Punch Pubs & Co

Freehold discount for ex-Punch host

17-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A former Punch tenant who bought his pub's freehold managed to negotiate a 20% discount off the asking price. Dean Pearsall, of Saltwells Inn,...

Punch hits back at new GMB claims

16-Apr-2009

Punch has hit back at a new set of allegations from general trade union GMB, which claims more than one in three Punch pubs have changed hands in the...

Hundreds line up for Punch pubs

16-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Around 450 individual licensees have tabled bids for their Punch pubs through a single broker, Acorn Commercial Finance. The quantity of offers...

Third of Punch pubs 'churned' in three years

15-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

One in three Punch pubs has changed hands over the past three years, says the anti-pubco GMB union as it repeats its call for the beer tie to end

Frederic Robinson buys Punch pub

08-Apr-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Frederic Robinson has bought a freehold Cheshire pub from a Punch Taverns for an undisclosed sum off a guide price of £650,000. Christie+Co,...

Punch denies seeking pub sales to Tesco

08-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

Punch has denied accusations that it is actively looking to sell its pubs for conversion into supermarkets. It said just four of its 7,500 pubs are...

Punch pub saved from Tesco — another fights on

08-Apr-2009 By Ewan Turney

A Punch pub in Warwickshire has been saved from conversion into a Tesco Metro store but another is still fighting against the same fate. The struggle...

Peach buys two Punch freeholds

06-Apr-2009 By John Harrington

The £2.85m deal comes as multiple operator Peach aims to more than double its estate and change from being food-led to 50% wet.

Peach Pub Company buys Punch pubs for £2.85m

06-Apr-2009 By Hamish Champ

Award-winning multiple operator Peach Pub Company has bought the freeholds of two pubs it leases from Punch Taverns for £2.85m.The deal to buy the...

'Punch Taverns under pressure'

27-Mar-2009

Punch Taverns: The embattled pub company faces pressure to write down the £6.5 billion value of its 8,400 pubs after selling six of its top London...

Punch Taverns sells six pubs to Fuller's for £21.1m

26-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has sold six of its London-based managed pubs to Fuller, Smith & Turner for £21.1m.The deal will be settled in cash and will see a...

Punch sells six pubs to Fuller's for £21m

26-Mar-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has sold six pubs to London brewer and operator Fuller's for £21.1m, including the flagship Red Lion in Westminster — a favourite...

Punch unveils "maximum" four per cent price hike

17-Mar-2009 By James Wilmore

Punch Taverns, the UK's largest pubco, is hiking wholesale drinks prices by "a maximum" of four per cent at the end of this month. Tenants and...

Punch Taverns tight-lipped over pub 'firesale'

13-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns was remaining tight-lipped this week as speculation grew that it was looking to sell off a number of its best performing pubs in order...

Punch sells off eight freeholds

11-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Nottingham auction has succeeded in selling the freeholds of eight Punch Taverns pubs, part of the batch of pubs previously identified for...

'Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns under fire'

10-Mar-2009

Both Punch and debt-laden rival Enterprise Inns have recently come under fire for charging tenants almost double the wholesale price for leading...

Quiz prize is a Punch pub

09-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Punch Taverns pub in the West Midlands is being raffled off in a prize draw for £25 per ticket. The leasehold of the Arbor Lights' pub in Walsall...

Punch sells two freeholds to TRG

06-Mar-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has sold two freeholds to The Restaurant Group for £1.5m — the sale is in line with the Punch policy of offering sitting tenants the chance to buy their pubs.

Punch's valuation gap

05-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A number of Punch Taverns tenants attempting to buy their pubs are finding out their offers are failing to match up with the pub company's...

Punch Taverns freezes staff pay as recession bites deeper

02-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has confirmed it is freezing pay for all staff across the company, with the exception of its frontline bar teams.The move comes as the...

Punch Taverns names new R.O.D.

26-Feb-2009

Punch Taverns has appointed David Wigham to the role of regional operations director "to help champion pubs in the North East and East".He takes...

Punch tenants' £1.99 meal plan

26-Feb-2009 By John Harrington

Punch tenants can sell meals for set amounts starting at just £1.99, under a new scheme. The Table Top scheme, initially available for around 1,000...

Punch host can't buy pub

26-Feb-2009 By John Harrington

A Punch tenant says his bank's decision not to lend him money to buy his pub's freehold defies logic. John Chapman asked NatWest for a loan of...

'Punch case thrown out of court'

25-Feb-2009

The pub company, Punch Taverns, has fought off an application by a disgruntled supplier to have it wound up after a judge threw out the case,...

'Punch Taverns in Hall of Shame'

24-Feb-2009

Pub group Punch Taverns, media firm Trinity Mirror and mining giant Xstrata have been named in a "hall of shame" by a specialist financial...

