BIG INTERVIEW
BIG INTERVIEW: Ardent boss remains ardent about pubs
Dom Jacobs has designed cocktails for the Spice Girls, opened one of Mayfair’s oldest pubs at 24 and built Ardent Pub Group into one of London’s most ambitious modern pub operations.
News
MY PUB
MY PUB: The Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk
Nedging Hall Estate covers 5,000 acres of incredible countryside between Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich, Suffolk.
Dark Star Brewery founder Rob Jones dies
Rob Jones, the founder of Dark Star Brewery and landlord of the Duke of Wellington pub in Shoreham by Sea, Sussex, has died following illness.
James Watt hopes new beer venture could support BrewDog buyback
BrewDog co-founder James Watt has said he is hopeful an opportunity to buy back the Scottish brewer and bar operator could “come around again in the future”.
THE LOW & NO PROJECT
OPINION: Bolster your line-up with low & no beers for the World Cup
Publicans will need no reminding of what a bleak decade it has been for the sector, with the forthcoming World Cup a welcome opportunity for boosting sales, albeit with long working hours attached.
M&B to acquire small package of Whitbread sites
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is to acquire a seven-strong package of sites from Whitbread, which will be converted to either Miller & Carter or Toby Carvery.
7 pubs in UK’s top 100 UK restaurants
Seven pubs are among the UK’s best restaurants, according to this year’s National Restaurant Awards 2026.
Stonegate: ‘No decisions made’ amid £300m pub bid reports
Terra Firma Capital Partners is reportedly among a number of prospective bidders preparing offers for part of Stonegate Group’s Platinum estate.
FEATURE
FEATURE: Get set for summer with a stronger cider line-up
As pubgoers flock to beer gardens with the onslaught of the warmer weather – cider is often the tipple of choice.
Death of the round?
With changing consumer habits, has the tradition of buying drinks in a round gone the way of the dodo? The Lock In team head to the bar to find out.
Butcombe announces leadership restructure
Butcombe Group has announced strategic changes to its leadership structure, appointing Alice Bowyer as managing director of its managed division.
How one operator is rethinking pub staffing
Tim Skinner has said pubs must rethink staffing models as rising labour costs make traditional management structures increasingly difficult to sustain.
A third of UK to watch World Cup in pubs and bars
More than a third of consumers planning to watch the men’s football World Cup will do so from a local pub, bar or hospitality venue, new research from Zonal and NIQ has found.
World Cup beer boost could bring pubs £275m
Pubs could benefit from a £275m beer sales boost during the World Cup if England reach the final, new analysis from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has suggested.
James May: ‘The good pubs survive and the bad ones fade away’
The level of pub closures is due to the quality of the venues that are shuttering, TV presenter and pub owner James May has claimed.
Trade bodies react to Andy Burnham’s vow to slash business rates by 20%
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has pledged to reduce business rates for pubs by a fifth if he becomes Prime Minister.
From strategy to state of the nation: MA Leaders Club heads to Glasgow
This month (June), the MA Leaders Club head across the border and see what the city of Glasgow has to offer.
Heineken vows to continue £40m per year investment despite over-taxation of sector
Heineken UK’s Boudewijn Haarsma has backed the UK pub sector by continuing to invest £40m per year despite beer volumes across the board shrinking.
Clarkson: ‘We’re fully booked every day but still losing money’
Jeremy Clarkson’s pub the Farmer’s Dog made a pre-tax loss of more than £8,000 in its first quarter of trading despite being fully booked, the TV presenter has revealed.
‘VAT is the silver bullet for the industry’
The MA’s Ed Bedington caught up with New Dawn Pubs boss Mark Robson to get his take on the week’s news.
THE CASK PROJECT
Theakston MD: Stout surge fuelling demand for darker cask ales
The stout boom has helped revive darker cask beers as drinkers look beyond pale, heavily hopped styles, Theakston managing director Richard Bradbury told The Morning Advertiser (The MA).
Chaos for Clarkson: 400 pint glasses a week stolen from pub
TV star-turned-publican Jeremy Clarkson has revealed all the quirky and costly items that get stolen from his pub on a weekly basis, from pint glasses to urinal traps.
Heartwood: ‘We’ve got too much data’
Heartwood Collection IT director Rob Trippett has warned there’s a danger the amount of data available to hospitality operators right now can lead to businesses having too many KPIs.
