Proposed takeover of Highland Distillers would create giant drinks company
20-Sep-1999
Consolidation continues to hit the drinks industry with plans to create a powerful new group out of the proposed takeover of Highland Distillers.The...
Regents Inns forges ahead with Walkabout
06-Sep-1999
Regent Inns is pushing its Australasian bars when other companies are holding back.Another crocodile stares down from above the bar as Regent Inns...
Fuller's thrives almost two hundred on
23-Aug-1999
As Fuller's prepares to enter a third century, the brewer continues to thrive. Mark Ludmon reports."The brewery business is going flourishingly but...
Beer's new glass has flower power
09-Aug-1999
A new branded Guinness glass is to be made available throughout the on-trade later this month.The new glass is of the tulip shape currently used in...
Old Monk Company - changing habits
26-Jul-1999
Despite ups and down in the markets, the Old Monk Company reported record results this month. Mark Ludmon talked to boss Gerry Martin.When Gerry...
Miller shows its grit in beer war
26-Jul-1999
The two biggest US beer brands are squaring up against each other with summer advertising blitzes.After Anheuser-Busch unveiled its new "Lizards"...
HP Bulmer - not just a cidermaker
12-Jul-1999
One thing needs to be made clear. HP Bulmer is no longer just a cidermaker — it is a supplier of "long alcoholic drinks".The small firm set up in a...
Beck's is back in £12m promotion
14-Jun-1999
A £12million advertising push by Scottish Courage (ScotCo) sees premium lager brand Beck's returning to the UK's television screens this week.The...
W&DB prepare to take on the nationals
07-Jun-1999
Mark Ludmon looks at how Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries has spent the two months since taking over Marstons - and what it has planned for the...
Tup Inns looks at Tom Hoskins deal
07-Jun-1999
Bar chain Tup Inns is considering expansion out of its London homeland through a merger or takeover — and Leicestershire brewer Tom Hoskins has...
Merrydown slashes non-core brands
07-Jun-1999
Sales of Merrydown cider are preparing for take-off in the on-trade after the company jumped back into the black.It has slashed more than 160...
First Drinks Brands - Quenching your First
31-May-1999
First Drinks Brands is proud of the youthfulness and dynamism of its company culture. It distributes some of the most stylish spirits to some of the...
How Tradeteam puts technology to work
17-May-1999
Once upon a time horses trotted along the road from pub to pub, pulling a dray loaded with barrels. Now the horses have been put out to graze and...
Grouse to get makeover
10-May-1999
Highland Distillers has unveiled a new identity for The Famous Grouse in a bid to make the brand more approachable.The new bottle and labelling are...
Gordon's on cue for £12.5m Perfect push
03-May-1999
In the 1980s Canadian snooker player Bill Werbeniuk downed lager as a way of steadying his cueing arm. Now Gordon's is marketing itself as the drink...
Campari boosted by £1.1m TV push
19-Apr-1999
First Drinks Brands is set to kick off a major marketing push for Campari. The £1.1million television advertising burst is intended to emphasise...
New pubco Pennant Inns aims to bring stability to its outlets
19-Apr-1999
Some pub tenants have seen their landlords change with the seasons. Grand Metropolitan, Inntrepreneur, Morgan Grenfell, Nomura Bank and Phoenix Inns...
Easter TV adverts for Baileys
12-Apr-1999
Baileys appeared on TV during the Easter period in the first ever TV advertising for the brand outside of the normal pre-Christmas promotional...
UK is facing charge of the light brigade
05-Apr-1999
First it was Bud Light, now Coors Light is set for trials in the UK. But while Anheuser-Busch chose Manchester for its dummy run, Coors is focusing...
Power-packed launch
05-Apr-1999
SmithKline Beecham (SKB) has launched Solstis, an energy drink, under the Lucozade brand name. According to SKB, over the last five years the...
First Drinks takes on Grant's whisky
22-Mar-1999
Grant's, the UK's fourth biggest on-trade blended whisky, has moved from Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine to First Drinks Brands (FDB). FDB already...
Things are looking up for Merrydown
22-Mar-1999
After a year in charge Nigel Freer is confident about the future for Merrydown. Merrydown's past few years have been turbulent, to say the...
Diageo rumoured to be selling-off Cinzano to concentrate on key products
22-Mar-1999
Diageo is believed to be planning a disposal of its Cinzano spirit brand as part of its move to focus on key products.It is trying to reverse a...
Rugby the winner as trade joins the pack
08-Mar-1999
Rugby and alcohol have long been bedfellows, but more drinks companies than ever are putting money into the sport. Lagers including Budweiser,...
Foster's to go Down Under for millennium
01-Mar-1999
Foster's has announced details of this year's big promotion which will see more than 300 drinkers spend two weeks in Australia. The holidays will...
Greenalls may be set for a shift in investment focus
01-Mar-1999
With news of yet another new face among the directors at Greenalls Pubs & Restaurants, it's clear that new broom Mark McQuater is planning some...
