Punch

Estate numbers: Punch has around 1,300 pubs across the UK

Punch expands its growing estate

By Nikkie Thatcher

Punch Pubs & Co has acquired a trio of Leicestershire pubs from Steamin' Billy into its leased and tenanted division.

Who were the winner in the Punch awards?

Best pubs in Punch estate celebrated

By Ed Bedington

The best Punch pub operators have been unveiled following a rigorous process to pick out the best from the company’s 1,300 businesses.

Active role: the Plough ticks all the boxes when it comes to operating a great pub

GBPA 2023

Meet the winner of the Punch Pub of the Year 2023

By The Morning Advertiser

With its thatched roof and quirky interior, the Grade 2 listed Plough looks the quintessential country pub, and thanks to the care and attention of tenants Emma and Paul Gibbon it’s grown into much more, a family-friendly venue that plays an active role...

Trading update: Punch has converted 71 L&T sites into its Managed Partnerships division

Punch revenue up but profits drop

By Gary Lloyd

Punch Pubs Group has announced a boost in total revenue to £158.1m for the 28 weeks to 26 February 2023, compared to £142.6m in the same period last year.

Community acquisitions: Punch acquires two sites

Punch snaps up 2 pubs

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Punch Pubs & Co has acquired two new community pubs to add to its 1,300-strong portfolio.

Punch makes changes to exec team

Punch announces exec team change

By Ed Bedington

Punch Pubs & Co has announced a shake-up within its executive team, which sees a couple of changes in senior roles.

Who is trying to buy Punch?

Punch deal rumours remain unconfirmed

By Ed Bedington

Speculation over a potential deal for the purchase of Punch Pubs & Co continues to swirl with both parties refusing to comment.

Who is the Punch Pub of the Year?

GBPA Punch Pub of the Year: The Wise Man Inn

By Ed Bedington

Set in stunning surroundings, the Wise Man Inn was celebrating after taking home the title of Punch Pub of the Year in the Great British Pub Awards 2021.

Pubco paperwork: According to data provided by the office of the PCA, as of 31 March 2021 there were 8,692 sites under pubs code jurisdiction via the regulated pub companies

The pubs code turns five

In numbers: the PCA's five-year caseload

By The Morning Advertiser

To mark the fifth anniversary of the pubs code coming into force on 21 July, The Morning Advertiser (MA) has broken down some of the numbers behind the pubs code adjudicator’s (PCA) in tray.

Lockdown easing: pub companies are waiting on updated Government guidance before deciding whether to encourage staff to continue wearing masks (image: Getty/LeoPatrizi)

Pub bosses mull future of masks

By Emily Hawkins

Pub bosses are considering whether or not to ask or require staff to wear face coverings beyond 19 July as 38% say they will ask staff to continue.

Self-isolation: staff have been required to stay at home after being alerted by the NHS Covid app that they have come into contact with an infectious person (image: MmeEmil / Getty)

Sector underwhelmed by changes to self-isolation

By Emily Hawkins

Pub bosses have called on the Government to urgently review self-isolation rules for those notified they have been in contact with someone that has tested positive for Covid.

What is my brief? ‘I have to deliver and enforce the pubs code as it is, and not as some may argue it should be’

Opinion

Looking ahead: the post-Covid pubs code

By Fiona Dickie – pubs code adjudicator

The announcement that I would be the next pubs code adjudicator (PCA) was made on 24 February 2020. The first lockdown came just three weeks later.

Discount denied: 'It leaves us with no breathing space. Essentially the discount is totally irrelevant to us,' Phil Urban, CEO of M&B, said (Image: selensergen/Getty Images)

‘Business rates cap will harm pub revival’

By Stuart Stone

The Government must re-consider its proposed £2m business rates relief cap or face the continued “systemic closure” of pubs, according to Colliers International’s head of business rates.

What's in the news 27 February

The MA's Review of the Week

Frustrations and optimism for reopening

By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's editor Ed Bedington speaks with Punch Pubs ceo Clive Chesser about the week's biggest headlines.

Ongoing support: Punch Pubs & Co is offering rent credit from July

Punch to offer 75% rent credit from summer

By Nikkie Thatcher

Punch Pubs & Co will offer help to tied pubs on substantive agreements from 4 July, with initial support of three quarters (75%) rent credit for July, reduced each month beyond autumn.

Recent additions: Punch’s Clive Chesser has welcomed the seven Heartstone Inns pubs to the fold

Punch acquires 7 pubs from Heartstone Inns

By Nikkie Thatcher

National pubco Punch Pubs & Co has completed the acquisition of seven pubs from south-west-based Heartstone Inns this week for an undisclosed sum.

Remarkable Punch publicans: pubs have a 'rosy future'

Exclusive

Outgoing Punch chief executive on the future for Punch pubs

By Claire Churchard

Following the news that Punch chief executive Duncan Garrood has decided to leave the business, after Patron completed its deal to buy the group's pubs, The Morning Advertiser gets the inside track on why he isn’t staying for the transition period...

Beer delivery issue: campaigners claim MRO may be triggered

Punch distribution deal 'could trigger MRO'

By Michelle Perrett

Pubco campaigners have claimed that a new drinks distribution deal for Punch could trigger the market-rent-only (MRO) option for hundreds of its pubs.

Knockout blow for 158 Punch pub licensees

Knockout blow for 158 Punch pub licensees

By Ed Bedington

Interestingly enough, following on from my last piece on paranoia and the pub trade, Punch seemed determined to underline this by selling off a lot of pubs that it has been suggested would have been moving down the market rent-only option (MRO) route.