Professional Services & Utilities

Wine

VIDEO: Get your summer wine list right with these top tips

12-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Prosecco, English whites and light reds are three types of wine that operators should consider when putting together the perfect summer wine list, according to advice from a leading expert.

Cider

Seven innovations in cider

11-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Cider makers are set to launch new products during the coming weeks in a bid to make a successful play of the, hopefully, warm and dry weather this summer. In the meantime, we look back on seven of the top cider trends that snatched our attention over...

Local authorities

Council roadworks 'nightmare' could cause pub closure

07-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

An outraged licensee fears he is on the verge of having to close his pub because nightmare roadworks have devastated his trade.

Beer

Meantime invests in sales team after CEO Miller steps down

05-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

SABMiller-owned Meantime Brewing Company has announced plans to bolster its sales team, just days after Nick Miller stepped down as the firm’s CEO.

Outside furniture

How to attract customers to your pub garden

04-Apr-2016 By Fiona McLelland

Fiona McLelland warms to the idea of enjoying a drink and a meal in a pub garden in the coming months and investigates how your pub’s outside area could do more to attract customers.

Food safety

Pubs should push meat origin after monkey meat find

01-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food-serving pubs should push assured meat and produce on their menus, following the recently revealed record global haul of illegal food and drink by the European police agency Europol last month.

Punch to trial energy cost-saving scheme

01-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

Punch will trial an energy deal that aims to help its licensees cut the cost of utilities and reduce admin burdens.

Zonal launches Acquire

31-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Zonal has launched Acquire, a new web based product that offers operators ‘an easy to use order to invoice solution.’

Big Interview

‘Pub’ is the buzz word for Diageo, says sales director

31-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

‘Pub’ is the current buzzword at Diageo as the drinks giant’s sales director Ronak Mashru is very keen to get across. Nicholas Robinson finds out why

Wholesalers

Booker’s total group sales up by more than 10%

31-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Booker's group sales for the fourth quarter (Q4) rose by 10.6% for the 12 weeks to 25 March 2016, with its foodservice arms putting in a strong performance, resulting in high praise from City analysts.

Carlsberg’s new Strawberry & Rhubarb cider available on draft

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Carlsberg will expand the Somersby cider portfolio with the addition of a new draft Strawberry & Rhubarb flavour, the beer and cider giant has revealed.

Chips: sure fry way to boost gross profit

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

There’s more to chips than you might expect and, if potatoes can boost your profits, it’s definitely worth taking note. Nicholas Robinson reports

Brakes’ first time distributing beer and cider

29-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Brakes, the foodservice supplier, will distribute bottled beers and ciders for the first time, it has announced.

city news

Miller to step down as Meantime CEO

23-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

SABMiller has appointed Laura Edwards from Miller Brands as general manager for Meantime Brewing Company, who will continue to run the firm as a stand-alone business, following outgoing CEO Nick Miller's move to step down later this month.

city news

Greene King leisure tracker: Spending falls harder in London than regions

23-Mar-2016 By MCA

Consumer confidence remains fragile with 34% of people feeling worse about their financial situation than five years ago, compared to 29% who feel better.

Beer

Meantime reveals five-strong seasonal beer offer

21-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The Meantime Brewing Company has revealed its five-strong seasonal beer offering for the year ahead, including brews for summer, autumn and winter.

Beer quality issues cost pubs £300m in lost profit

17-Mar-2016 By Ed Bedington

Quality issues on beer could be costing the pub sector more than £300 million a year in profit, a new report has claimed.

Pensions

Pension checklist: What you need to know about auto-enrolment

15-Mar-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Pension auto-enrolment is a term that strikes dread into the many uninitiated licensees who are fast approaching the deadline for setting up a scheme. Ben Winstanley finds out what you really need to know.

Supplier profile

Flexitarians push Paramount 21 to boost veggie offer

09-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Frozen fish and vegetarian foodservice supplier Paramount 21 is preparing to boost its veggie and gluten-free offering following rising demand, the firm's chairman and director Ali Hannaford has said.

Property

Independent pub sales fall 5.5%

08-Mar-2016 By MCA

Independent pubs saw sales fall 5.5% in 2015, in comparison to a 4.7% increase for branded chains, according to the latest research.

Bidvest Foodservice snaps up Caterfood

04-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Bidvest Foodservice has acquired the south-west-based distributor Caterfood in a bid to strengthen its reach, after the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) revealed the company's plans to continue its expansion.

Podcast

Ice boss: ‘Don’t shun frozen food as inferior, embrace its money-saving qualities’

02-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Frozen food should not be shunned by pub chefs who fear using non-fresh produce will taint their offer, but should embrace its nutritious and money-saving qualities.

Events

Exciting new trade show - The Bar & Pub Show - launches

02-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

A new event dedicated to the bar and pub sector will run alongside this year's Restaurant Show at Olympia bringing together the best suppliers in the business with top operators that are transforming the UK’s on-trade.