Roger Whiteside: Riding to the rescue with Punch Taverns

23-Feb-2009 By Hamish Champ

The former boss of Thresher, the off-licence chain, Whiteside joined Punch a shade over 100 days ago, replacing the departing Deborah Kemp. Arriving...

New Punch boss: Leased pubs are a creative cauldron

19-Feb-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has had a new leased division boss, Roger Whiteside, in place since the end of November last year — The PMA Team met him.

Punch Taverns commits to RPI-related rent decrease

13-Feb-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has guaranteed it will match any move by the retail prices index (RPI) into negative territory with a reduction in rent for its...

All 7,560 Punch licensees invited to buy pubs

13-Feb-2009 By Andrew Pring

In a dramatic extension of its sell-off programme, Punch is inviting any of its 7,560 licensees to make an offer for the pub they currently run. The...

Solar roof panels added to Punch Tavern's green building

12-Feb-2009

Punch Tavern's development of its new eco friendly headquarters has taken a step further with the installation of solar thermal roof panels on the...

Numbers grow in big Punch pub freehold sale

12-Feb-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Finance brokers report an increased number of inquiries from Punch tenants offered the chance to buy their pubs' freeholds. In November Punch...

Punch boss puts finishing touches to new HQ

11-Feb-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch boss Giles Thorley lent a helping hand to put the finishing touches to the solar panelled roof on its new HQ building. The new 4,088m² low...

Punch Taverns denies underage drinking caused pub to shut

06-Feb-2009

Punch Taverns has hit back at claims that one of its pubs was forced to shut due to underage drinking on the premises.According to a newspaper report...

Punch denies Bebo used to shut pub

06-Feb-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has denied that photos from a social networking site were used to shut one of its pubs on the grounds of underage drinking. Police said...

1,000+ Punch pubs in new division

05-Feb-2009 By John Harrington

The Turnaround Division for struggling pubs at Britain's biggest pubco will be split into two regions containing more than 1,000 pubs

Punch: new division for struggling pubs

30-Jan-2009 By John Harrington

Punch Taverns is creating a new division to help its struggling pubs as part of a restructuring of its leased estate, which will mean fewer regional operation directors.

Punch Taverns ring-fences troubled pubs

30-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns is set to create a separate division to oversee the most economically challenged pubs across its estate.As well as the creation of the...

Protestors make their point at Punch

26-Jan-2009

Punch Taverns has defended the pubco model on the day that licensees staged a demonstration on the company's doorstep. Licensees from across the...

Punch: leased model does work

26-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has stressed that the leased model does have a future despite a protest from licensees outside its HQ. Punch facilities director Steve...

Punch suffers body blows in a week to forget

19-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns' numbers were worse than many were expecting, (see below) to the extent that at one stage its shares sank more than 22 per cent on the...

Punch Taverns removes 140 BRMs from redundancy talks

19-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns today revealed it has taken 140 business relationship managers (BRMs) out of its ongoing consultation process.The pubco is looking to...

Punch to welcome protesters at HQ

19-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns will welcome any of its lessees attending the protest outside its HQ next week in for a coffee and a chat. Frustrated licensees are...

Punch licensee's rent victory

16-Jan-2009 By John Harrington

Punch Taverns is thought to have agreed to reduce a licensee's rent and offered discounts of £12,505 a year after proposing a 51% rent increase.

Analyst: Punch shares could hit 10p

15-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch's day of woe finished with share prices reaching an all time low of 39.75p — a drop of over 30% — one analyst warned they may hit 10p.

Punch ups tenant support as beer volumes drop 12%

14-Jan-2009 By The PMA Team

A total of 1,200 Punch licensees are currently receiving special support from the company at a cost of £1.6m a month, the pubco says.

Punch Taverns to make up to 100 head office staff redundant

14-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns is to make up to 100 head office staff redundant as part of a cost cutting programme.The UK's largest pub operator is set to start...

Punch shares fall by more than a fifth

14-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns shares were down more than 20 per cent today after revealing leased pub profits had fallen sharply in the 20 weeks to January 10,...

Punch Taverns sees leased pub profits fall 12 per cent

14-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Profits across Punch Taverns' leased and tenanted pub estate have slumped 12 per cent in recent months, despite "improved trading" over Christmas.The...

Punch: profits down 12% at leased pubs

14-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney

Profit from Punch's leased and tenanted pubs plummeted 12% on last year for the 20 weeks to 10 January. Britain's largest pubco said trading...

Punch Taverns set for shareholder mauling

12-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns shareholders are expected to give senior executives at the UK's largest pub operator a rough time at the group's annual general meeting...