Getting out of wet-led pubs - and THAT Budget

Mitchells & Butlers' (M&B) announcement that it plans to get out of wet-led boozers to concentrate its resources on half a dozen core food-led retail brands looked well timed, coming as it did the day that Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling sounded the "death knell" (© CAMRA CEO Mike Benner) for the British pub.

Outlining the results of his strategy review M&B chairman John Lovering appeared to send a clear indication that his company sees little growth prospects in the wet-led sector.

This doesn't mean M&B is turning its back on such pubs. What it does mean, so the nice man from the group's PR department assured me last week, was that in addition to its businesses being expected to make at least £10m in pre-rent operating profits its pub divisions would be trading in communities where they were relevant.

Nor was the drive to site some of its food-led outlets in retail parks part of a 'dumbing down' process, though that's what it sounded like to some.

Getting more bang for its buck is clearly on M&B's agenda, as it seeks to glean better returns from its capital investment, by growing profits and reducing costs.

It's a testament to its employees that throughout the corporate nightmare of the past 18 months M&B has continued to offer among the best customer experiences around.

Some observers were hoping for a bit more detail from Lovering - he delivered what one analyst described as "bluster and a bollocking". Whether such tactics work, we can only wait and see.

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So, the Budget. Massively disappointing, yes, but were we really surprised at Darling's pronouncements? As well as the duty escalator nonsense on beer duty the cider producers had cause to be decidedly unhappy.

But typically the move to raise duty on cider created, if not schisms, then at least divisions within parts of the industry. Beer producers were happy at what one described as the levelling of a playing field, although those who make both beer and cider weren't quite so chipper.

Otherwise it was 'business as usual' from the Chancellor.

The Taxpayers Alliance said the government was "living in la-la land". I'm afraid anyone hoping for an alternative to what Darling came out with last week must have been one of its house guests.