Luminar embarks on ambitious expansion
01-Mar-1999
Bar operator Luminar Leisure has snapped up a package of outlets as part of its ambitious expansion plans.It has completed a £3.7m acquisition of...
Eat or be eaten - a crossroads for Inn Business
22-Feb-1999
Inn Business is at a crossroads. Does it keep acquiring or be acquired?Eat or be eaten. That is the maxim that seems to be driving pub companies as...
Fat Cat Café Bar chain prepares to go national
15-Feb-1999
As the campaign builds up to attract more graduates to the licensed trade, one expanding pub company has already proved what can be achieved.The Fat...
HP Bulmer to boost cider sales with South African venture
15-Feb-1999
A new South African venture by Hereford's HP Bulmer is set to boost the group's cider sales.It has bought the brands and production assets of W&A...
Bass buys German bar chain
15-Feb-1999
Bass Leisure Retail (BLR) has expanded its pub market outside of the UK for the first time by buying a chain of German bars.The Birmingham-based...
Isle of Man's Heron and Brearley sets sights on mainland
01-Feb-1999
After dominating the pub market on the Isle of Man for 100 years, Heron and Brearley is setting its sights on the mainland.For the past 100 years,...
Champagne brands at record prices in run up to millennium
01-Feb-1999
Champagne brands are changing hands at record prices as pubs prepare for a surge in demand before the millennium.French drinks group LVMH has bought...
UDV spends £15m on ad in fight against economic slowdown
07-Dec-1998
A record £15m spend on advertising by wine and spirits giant UDV this month is one of the steps in its fight against an economic slowdown.The TV and...
Stepped-up spend for Glenmorangie in Christmas boost
30-Nov-1998
Glenmorangie is stepping up investment to give a further boost to sales of its whiskies in pubs.Its malt whisky and wood finishes will be promoted...
Whitbread Pub Partnerships' 'race against time'
09-Nov-1998
Whitbread Pub Partnerships is pushing its lessees towards retailing in a bid to beat the economic slide.With fears of an economic slowdown on the...
Belgo chief looks at Rank acquisitions
09-Nov-1998
Bar entrepreneur Luke Johnson is believed to be interested in snapping up parts of the troubled Rank empire.Rank is facing a possible break-up of the...
Mitchell's of Lancaster has some explosive plans
26-Oct-1998
Mitchell's of Lancaster, long-regarded as a quiet local brewer, has some explosive plans.For many years Mitchell's of Lancaster was quietly thriving...
Bumper bar opening for Davy
26-Oct-1998
Bar operator Davy & Co is investing in its first chains of retail concepts as part of its expansion.It initially plans up to six outlets branded...
Cobra Beer turns to city pubs and bars from curryhouses
19-Oct-1998
Cobra Beer, the UK's largest supplier of bottled Indian premium lager, is turning to the City to expand beyond curryhouses and into pubs and bars.It...
How the West End was won (by Corney and Barrow)
12-Oct-1998
Through boom and gloom, Corney and Barrow has catered for the movers and shakers in the CityAs the global meltdown threatens the British economy, the...
Norfolk's Crownelm Properties enjoys the last laugh
21-Sep-1998
With 14 outlets turning over £2.5m, Crownelm Properties is now enjoying a very big last laugh. We report.With just £20,000 in their pockets, two...
Burning ambition from Ambishus Pub Company
07-Sep-1998
Ambishus has set the pub industry alight since it burst on to the scene. We report.With a background in the Magic Pub Company, it's no surprise that...
What lies ahead for Yates's Wine Lodges?
10-Aug-1998
Yates's Wine Lodges was voted top Pub Retail Brand at The Publican Awards 1998. We report on what lies ahead for the successful company.With a...
UDV brands to get 'significant' cash spend
10-Aug-1998
New wine and spirits giant United Distillers and Vintners (UDV) has revealed it plans "significant" new investment to boost its brands and markets.It...
Big changes are on the way at Wizard Inns
15-Jun-1998
Wizard Inns has been making big changes to its portfolio recently. We speak to Chris Hutt, the man holding the wand.When Chris Hutt looked at some of...
Interpub rises up from a couple of crippling years
08-Jun-1998
After a disastrous couple of years that almost crippled the company, Interpub seems to have turned a corner. We report.With ambitious plans to roll...
The Head of Steam - the station buffet of the future?
18-May-1998
According to Tony Brookes' masterplan, waiting for a train will never be the same. Phil Mellows went trainspotting with the founder of Head of Steam....
Flotation for Mill House Inns? Chairman Bob Williams tells all...
06-Apr-1998
Mill House Inns is reaching an important phase in its development. We meet chairman Bob Williams.Flotation is on the minds of executives at Mill...
Change of sales strategy for Charles Wells
16-Feb-1998
Bedford brewer Charles Wells has been feeling the squeeze as a result of the influx of cheap imports. Lorna Harrison discovers how the company is...