City Diary — 12 March

Staying power of Brunning & Price

Many of those who signed early Inntrepreneur leases have fallen by the wayside. Hard not to be impressed then by the staying power of Brunning & Price, the nifty pub operator now owned by the Restaurant Group, which is completing two whole decades at the Black Jug in Horsham under the aegis of an Inntrepreneur lease (the pub's actually owned by RBS and "managed" by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises). Brunning & Price had enough yet? City Diary hears that the company is up for another long lease. Bite their hand off, S&NPE!

Walkabout win on the cards​

Walkabout operator Regent Inns' Boomerang discount card (25% off after the card is purchased for £3) is going like a steam train. Already the best part of 150,000 cards have been sold. Winners are the Regent barstaff who earn a £1 bonus for each card sold. Snifter hears that a member of staff in Cardiff holds the record for the most sold, earning himself almost £1,000 in a single month. And even luckier is a student, Emma Wastall, 18, in Birmingham who won the country's only Boomerang Gold Card after buying the 100,000th card. The Gold Card allows free food and drink at Walkabout Birmingham for a year. It's every student's dream, isn't it?

Goody's groom has M&B wait​

There was no special treatment for Jack Tweed's stag party when he went out with friends for a bite to eat at a Mitchells & Butlers pub in Chigwell on the eve of his wedding to Jade Goody. The 21-year-old celebrated with a small group at the King William IV pub in Chigwell. But staff said the party of eight had to wait half an hour for a table.

An employee at the pub told the local newspaper: "They came in at about 1pm and the place was packed. They hadn't booked so they had to wait for a table. I didn't even know who they were. We get people like that in all the time. Rod Stewart comes in — so it wasn't a big deal."

What price a celebrity chef?​

How do you put a value on Gordon Ramsay's involvement in his restaurant holding company Gordon Ramsay Holdings. City Diary notes that Gordon Ramsay Holdings accounts filed last week show there is Key Man insurance in place worth £1.5m in respect of the man himself. Key Man insurance for his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, the financial brains in the company, is a rather more modest £250,000. Interesting, too, that Gordon has also given personal guarantees on the company's overdraft totalling £1.6m.

Baptism of fire for S&N chief​

Scottish & Newcastle boss Jeremy Blood is having a hellish first year under Heineken ownership. Blood, who ran the Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises division before elevation to the top job, is undaunted. "Frankly, where could I go to find myself a nice easy industry to work in at the moment?" he asks. "Yes, it's tough, but it doesn't really feel that unusual. What has really hit us, apart from the smoking ban, which has accelerated the pub closures, is the inflation in commodity prices. If you think about what goes into a can of beer on a shelf, it is made up of three things: aluminium, which has almost gone up tenfold in price. Barley, an agricultural product that has suffered an increase in price, and the energy that is required to malt barley, which has also increased. Last year, our hit on commodity prices was £60m, which came on the back of a depressed pub sector. It was a shock to the system."

Dolly's album in the stream​

KBC Peel Hunt analysts notes that US restaurant group Cracker Barrel has signed a deal with Dolly Parton that gives the company exclusive rights to sell the country & western star's new CD. The CD contains three new tracks including Rose of My Heart, Hallelujah Holiday and Berry Pie. Dolly says:"I wanted the songs I chose specifically for this release to reflect how I felt about Cracker Barrel". KBC Peel Hunt's team came up with a couple of suggestions for our sector: Regent Inns — Last Orders, by Richard Hawley, and Luminar — Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, by Ultravox.

Phew, Robbie's not really skint​

According to its accounts published last week, Robert Tchenguiz's company R20 has suffered a £27m loss from interest rates swaps and other financial instruments. But the word is that we shouldn't be too worried about Tchenguiz's finances. Tim Smalley, a director of R20, insists the investments it makes are small — typically worth about £250,000. He said R20 mainly acted as Tchenguiz's UK service company to cover his corporate overhead costs such as renting offices. Most of Tchenguiz's wealth is held in offshore trusts that do not have to lodge public accounts. These trusts, he said, would hold Tchenguiz's major investments, including what's left of his pub empire. Could it be that the banks that have done business with Tchenguiz, like tower of jelly Icelandic bank Kaupthing, have taken on far more risk than he has?

Jackson jumps to recruitment role​

City Diary hears that Punch Taverns has appointed its third head of recruitment in less than 12 months. Adam Smith did the job for a number of years before Chris Hedges took over last year. Now Punch has given the job to one of its best regional operation directors, Suzy Jackson, who starts next month. Jackson currently looks after the north-west area with her patch covering Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.

Reflecting on life last year, she says: "I can't remember the industry ever facing as many issues at the same time as now." Still she ought to know a thing or two about recruiting quality tenants. We're watching this space.

Adnams does deal on Punch pubs​

Adnams' purchase of three prime Punch pubs in Suffolk for £2.7m last week is described by chairman Jonathan Adnams as a "once in a lifetime opportunity". "It's a great day for Adnams," Jonathan told City Diary last week. Punch is, as we know, open to all offers on its pubs. In this case, Adnams approached Punch and the deal was done and dusted in three weeks from start to finish. "We have known these pubs for 35 years and they've never come on the open market," enthuses Jonathan.