City Diary - 4 September

Short-sellers could get caught​

Debenhams boss Rob Templeman has been touring his shareholders asking them not to lend out stock to short sellers. Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin doesn't mind short-sellers, though. Referring to his own move to buy £700,000 of Wetherspoon stock a few weeks ago, he says: "The reason I was able to do that is that people have been shorting the stock. Executives traipsing around the City are not enhancing the company from an operational point of view. If you think the price is too low, go and buy some shares." Martin also issued short-sellers with the following warning: "Good luck to them — if they hang on long enough they are going to make big losses."

M&B getting taller not shorter​

The Daily Telegraph notes that Robert Tchenguiz may have had some success in thwarting short-selling at Mitchells & Butlers. He converted a derivative holding of almost 26% into shares to stop them being lent out to short-sellers. M&B's share price had fallen by 75% over the previous 12 months but has since climbed by 66%. About 16% of the company's stock remains on loan.

Leisure property still selling​

Some folks are still buying commercial leisure investments. Colliers CRE Licensed & Leisure has sold One Leicester Square, the former MTV Studios and the Sound nightclub. It's a nine-storey leisure and retail building comprising approximately 37,900sq ft producing an income of £1.7m per annum. It was sold for £33.7m, representing a net initial yield of 4.8%.

JDW makes inroads in Wales​

There can't be many counties that do not boast a single JD Wetherspoon (JDW). Step forward, Pembrokeshire. All that now looks set to change with a JDW licence application for the former Wilton House pub in Quay Street, Haverfordwest, which is due to be heard this month. The company's chartered surveyor has revealed that more Pembrokeshire towns are now on its list: Cardigan, Fishguard, Tenby, Saundersfoot, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.

Redburn's Marston's muddle​

No-one could accuse Marston's of encouraging binge drinking in its sponsorship of Test cricket. One sports writer spotted the Marston's beer tent behind the press box at Edgbaston displaying a large sign reading: "Pint — £2.50. Or four — £10."

Ross's revised schedule​

Much-loved Belhaven boss Stuart Ross is going part-time — in his own fashion. He plans to buy a holiday home in Portugal for himself and his partner, Dorothy, and spend "quality time" with his three children, Sarah, David and Liam, after leaving the top job later this year. He also plans to continue part-time with Belhaven Brewery, Montpeliers (Edinburgh) and Dunfermline Building Society — where he holds non-executive positions — in an advisory capacity. "Basically, I'm planning to have two weeks a month when I'm working and two weeks when I'm having some fun!" he said.

Managed pubs in poll position?​

Analysts at Redburn Partners produced an impressive 100-page report on the pub sector after they commissioned YouGov to talk to 200 pub managers and licensees about the state of trade. The conclusion was that managed pubs are performing better than leased and tenanted boozers. It also found out-performance among Marston's leased pubs and under-performance on the managed side. There was a caveat, though. "Our problem here is that YouGov appears to have sampled a group of abnormally large Marston's leased pubs and a group of abnormally small Marston's managed pubs. Annoying, but always the risk when you ask a polling agency to sample pubs at random. The survey really hasn't given us much insight here." Fair enough.

Saving grace for Cavendish Arms​

Good to see the church coming to the rescue of one closed-down pub. The Rev Mark Cannon has set up a community group to try and reopen Marston's Cavendish Arms in Brindle, near Chorley. Rev Cannon, from nearby St James's Church, has now started a bid to secure the future of the boozer. Discussions to take over the lease have started with owners Marston's Pub Company. Rev Cannon said: "The last licensee disappeared. The pub has been locked up since, so we decided to come up with a plan. It's not that unusual to take over a village pub. Hundreds of years ago, the church used to own pubs and there was a close link."

Senior slams 'daft' deals​

Outspoken Bob Senior, now running Utopian Leisure, has given his view on selling drinks for 80p each. "It's not commercially sensible. I find it totally irresponsible. It's aimed at a particular clientele — young and daft — and it will work a treat. Someone who does that is abandoning his responsibility as a licensee." Discuss.

Slug helps raise bog standards ​

Full marks for community-mindedness at Slug & Lettuce. Its Chester branch is taking part in the trial of a Community Toilet Scheme. The venue, along with the local Tesco and a few others, will display a sign making it clear that customers can freely use the facilities without buying anything. Local councillor Pat Lott, chairman of the environment scrutiny committee, says: "This new partnership will provide access to a far greater range of well-maintained toilets at different times of the day."

D'Arry's aims to return by Xmas​

Terrible luck for multiple operator Chris Gerard. His d'Arry's venue in Cambridge, a Greene King-leased pub that has inspired a joint venture with Greene King's managed division in Kings Worthy, Hampshire, has been destroyed in a chip-pan fire. It will be closed for four whole months. Says Gerard: "We are looking at 16 weeks before we can open again, but we will be bigger and better."

Bowery to drum up Sheffield trade ​

Celebrities continue to pile into the pub ownership game. Matt Helders, drummer of Gordon Brown's favourite band, the Arctic Monkeys, is opening the Bowery in his home town of Sheffield on 20 September. The Bowery, situated on Devonshire Street (opposite the West One complex), is a brand-new, custom-built bar to be managed by ex-Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson. Inspiration for the bar's name came from the legendary Bowery area of New York which became notorious for its saloons and gambling dens.