City Diary — 12 February

Trust Inns puts trust in Tories ​

You can understand giving up on the Labour Party amid current economic woes. Not surprising then that Trevor Hemmings' Trust Inns has come off the fence and dipped its hand in its pocket to support the opposition. Latest accounts show Trust Inns donated £50,000 to the Conservative Party in the 2007/2008 financial year after making no political donations the year before.

Jones keeping up with JDWs​

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Four JD Wetherspoon pubs in Plymouth are offering IPA at 99p a pint. Chairman of Plymouth club bosses' Licensed Leisure Association, Peter Jones, who is also vice-chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Society, said more cheap liquor offers would be forthcoming. He is offering a 99p bottle of lager in his pubs. Jones says: "We're putting prices on now we wouldn't have dreamt of three or four months ago. There will have to be offers, because the alternative is closure."

Star chef wins tastiest tome​

Bravo to pub chef Andrew Pern, who happens to hold a Michelin star at his wonderful Yorkshire pub, the Star Inn. His first book, Black Pudding & Foie Gras, has triumphed at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, picking up the ultimate accolade, the hotly-contested Best UK Chef Book. The book will now go on to compete with the successful books from around the globe, jostling to be crowned Best in the World in May 2009. Not bad, eh?

More crunching of the numbers​

Next month is crunch time for managed operators. Graeme Smith and Nick Cropper, partners at Zolfo Cooper, the firm created after a management buyout of Kroll's restructuring business, handled the administration process at Laurel. "The few months after Christmas are always critical for pub companies," says Smith. "Crunch time will come in March when pubs have to pay the rents. This is exactly what we saw at Laurel last year. All the cash gleaned from the Christmas trading period has now been totted up and many managers will be facing awkward decisions in the next few weeks."

McKenzie's Convivial exit​

One of the trade's most accomplished operators, Sheila McKenzie, has stepped down from the board of eight-strong Convivial London Pubs after deciding it doesn't need four non-executives. McKenzie, whose CV includes concepts such as Pitcher & Piano and Slug & Lettuce, will now focus on her own consultancy business. City Diary remembers that it was McKenzie who stepped down at Hartford Group when the management team got top heavy. "We shall miss her industry experience and strong focus on the customer-facing aspects," a spokesman for Convivial says. Maybe there was a better candidate, as at Hartford, for the departure lounge?

Another value vote for Taybarns​

Everybody was offering a bit of extra value in January. So what was happening at Whitbread's blockbuster Taybarns concept serving 1,000 customers a day? The Gateshead branch was offering a free meal — for every 100th customer through the door. General manager Liam Gladwin said: "We were doing our bit to add a touch more fun to January. There were many chances to be the lucky 100th." Well, around 10 a day.

Bad news is good news — for buyers​

Altium Securities analyst Greg Feehely believes that trading conditions in the pub sector will continue to deteriorate before they get better, with the first half of this year the "eye of the storm". He quotes veteran investor Warren Buffett for a different perspective as to how investors might view this: "Bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of the future at a marked-down price."

When in gloom do as Romans did​

On the subject on pithy bits of age-old wisdom. property agent Graham Allman offers this one from Cicero published in 55BC: "The Budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

Asda boss reports on family income ​

Asda chief executive Andy Bond accepted the challenge of guest editing Morning Advertiser sister magazine The Grocer. Bond was keen to give a lesson in life's realities. On what consumers want food-wise in tough times, he says: "They still want healthy, safe and nutritious food, sourced in an ethical and fair way — but they don't want to pay more for it. And, crucially, they can't afford to."

And how hard-up are consumers exactly? "Asda's income tracker shows the average family is £4 a week worse off compared with a year ago. It probably doesn't sound like a lot to a millionaire, but it's the difference between putting a few extra products in your basket or leaving them out."

Fawcett flair on speech circuit​

City Diary has news on the success of former Punch Taverns chief operating officer Adrian Fawcett on the public-speaking circuit. Fawcett, who now runs General Healthcare Group, the provider of independent healthcare services and the UK's largest private hospital company, can be hired for inspirational speaking at business conferences. One of his pet subjects is: "How the pub is one of the barometers for all businesses in terms of the economy: consumer spending behaviour, changing consumer tastes and trends." Here's one review from booking website NMP Live, by Louise Stobbs of the NEC Group: "Adrian's presentation was informative and entertaining — I don't know how he remembers all those stats!" Adrian's available for between £2,500 and £5,000 a gig.

Burger prices taking the piste​

Horror stories centred around the price of food on French ski slopes continue to abound. Last week, City Diary reported on a Val d'Isère burger and chips costing e29. KBC Peel Hunt analyst Paul Hickman tops this easily. "The price of a hamburger at the Pilatus restaurant at Courchevel is actually e39," he says. "We had the soup (e11)."