VAT cut petition passes 100,000 signatures
More than 100k people have signed the #VATsTheProblem petition calling for hospitality VAT to be cut to 10%.
No new ‘nice pub tax’ Government confirms
Reports of a so called “nice pub tax” have prompted confusion across the sector.
Confidence in hospitality sector outpaces UK average
Confidence in the hospitality and leisure sector has climbed to 88%, ahead of the UK average of 83%, as operators invest for growth despite rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty.
A prince in Peckham: William praises pubs’ community role
Prince William paid a surprise visit to the Prince of Peckham yesterday (3 June), praising the role pubs play in supporting local communities and tackling loneliness.
THE LOW & NO PROJECT
Lower strength beer sales hit 912m pints after duty change
Sales of lower strength beers have risen sharply since changes to the alcohol duty regime came into force, with 200m units of alcohol removed per year since 2023, according to new research.
Starmer offers ‘inadequate response’ to VAT question during PMQs
Prime Minister Keir Starmer sidestepped questions on hospitality VAT during Prime Minister’s Questions despite growing pressure over its impact on the sector.
Greene King opens first franchise pub in Wales
Greene King has opened its first franchise pub in Wales and its 30th Nest Pub overall.
Punch acquires five more pubs from RedCat
Punch Pubs & Co has completed the acquisition of a further five pubs from RedCat Hospitality for an undisclosed sum.
Fundraiser launched for murdered pub boss
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched in memory of a pub boss who lost his life after being attacked last month.
North London community saddened by sudden Irish pub closure
A North London pub has closed with immediate effect, prompting sadness from customers, musicians and the local community.
Nightcap launches ‘next-gen sports bar’ Side Hustle
Nightcap has revealed more details about Side Hustle, its new sports bar concept opening in St Paul’s this week.
World Cider Day: 5 things operators need to know
To mark World Cider Day (3 June), The Morning Advertiser (The MA) has taken a look at the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the category in 2026.
Licensee fined thousands for illegal sports screening
A licensee has been ordered to pay £19,000 after being found guilty of illegally screening Sky Sports.
Andrew Wong is teaming up with Dishoom co-founder Amar Radia to launch a Chinese pub
Two-Michelin-starred chef Andrew Wong is teaming up with Dishoom co-founder Amar Radia to launch a Chinese pub in Shoreditch later this year.
More independent brewers announce closures and restructuring
Pressure continues to mount on independent brewers after two more businesses announced major operational changes this week.
Adults can order children’s meals under VAT cut
HMRC has clarified pubs do not need to verify who orders or eats a children’s meal for the temporary 5% VAT rate to apply, as long as the item is clearly marketed, priced and sold as a children’s meal.
Theakston announces 5% turnover lift as demand for cask rises
Yorkshire-based T&R Theakston brewery has announced a 5% lift in turnover for its financial year ended 31 December 2025.
Fresh Tube strikes hit London hospitality sector
The London hospitality sector faces another blow from Tube strike disruption this week, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has warned.
VAT cut petition led by Kerridge smashes 20k signatures
A petition spearheaded by celebrity chef and pub operator Tom Kerridge has exceeded 20,000 signatures within the first 24 hours.
Butcombe’s managed arm ‘stand-out performer’ in record-breaking results
Multiple pub operator and brewer Butcombe Group’s managed division saw like-for-like growth of 8%, it was reported in the company’s latest results.
Kerridge spearheads VAT cut campaign
Celebrity chef and pub operator Tom Kerridge is at the helm of a hospitality-wide campaign to slash VAT to 10%.
Community pub aims for success in Canary Wharf
The co-founder of a brand new pub in one of London’s biggest business district outlines his plans for the Tallyman in Canary Wharf.
World Cup 2026: How pubs can win the trading opportunity
Pubs are being urged to plan early for the men’s football World Cup, as new data suggests the biggest trading opportunity could come before kick-off.
Top bosses lead stellar line-up for Pub Conference
Leading operators from across the sector are set to take to the stage at this year’s Pub Conference.
Star Pubs backs training push as recruitment pressures persist
Star Pubs is exploring rostering tools to help licensees manage staffing costs more effectively, as recruitment and retention pressures continue to affect the pub sector.
Kerridge: ‘I feel let down by Labour’
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has said he feels let down by the Labour Government after being a strong supporter of the party during its election campaign.
Star Pubs to invest £6.69m in outdoor upgrades
Star Pubs is investing £6.69m in outdoor areas and pub exteriors across around 850 sites this year.