'Casual pub jobs could go under new government drink code'

Casual bar staff may be forced out by a proposed mandatory code drawn up by the government to crack down on Britain's excessive drinking. The new plan will require all bar employees to undergo accredited training. Under the proposals bars are to be banned from offering free alcohol to women and free wine and beer tastings will be curbed as the government seeks to cut public drunkenness. There will also be rules to limit "happy hour" offers that encourage speed drinking and soft drinks will have to be sold at the same discount during promotions. - Sunday Times​

SABMiller, the brewing group, is considering restricting sales of Peroni in the UK to ensure the top-selling beer doesn't suffer the fate of rival Stella Artois. Speaking ahead of a trading statement this week, Alan Clark, SABMiller Europe's managing director, said restricting distribution of the Italian premium label was one way to maintain the brand. - Independent on Sunday​

Scotland on Sunday​ wonders how some of Gordon Brown's neighbours in his North Queensferry constituency are faring in the credit crunch. Derek Maclean, who owns the lease on the Albert hotel, pub and restaurant, said he doesn't think the true effect of the credit crunch has emerged. "The pub game is not one for the faint-hearted," he said. "Gone are the days when you opened a public house and made lots of money. Fortune will favour the brave. I'm doing a refurbishment of the bar and restaurant because if you stand still you go backwards. The trade will pull itself back and it's just a question of how long it will take to get back to normal profit." - Scotland on Sunday​

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz is believed to have sold his entire three per cent holding in Whitbread, the hotels-to-coffee shops leisure group. Tchenguiz, who last week unwound stakes in Mitchells & Butlers, the pub operator, and J Sainsbury, the supermarket group resulting in losses totalling up to £1bn, is thought to have broken even from the sale of the £50m holding in Whitbread. - Sunday Times​

Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow is celebrating after taking part in a campaign to save a local pub, the Torriano, in his North London neighbourhood. "It's a great day for democracy," he proclaimed on Friday. But, according to some, the pub was never in danger - the proprietors merely wanted to convert the upper floors into flats. In 2005 Snow urged the local council to block an extension of the pub's licence, which it duly did. - Independent On Sunday​

Karen Jones, the former boss of managed pub operator Spirit Group, has joined the board of Virgin Active, the gym chain, as a non-executive director. Jones, who co-founded Café Rouge, was chief executive of Spirit for four years, stepping down after Punch acquired it in early 2006. She is also a non-executive director at HBOS, the troubled high-street bank and retains an interest in the pub trade through Food & Fuel, a chain of gastropubs she founded. - Sunday Times​