'Young's in the scramble for Punch pubs'

Regional brewers may be falling over themselves to snap up the pubs put up for sale by Punch Taverns but Young & Co continues to adopt a more cautious approach to expansion. While those such as Shepherd Neame, Charles Wells, Adnams, Frederic Robinson and Fuller's have all had offers for packages of prime Punch pubs accepted, Young's admitted that its own "reasonably sizeable offer" for some pubs had been turned down -The Times​

Heineken has spent an undisclosed sum buying highly distressed bonds and bank debt to become the controlling creditor at property entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz's Globe Pub Company, the troubled landlord company which slipped into default last month -The Guardian ​

Hundreds of games' fans are expected to descend on a Devon pub next month to fight for the right to be crowned the UK's "rock, paper, scissors" champion. The championship will be held at the Imperial pub in Exeter on June 9 - BBC​

Rising demand from cash-strapped pubs and hotel chains helped lift profits at Booker by a third as the Aim-listed discount wholesaler prepared to move in to the main market. Pre-tax profit rose 30 per cent from £36.2m to £47.2m in the year to March 27 - FT​

Supermarket staff have been labeled "plonkers" for slashing the cost of a bottle of wine — by a penny. Vino-loving Gerry Vaughan spotted the Chardonnay on sale in his local Morrisons store under a sign boasting of "amazing credit-crunch bargains". But a hand-written label on the South African tipple showed the price had been cut from £8.17 to just £8.16 - The Sun​