outlets are to record how many intoxicated or under-age customers are refused service in an experiment taking...

Turning full circle

11-Nov-2004 - Gerry Martin, brother of JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin, has gone back behind the bar as he down-sizes his company, Stone Hill Taverns. Paul Charity...