Should we be made to pay for dilapidations?
Ian Parker, now of the Three Kings in Sleaford Lincolnshire, asks if Punch acted legally when it deducted money from him to fund the dilapidations on...
Archives for November 2, 2006
Cheap and nasty - Provence's downfall
A Provence whistleblower has claimed that the company was charging licensees about double sustainable levels of rent. The whistleblower, who left...
The GUV'NOR
Yvonne Cleminson Pubcos must do more to help licensees with growing red tape and spiralling costs says the licensee of the Cherry Tree in Farnham,...
PickoftheWeek
Royal Albert Bridge Inn Plymouth Devon Price: £199,950 Tenure: Leasehold Rent: £39, 840 p/a Review: 6 years unexpired; 5-yearly reviews Landlord:...
THE AGENTS
James Grimes Director, AG&G, Chartered Surveyors, London Individual freehold pubs remain a relatively rare commodity and the market is strong. In...
The end of the road for Les Routiers UK?
Hundreds of licensees could find themselves out of pocket after pub and restaurant guide Les Routiers failed to meet its 2007 UK publication deadline.
Reds on the comeback trail
The theme of the next seven days is one of taking stock. On the football pitch the competitors in this weekend's featured Premiership matches have...
FoodBriefs
Fish body wants cod ban for 2007 The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has called for a complete ban on cod fishing in the...
Macclesfield licensee fights to save pub
A MACCLESFIELD licensee has been turned into a virtual computer game hero by a regular to aid her in the fight to save her pub from demolition.Plans...
Licensees face foreign satellite blitz
Licensees who show Premiership football via foreign satellite systems face a national crackdown by police and trading standards officers. In an...
Back to basics: an all-round education
Dragging licensees out of their pubs for training courses has always been a challenge. Ordinary working folk might relish the chance to get away from...
Grogan: let us fight supermarket booze prices
All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman calls on brewers and pub companies to join the fight against rock-bottom supermarket beer prices.
Population shifts lead to pub changes
Population changes have affected the viability of licensed premises. Agents say pubs across the country have closed down and sprung up in new places,...
Licensing@aol.com - Peter Coulson 02/11/2006
MA Legal expert Peter Coulson answers your questions about the trade.
Whitbread's new plan to pursue pub diners
Whitbread's position in the pub restaurant market reminds me a little of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) before it was mercifully cut free from its...
Anand's challenge: lets champion beer
Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand has called for brewers and real ale campaigners to "join forces" to champion British beer. Rooney was...
Drinking kids let off
Just 41 children across England and Wales were given instant fines for underage drinking on licensed premises in 2005, according to Government...
Police now slower to respond says Kinsey
Paul Kinsey, the former First Leisure chief executive who runs nightclub company Nexum, claims police are taking longer to respond to calls than...
Smartbox admits experiencing "growing pains
Complaints from licensees of Smartbox are continuing to flood into The Publican following assurances from the company last week. Licensees claim they...
Camra trust to fund micro-breweries
The Camra Investment Club (CIC) is looking at setting up a £10m venture-capital trust (VCT) to fund the expansion of micro-brewers, the MA has...
Flashes of inspiration
Beer is Wychwood managing director Rupert Thompson's burning passion. Adrian Tierney-Jones meets the compellingly enthusiastic spirit behind...
Pub property company collapses
Pub property company Provence and its managed arm Countrywide Inns have collapsed, according to sources close to the firms. A spokesman for property...
Keen and Rogers join Laurel pubco
Laurel Pub Company, Robert Tchenguiz's high-street pub business, has announced the appointments of Chris Keen as its new chief financial officer and...
Cheers
Unlucky for some Snifter's heart goes out to one unlucky punter at the Castle Inn, Holcombe, Devon. Ten pub-syndicate customers won £400,000 when...
Customers - because they're worth it
Morning Advertiser Editor Andrew Pring on the need to treasure your customers.
Short, sweet and to the point
A short, punchy business plan is essential for persuading banks to part with cash, says Marlborough Leisure commercial director Simon Stracey 1....
