What the Sunday papers say - June 10

Related tags Dudley breweries Foot-and-mouth disease

Sunday TelegraphPubmaster plans to raise £150m by selling Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries' brands and brewing division, such as Marston's...

Sunday Telegraph

Pubmaster plans to raise £150m by selling Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries' brands and brewing division, such as Marston's Pedigree and Banks's bitter. If its takeover goes ahead, operations would be sold as going concerns but separate the ownership of the four breweries from the brands. It also intends to sell W&DB's beer supply business to the free trade as a third separate entity. Pubmaster still hopes shareholders will pressure W&DB management back to the negotiating table to hammer out an agreed deal of about 500p a share, valuing it at £472m. Read previous stories about W&DB on ThePublican.com.

Scotland on Sunday

Burn Stewart Distillers is planning to hit the acquisition trail and pick off niche market players.

Belhaven Breweries is ready to talk to English operators about launching joint bids for big pub estates as it looks to speed up its expansion plans, although it is prioritising moves to grow its 136-strong estate in Scotland. Read more on ThePublican.com.

Sunday Times

Chorion has completed the £3m purchase of 10 Covent Garden from City Bars and Restaurants. It has also won a victory in its ongoing battle with Westminster council. Read more about Chorion on ThePublican.com.

Susan Hill, the wife of Tony Hill, chairman and chief executive of the SFI Group has sold her stake for £807,800. She cashed in 280,000 shares at 288.5p. The shares have had a great run and it may be time for investors to follow Hill's lead and take some profits at 258p.

Speculation about a £500m bid by AG Barr for Britvic re-emerged last week. Analysts, though, wonder whether such a move would be too big a bite for the drinks company, which is valued at only a fifth of the estimated bid price. An alternative scenario is that Barr might bid for parts of what is a varied portfolio of businesses (Scottish edition only). Read more about AG Barr's bid for Britvic on ThePublican.com.

Independent on Sunday

Spending by overseas visitors dipped sharply amid the foot-and-mouth crisis, Office for National Statistics figures showed on Saturday. Foreign tourists spent £885m in April 2001, down from £1.06bn in April 2000.

Farmers in an area untouched by foot-and-mouth disease were anxiously waiting for test results on Saturday after almost 100 animals were slaughtered in a pre-emptive cull. A Maff spokeswoman confirmed that a small cull was done on a farm between Bridgwater and Taunton in Somerset because suspicious symptoms had been spotted.

PizzaExpress is considering returning cash to shareholders through either a share buy-back or a dividend. The company, which operates 275 restaurants, wants to reduce its cash pile that has amassed following a succession of good results. However, some of its cash surplus will be eaten up by expansion plans. As well as planning to have 500 restaurants within six to seven years, it is working on proposals to open a chain of takeaway restaurants at Britain's railway stations. It is also planning to extend PizzaExpress's popular jazz nights after the success of two permanent jazz restaurants in London's Soho and in Maidstone, Kent. It has also earmarked its overseas operation, where restaurants are franchises and owned outright, for growth.

The Observer

Scientists have warned of a 'nightmare scenario' that will leave the countryside in crisis for the rest of the year as cases of foot and mouth disease continue to break out, threatening a fresh epidemic. The predictions, which will horrify farmers and tourism industry chiefs, cast doubt on the initial Government forecast that there would be no new cases by the end of the summer.

Sunday Express

PizzaExpress is motoring ahead over the past six months under chief executive Ian Eldridge. It is rolling out a new brand, San Marzano, in continental Europe and selling branded chilled pizzas in supermarkets.

Carve out a name in cookery - competitions are attracting new people to become chefs to tackle staff shortages.

The Mail on Sunday

Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB) could get as much as £75m for the Pitcher & Piano chain - more than the £60m originally predicted. If Pubmaster buys the brewer, it is set to sell Pitcher & Piano to Noble House Leisure, but they could be sold on again. Potential bidders include SFI Group, Regent Inns, Barracuda Group and a private equity firm. Read previous stories about W&DB on ThePublican.com.

Stowells of Chelsea tops the list of wine brands in the UK and is the first time in British history that one brand has sold more than 3 million nine-litre cases.

Directors of Burn Stewart Distillers have topped up their holdings in the company after enjoying a healthy return on the last batch that they bought.

Sunday Business

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