Thorley nets £10m share-option benefit

Punch chief executive Giles Thorley netted £10m on Tuesday after exercising share options in the company. Thorley, right, who will face a tax bill of around £4m on his windfall, still has around £16m of options in the company. He will pay the money into a trust fund for his children and also use some to continue to fund the London Sailing Project, which owns four boats and takes deprived kids sailing. "I put money into that project monthly," he said.

Tchenguiz paper profit' hits £9m

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, who has talked of building a 1,000-strong pub estate, is sitting on a £9m paper profit on his investment in Regent Inns. Tchenguiz bought a 12.6% stake in Regent for 30p a share last year, costing £4.25m. Since then, the Regent share price has risen by more than 200% to 94p, valuing his stake at £13.26m. One industry observer said: "It has got to the stage where it must be tempting to cash in the shares. Equally, it is a pretty good blocking stake." Tchenguiz also owns Laurel Pub Company and Globe.

Urbium takes on Walkabout lease

London bar operator Urbium has bought the leasehold of Regent Inns' Shoe Lane Walkabout bar in the City of London. The site, which has a 2am licence and a capacity of 500, will be converted into a bar called Alibi before re-opening in April. Chairman John Conlon said: "The acquisition of this well-located City venue is another step towards achieving our strategic objective of securing a leadership position in this major market."

Collyer raises M&B's share price target

Deutsche Bank analyst Geof Collyer has increased his share price target for managed operator Mitchells & Butlers from 380p to 400p. Collyer, left, said: "After unwinding its previous unjustified price premium on the high street, which resulted in turning around the group's Achilles heel, the focus will now shift onto margin improvement brought by the change in the sales mix and the new-found ability of the group to be able to sell what its customers want' rather than what its former owner's brewing business could supply."

Hardys & Hansons snap up two pubs

Nottingham-based Hardys & Hansons has bought two managed pubs in separate transactions for £2.3m. The pubs are the Thatch & Thistle in Nelson, Lancashire, and the White Cow in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Chairman James Kerr-Muir said uninvested like-for-like turnover in its managed pubs had increased by 4.5%. But he admitted the group faced significant cost pressure from increases such as minimum wage and rates revaluation.

Pernod in talks over joint Allied offer

Drinks company Pernod Ricard has held talks with Fortune Brands, the American owner of Jim Beam bourbon, about a joint offer for Allied Domecq, according to the Mail on Sunday. Pernod is a similar size to Allied and it is thought that it has too many overlapping brands to do the deal by itself. Last month, it was revealed that Pernod had appointed financial advisers JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to explore potential acquisition targets.

Almond linked to Freedom gay bar deal

A consortium that includes singer Marc Almond is believed to have bought the Freedom gay bar in London's Soho from Regent Inns. The site, along with the Walkabout sold to Urbium, achieved a combined sale price of £1.2m. Regent executive chairman Bob Ivell, right, has said a small number of other disposals may be made by Regent in the coming year.

Heavitree reveals 25% rise in profit

Essex-based Heavitree Brewery has reported a 25.7% increase in profit before tax to £1.59m for the year to 31 October 2004. However, the company has set aside £400,000 to pay for compliance with new licensing, disability discrimination and control of asbestos laws. Chairman William Tucker said: "There are grounds for optimism but the barrage of legislation continues to create uncertainty about the future. The £400,000 appears certain to be exceeded." Its beer had seen a 1.9% increase in volume last year.

Town & Country to spend £10m on Apres

Birmingham-based Town & Country Inns is to spend £10m on acquisitions this year to expand its ski-lodge themed brand Apres. The money will be spent on opening six sites, with venues already identified in Stafford, and in Solihull and Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. The Stafford site, a former Yates venue which has seen a £500,000 investment, will be the first to open.