'Tchenguiz heading for crunch talks with banks over Globe Pub Co'

"The joint owners of Globe Pub Company, property investor Robert Tchenguiz and brewer Scottish & Newcastle, are preparing for crunch negotiations with their lending banks and bondholders amid fears that the company will soon breach its banking covenants. The situation has created tension between R20, Tchenguiz's investment vehicle, and S&N, which together created Globe when they bought 360 pubs from Spirit in 2004 for £350m. It is thought the value of the group's pubs has fallen sufficiently to dilute the equity of both owners. The tension is believed to have arisen over S&N's management of the estate, which has a number of empty sites, and is performing worse than rivals such as Punch Taverns. R20's absence from the board of directors is a further source of dispute, say City sources." - Sunday Times​

"Family-friendly town centres which discourage binge-drinking are to be awarded a new "purple flag" backed by the police and civic leaders. Towns will be assessed between the hours of 6pm and 5am the following morning, probably on a Friday or Saturday night. The most crucial factor in qualifying for a purple flag will be whether there is a mix of pubs, restaurants, cafés and entertainment venues such as theatres, cinemas and galleries rather than a concentration on venues which attract young binge-drinkers." - Sunday Telegraph​

"Crushed Corrie actress Bev Callard has told how her dream of success as a real-life landlady is in tatters after she had to hand back the keys to her pub…The crunch came when the rent and the cost of beer went up by £500 a week and they realised they could no longer make the business work…Then Hydes, the brewery that owns the pub - The Gallery in Hale, Cheshire - sent round a demand for £59,000-plus in unpaid rent…Said Liz: 'They are acting like one of the big boys and really pressurising us and trying to tread all over us…We are disputing the figures and also the way we were left to struggle when we told them we couldn't meet the rent.'…A Hydes spokesman refused to comment on her allegations." - News of the World​

"A kid's Christmas party was axed after the pub venue was smashed up by its rowing bosses. The Jolly Drover in Inverness had been due to welcome Santa and 30 children. But the event yesterday was called off because the pub was in a mess after a row between manager Lindsay Webster and her husband Mark late on Friday." - Glasgow Sunday Mail​