The Inspiration for Pub Success Since 1794
While it had toyed with the idea of disposing of its leased and tenanted business in the past, the impact of the last two Budgets was the clincher for the pub and brewing business, MD Heydon Mizon told MCA.
Market Taverns has announced changes to its senior leadership teams as part of its growth plans.
Hall & Woodhouse (H&W) injected more than £2.5m into its tenanted Business Partner arm last year.
PROPERTY ROUND-UP
This property round-up includes mentions from Heartwood Inns, M&B, Star Pubs and more.
Urban Pubs & Bars has accelerated its London expansion after a sustained period of strong trading across its 66 site estate, with the group completing 15 acquisitions in the past 12 months.
Sir Tim Martin has confirmed that succession planning is under way at JD Wetherspoon, signalling the first public acknowledgement that the founder is preparing for an eventual handover after more than four decades at the helm.
ANALYSIS
The Rooney Anand founded business is exiting its managed estate and bringing together its pubs-with-rooms sites into one division, a canny move that presents significant opportunities.
Urban Pubs & Bars has accelerated its growth with a sustained seven-month programme of multi-million-pound investment, refurbishments and strategic acquisitions across its estate.
Butcombe Group has announced two senior leadership changes as the business continues to push growth across its managed, tenanted and brewing divisions.
Butcombe Group’s chief operating officer Jayson Perfect has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to rethink how pubs are taxed and regulated, warning that current policy fails to reflect their economic, cultural and social importance.
NEOS Hospitality has revealed plans to open a new dual-concept venue in London’s West End this summer, following a multimillion-pound investment.
After reading over The Revel Collective’s financial figures, any potential purchaser of the business may have been put off buying it, according to an insolvency expert.
The Revel Collective has confirmed it will file a notice of intention to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries.
Shepherd Neame has reported strong growth across its estate with like-for-like sales up 4.5% for the 26 weeks to 27 December 2025.
Young’s has reported exceptional Christmas trading after recording its highest ever sales day, while confirming plans to move its listing from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Amber Taverns is eyeing further growth, particularly in the south-east of England, according to chief executive Mark Brooke.
PROPERTY ROUND-UP
This property round-up includes mentions from Portobello Pubs, Brunning & Price, Urban Pubs & Bars, Shepherd Neame and more.
Pubs recorded a strong finish to 2025, with festive celebrations driving meaningful year end growth across the sector, according to the latest NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker.
JD Wetherspoon (JDW) reported a 4.5% rise in like-for-like sales for the 25 weeks to 18 January and plans to open 15 pubs in FY26, despite a £45m increase in operating costs.
Heartwood Collection has reported a strong year of financial and operational growth for 2025, as chief financial officer Chris Guy steps down from his role after seven years with the business.
A quarter of pubs in the UK could close over the next 10 years under the current trajectory, according to Thwaites chairman Richard Bailey.
Wet-led pub operator Amber Taverns has revealed its expansion plans alongside its festive trading figures in a recent update.
RedCat Hospitality has announced plans to exit its managed pub division to become a focused pub-with-rooms operator.
Urban Pubs & Bars has delivered its strongest festive trading performance to date, posting like for like sales growth of 14.5% in December and a 40% increase in total covers across its estate.
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has celebrated festive trade at its sites after seeing like-for-like (lfl) sales growth of 7.7% during the core three-week period.
Mission Mars has reported record revenue of £36.2m for the three months to 28 December 2025.
Loungers has reported revenue of £406.4m in its most recent financial results for the year ended 20 April 2025, up from £353.5m the year before.
RedCat Hospitality chief executive Richard Lewis has warned that any Government intervention on business rates must extend beyond pubs to include the wider accommodation sector.
More than 2,000 hospitality venues could shut their doors in 2026 without a sector wide solution to business rates, new modelling from UKHospitality has revealed.
JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has appointed John Herring as a non executive director with immediate effect, marking a return to the business more than a decade after he last served on its board.
Shepherd Neame is reopening a landmark London pub next month (February) following a £1.8m renovation.
Pub operators have reacted to Sir Keir Starmer’s suggestion that the Government could offer “further support” to hospitality businesses facing sharp increases in business rates, with JDW’s Tim Martin calling for “fairness and tax equality”.
Red Oak Taverns has expanded its lender group as NatWest Bank joins its existing funder OakNorth, in a move the pub company says will support its long-term acquisition strategy.
Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is reducing prices in its January sale including a pint of Worthington’s beer at 99p in more than 600 of its pubs.
Laine Pub Company has reported a slight fall in profits for the 52 weeks ended 10 August 2025, as higher operating costs and lower turnover offset continued investment across its pub estate.
Sixes, the experiential cricket concept that counts England captain Ben Stokes among its backers, has entered administration following a ‘challenging trading period’.
PROPERTY ROUND-UP
This property round-up includes mentions from Mulligans, Star, Brunning & Price and more.
Pub and bar spending fell in November as overall consumer card spend dropped for the first time since 2021, according to the latest Barclays Consumer Spend report.
A major new quality initiative aiming to standardise and improve the serve of draught beer and cider across the UK has been unveiled at the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) Council meeting.
JKS pubs has rebranded after being sold to a US-based private investor.
BrewDog has attracted criticism for the wording of a new national marketing campaign promoting its updated Punk IPA recipe, after the brewer described the move as “tastes like commercial suicide” across a series of outdoor ads.
JD Wetherspoon has applied for a premises licence to operate a new pub on the Strand, directly beside Charing Cross station, as the group continues to add new openings across its estate.
St Austell Brewery’s chief executive Kevin Georgel has warned that the combined impact of the 2024 and 2025 autumn budgets has meant the business “will be forced to significantly scale back our investment plans”.
Bonnie Rogues is carving out space in the high street pub market through an all-day food, drink and entertainment mix that shifts into late-night live music and party-led trading.
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) says it is ‘continuing to trade ahead of the market’ after reporting robust full year results for the 52 weeks ended 27 September 2025.
RedCat Hospitality has reached an agreement with Admiral Taverns over the sale of its leased and tenanted division.
The BII revealed the winners of the 2025 National Innovation in Training Awards (NITAs), celebrating pubs and operators who place people, skills and development at the core of their businesses.
Operators from Bristol and the wider region shared a mixture of optimism and realism at a Morning Advertiser roundtable last week, exploring how pubs can sharpen their beer offer in a changing market.
Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is set to open its first pub in continental Europe at the start of next year.
Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has partnered with the University of Birmingham’s Guild of Students to operate its bar and restaurant, Joe’s.