Legal

Hard hit: Tough weekend of trade for Yorkshire bistro

Bistro hit with worst trading week in 7 years

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The operator of the Pig & Whistle, Beverley, was left “broken” after rail strikes and the cost-of-living crisis triggered the worst trading week in seven years.

(image: Getty/GZeroOne)

LICENSING HUB - LEGAL WITH POPPLESTON ALLEN

Are licensees responsible for drink-driving customers?

By Carl Weston, head of marketing and partner (non-solicitor), Poppleston Allen

Legal expert Poppleston Allen looks at the responsibility of blame when it comes to drink-driving and on-trade operators.

Cash out: Pubcos are investing heavily in their properties

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

£1.4m ploughed into pubs & music venues

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Proper Pubs has put £1m into upgrades, Admiral Taverns has invested more than £347,000 into two Staffordshire pubs, and around £97,500 has been ploughed into grassroots music venues across the country.

Joint submission made: BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin is ‘pleased to provide evidence’ to help fill jobs in hospitality

BBPA and BII push Gov to fill pubs vacancies

By Gary Lloyd

Chefs from overseas must be included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the British institute of Innkeeping (BII).

Helping out: The Lighthouse in Kent is one of the pubs that has secured funding

£97.5k ploughed into grassroots music venues

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Some 23 grassroots music venues, including four pubs, have scored charity grants in the fourth round of Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) pipeline investment fund.

Fair weather led: the Drinks Tracker authors believe the good weather will help continue spending (credit: Getty/Kar-Tr)

Continued drinks sales growth impacted by inflation

By Gary Lloyd

Early May bank holidays have helped pubs and bar drinks sales reach year-on-year growth for fourth week in a row but with inflation still in double digits, real-terms growth remains elusive.

Government proposal: the High Street Rental Auction scheme would permit councils to auction the rental rights of commercial high street properties vacant for more than 12 months in a 24 month period (image: Getty/Marilyn Nieves)

MPs join pub protection calls

By Nikkie Thatcher

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pubs (Pubs APPG) has asked the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee to look at the impact the Government’s proposals for High Street Rental Auctions will have.

Wagging the tail: the Tap & Run renovation began in August 2022

Tap & Run innings set to resume

By Gary Lloyd

Cricket stars Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney have set a date for the reopening of their Tap & Run pub after fire destroyed the site in June last year.

Sector appeal demonstrated: like-for-like sales have improved for the seventh month in a row (credit: Getty/LeoPatrizi)

Sales growth in April tempered by inflation woes

By Gary Lloyd

Managed pub, bar and restaurant groups in Great Britain achieved like-for-like and year-on-year sales growth of 6.9% in April 2023 against last year, according to the latest Coffer CGA Business Tracker.

Setting sites on new sights: Fresh openings and revamps are on the cards

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Admiral Taverns pub reopens after £155k revamp

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

There are new sites from BrewDog and NWTC, while Admiral Taverns, Greene King and Shepherd Neame reopen pubs after significant investments.

Help for elderly: there are plenty of easy changes pubs can make to be dementia-friendly (credit: Getty/Dean Mitchell)

£7.25m backing for dementia-friendly pubs scheme

By Gary Lloyd

A scheme to introduce simple menus, training for staff and launch a Google map with dementia-friendly pubs charted on it has been backed with £7.25m funding by the UK Government.

Pub repairs: how the pubs code helps (pictured: PCA Fiona Dickie)

Pub repairs – how the pubs code helps

By Fiona Dickie, Pubs Code Adjudicator

Disputes over pub repairs can be a real cause of dissatisfaction for the tenant, as well as the landlord. Knowing and using Pubs Code rights can help avoid such disputes arising or help tenants to resolve them if they do.

Gambling rules: the proposed changes are subject to consultation (image: Getty/RobinsonBecquart)

LICENSING HUB - LEGAL WITH POPPLESTON ALLEN

High Stake Gambling reform – A gamble not worth taking

By Alex Tomlinson, trainee solicitor, Poppleston Allen

On 27 April 2023, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published its Gambling White Paper, aimed at tackling gambling reform for the digital age. The proposed reforms vary from increased ‘know your customer checks’ to extra powers for...

Interest rate rise hitting pubs will not tackle inflation

OPINION

Strangling hospitality demand not the solution to inflation

By Ed Bedington

The idea that raising interest rates to try to curb consumer spending in pubs, bars and restaurants is another slap in the face for a sector that seems to have become the whipping boys for the authorities.

Planning rights issue: CAMRA has warned many pubs could be lost for good (credit: getty/onfilm)

CAMRA calls on Gov to save high street pubs

By Gary Lloyd

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) believes the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ bill could put the future of thousands of pubs at risk and has called for their planning rights to be protected.

Information collated: Poppleston Allen outlines the main points when dealing with noise complaints (image: Getty/Gary John Norman)

LICENSING HUB – LEGAL WITH POPPLESTON ALLEN

Keeping the volume of complaints down

By Andy Grimsey, associate solicitor, Poppleston Allen

Dealing with complaints from neighbours arising from music at your premises is a bit of a dark art. There is no black and white answer and the law on public nuisance is blurry to say the least.

Seaside scenes: Brighton crowned most vibrant late night city (credit: Getty/ Pavel Babic)

Brighton best city for a night out

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Brighton has topped lists as the UK’s best place for a night out, but more than half (54%) of cities have seen nightlife go downhill over the past decade.

Advice given: Poppleston Allen looks into if operators can serve under 18s low alcohol beer (image: Getty/Klaus Vedfelt)

LICENSING HUB - LEGAL WITH POPPLESTON ALLEN

The rules for serving low alcohol beer to under 18s

By Suraj Desor, associate solicitor, Poppleston Allen

This week's column looks at the licensing law around serving low alcohol to customers under 18 years old.

Legal progression: the draft bill will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny (image: Getty/JLGutierrez)

How will Martyn’s Law impact pubs?

By Nikkie Thatcher

With the draft legislation for Martyn’s Law being published, The Morning Advertiser has looked at how the bill will affect operators.

Struggling sector: Independent businesses have borne the brunt of closures (credit: Getty/ dmbaker)

12.6 venues lost per day in 2022

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The hospitality sector lost nearly 4,600 venues in the 12 months to March 2023, but closures slowed early this year.

Safe and responsible gambling: new white paper showed positive steps towards fairness (Credit: Getty/SolStock)

Gambling White Paper shows 'positive steps'

By Rebecca Weller

The white paper on gambling provides an “opportunity to improve” protection in pubs and demonstrated “positive steps” towards “fairness”, trade bodies from across the sector have stated.

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Property of the week

KENT - HIGH QUALITY FAMILY FRIENDLY PUB

£ 60,000 - Leasehold

Busy location on coastal main road Extensively renovated detached public house Five trade areas (100)  Sizeable refurbished 4-5 bedroom accommodation Newly created beer garden (125) Established and popular business...

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