Suppliers

Bidvest Foodservice reveals growth plans and biggest competitors

01-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Bidvest Foodservice will continue to acquire businesses and launch new sites to grow its customer reach, chief executive officer Andrew Selley has told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA).

Crime

Scam: Beware of the bogus surveyor

29-Feb-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Licensees have been warned to be on their guard against a convincing phone scam by a man claiming to be a business rates surveyor.

New Products

What’s new in casual dining?

26-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Boosting kitchen profitability was a major theme at this year's Casual Dining show and many suppliers aimed to please with a vast line-up of interesting new products. Here we've selected a few of the ones that stood out for us.

Editorial

Closures have slowed but they need to stop

12-Feb-2016 By Ed Bedington

It’s a positive piece of news to hear that the rate of pub closures has slowed, although, more positive, would be that there was no rate of closure at all, and the sector was actually growing.

Crowdfunding: How beer and pubs are getting involved

09-Feb-2016 By Pete Brown

With operators in the world of beer and pubs starting to experiment with crowdfunding on significant levels, Pete Brown looks at the various models in common usage.

04-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Paying closer attention to your staff’s working history, especially before hiring them, could help prevent a catastrophic incident of food fraud in your pub, a leading food safety advisor has advised.

CAMRA research

Pub closures falling - but still 27 shutting every week

04-Feb-2016 By Oli Gross

Pub closures have slowed slightly to 27 a week as the industry begins a ‘fragile recovery’, according to the Campaign for Real Ale’s latest research.

News Analysis: Food Safety

‘Multimillion-pound fines’ for unsafe food operators

04-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Diners need to know the food they are eating at your site is safe but some experts fear budget cuts could see a reduction in safety measures. Nicholas Robinson investigates

Flooding

Heineken continues support of flood-hit pubs

22-Jan-2016 By Mike Berry

Heineken has continued its support for pubs and other on-trade customers in the north-west following the extensive flooding in the area over the festive period.

What’s next for vegetarian food in pubs?

22-Jan-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

More people are considering meat-free dishes when they eat out and want to see more choice on the menu. Michelle Perrett unearths a potential new order

Tender

Pubs must prepare for plastic fivers

21-Jan-2016 By Oli Gross

Pubs will need to accept new plastic five and ten pound notes from customers later this year, and licensees will need to prepare for their introduction.

Food

Bidvest relaunches own brand after name change

21-Jan-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Foodservice giant Bidvest has relaunched its own brand portfolio of food, drink and non-food products, less than a year after the hospitality supplier changed its name.

Beer

Wet-led pubs lead growth over Christmas

18-Jan-2016 By MC Allegra FS

Wet-led pubs and bars drove growth over the Christmas and New Year period with like-for-like sales up 1.8%, across the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

Country's biggest LVA shuts down and launches new Norfolk support fund

14-Jan-2016 By Mike Berry

The Licensed Trade Charity has launched a new pub support fund in Norfolk following the demise of the Norwich and Norfolk Licensed Victualler’s Association (N&NLVA).

Alcohol guidelines

Lack of discourse over units is hard to swallow

14-Jan-2016 By Ed Bedington

Life is all about risk. Some things are riskier than others — paragliding naked over a tank of ravenous sharks while juggling a set of sharp knives, for example.

city news

Implementing National Living Wage 'toughest in low-paying northern cities'

05-Jan-2016 By MC Allegra FS

Implementing the new National Living Wage (NLW) will be toughest in lower-paying city regions such as Sheffield, Nottingham and Birmingham, where over a quarter of all employees will be affected by 2020, according to new analysis published by the Resolution...

Maintenance

Urine 'special paint' will 'bounce back' onto those peeing on Hackney pubs

18-Dec-2015 By Oli Gross

It’s ‘peeback time’ in Hackney as walls are being treated with a special coating which bounces urine back at people who pee on pubs.

Utilities

The nightmare before Christmas ruins business

11-Dec-2015 By Oli Gross

Christmas trade has been devastated for one licensee after his pub’s phone line and broadband were unexpectedly cut off leaving him unable to take any bookings or card payments for more than a month.

Food prices

Foodservice Price Index launched

07-Dec-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

A Foodservice Price Index (FPI) has been launched to give operators access to more accurate data about commodity costs specific to the hospitality sector.

Focus on coffee: how big is coffee in pubs?

16-Nov-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Not only is coffee a booming business in its own right, it helps improve food offers too. Michelle Perrett reveals how

Food Safety

‘Pubs not up to scratch on allergen labelling’

11-Nov-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Pubs are lagging behind the rest of the food industry on food allergen labelling, experts have warned, following the release of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) latest local authority food law report.

Analysis

Are we moving towards the end of tipping?

11-Nov-2015 By James Evison

The government consultation on tipping is ending – and the responses from industry bodies such as the ALMR has come in. James Evison looks at the UK’s tipping situation.