What the Sunday papers said
Mail on Sunday
- The European Commission (EC) has given the Premier League until next month to prove that the latest deal it struck with Sky for Premiership football rights was competitive. Reports suggest that despite splitting the rights into four packages, the Premier League only received a bid from Sky for the two most attractive packages.
Red tape is costing small firms up to £96bn a year, according to a report by employment law firm Peninsula. The survey of 5,600 businesses found that bosses of small firms were spending up to eight and a half hours a week making sure the range of health, safety and employment regulations were being followed.
The Rotch Group, headed by Pubmaster investor Robert Tchenguiz, made a loss of £21.1 million in the year to May 2002.
Eldridge Pope, the embattled Dorset pub group, is expected to issue a statement advising its shareholders not to sell to leisure entrepreneur Michael Cannon. Read more on thePublican.com
The Sunday Times
- Drinks companies may be forced to tone down adverts which link drinking to sexual prowess. A recent meeting of the Amsterdam Group, a European Union-wide drinks industry body, flagged up fears that Brussels may impose restrictions on drinks advertising if many ads are not "de-sexed" and made more responsible.
Those in line for the chop include Vinnie Jones's Latin Quarter advert for Bacardi rum and Carling's series, which show a scantily-clad woman pouring beer around the house for a man to lick up.
The Observer
- Former Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers, has warned that Labour must connect with what has been coined the "Bacardi Breezer" generation if it wants to stay in power. The Bacardi Breezers are aged between 18-25 and have been raised in a time of relative economic prosperity and take high unemployment and low interest for granted.
Broadcasting rivals of Sky are reported to be preparing to complain to the EC that the auction for Premiership football rights was biased in Sky's favour.
As reported in the Publican last week, Robert Tchenguiz, the Iraqi -born millionaire, is in talks to take over pub chain Pubmaster. Read more on thePublican.com
Sunday Express
- The Laurel Pub Company and Mitchells & Butler are joint favourites to win the £2.4bn tussle for Scottish & Newcastle's pub estate. Other bidders still in the race include Pubmaster, venture capital group CVC and the Reuben brothers.
Nobu, the celebrity-studded restaurant in the Metropolitan Hotel, London, is to deliver its Japanese cuisine to Londoners' homes after signing a deal with food-delivery firm Room Service.
The Independent on Sunday
- A police chase with a difference in Reno, Nevada in the USA. Mr Jarrett Orcutt was stopped and arrested after police discovered his motorised barstool (top speed 35mph) was stolen.