Tales from the riverbank
Hampshire's Peat Spade Inn serves excellent food and is popular with locals and visitors. Its owners tell David Hancock about achieving a perfect...
Balls buys Lewis & Clarke business
Lewis & Clarke, the bar-restaurant business owned by entrepreneurs Steve Wilkins and John Connell, has been sold to Balls Brothers, its larger...
MyShout - John Grogan
The critical issue of off-trade pricing is galvanising the entire industry, says John Grogan For the first time in a generation, the supermarkets are...
A breath of fresh air
Since the Irish smoke ban, trade at pubs has picked up after an initial dip. The findings of MA's visit to Ireland will be reported over the next...
From a 'shell' to a thriving business
A licensee who has transformed his pub from a "derelict shell" to a thriving business hopes to sell the freehold for £1.4m. Roger Butterworth of...
Wetherspoon shares reach all-time high
Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW) rose to an all-time high this morning as the group revealed details of first quarter trading.At 595.25p its shares...
Provence founder has failed before
The collapse of Provence is not founder Paul J Kiely's first business failure. Before setting up Provence, he was a director of Kiely Developments,...
BrandsBriefs
Tetley/Telegraph team-up Tetley is joining forces with The Daily Telegraph to offer consumers exclusive content from Tetley-sponsored rugby union...
Joy of passing into adulthood - Roger Protz
My son Adam celebrated his 18th birthday last week and, casting off the shackles of parenthood, went to the pub for the first time on his own. Well,...
Bar chains encourages staff to quit smoking
Bar chains Brannigans and Mood have launched a new campaign to help their staff quit smoking before next summer's smoking ban arrives. The Trash The...
LETTERs from Morning Advertiser readers 02/11/2006
Camra cashes in on H&H closure It was good to see that the Camra Investment Club has done so well out of their brewers' stocks (MA, 29...
ALMR goes wild in South Africa
Following his eventful excursion to Bruges, accompanied by the sampling of many weird and wonderful Belgian beers, Snifter recently found himself at...
Taste test
THIS WEEK: Carlsberg's Jacobsen range: Saaz Blonde, a 7.1% abv blonde beer, and Bramley Wit, a 4.6% abv wheat beer - both imported from Denmark...
Judge tells Sky and FAPL to go after satellite suppliers
Judge clears licensee then says go after "real villains".
City Briefs
Wellington shows drop in profit Wellington Pub Company, the tenanted pub company owned by the Reuben brothers, which runs around 800 free-of tie...
LandLord of the Rings
A Cotswold licensee is preparing for an invasion of hobbits after his pub was christened the real life Prancing Pony from fantasy adventure Lord of...
Community pubs to get campaign boost
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) plans a week of action next February to save community pubs.
Tax the bland
In the last few weeks I've suffered the following injuries. A paper cut, a bloody nose and a mild but nevertheless rather alarming choking fit. I'm...
Dealing with live-ins who really live out
Employment law is a minefield — as many people who run pubs have found to their cost. One of the problems is that it's always changing to keep in...
Fake internet ID puts pubs off PASS
Licensees across Somerset are choosing not to accept genuine PASS-accredited proof-of-age cards because of the proliferation of fake IDs, the MA has...
Provence pub company goes under
Huge losses see the bailiffs move in and Provence ceasing to trade.
Trade slams Hewitt on alcohol tax plan
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has angered the trade by calling for tax on alcohol to be increased to reduce binge drinking among teenagers. In an...
Web pals Utd
We've all known for years that Giles Thorley is a massive Star Wars fan. But did you know his devotion to matters galactic led him to post his...
Adnams launches English speciality beer
Suffolk brewer Adnams has launched a new product which it hopes will signal the rise of modern English beer.Spindrift is a top-fermented, five per...
Take in the sights of London
The eyes of the sporting world are firmly focused on London this weekend. There are two Premiership derbies to enjoy, plus top-class international...
Sell More Save More launches
THIRTEEN ELITE category champions. Three freehouses. One profitable future for the nation's pubs.This is the thinking behind Sell More, Save More,...