My pub juke box
Julian Grocock, chief executive of Siba, the Society of Independent Brewers I hereby declare my music credentials as a founder member of the...
Archives for July 16, 2008
Murphy case: Written judgement out
The Premier League will have to drop foreign satellite prosecutions if the European Court of Justice rules no geographical restrictions apply to their use but Premier League vows prosecutions will continue.
Working lunch
Ted Bruning discovers the trade secrets of Warwickshire's Merchant's Inn Some pubs are blessed with Michelin-standard kitchens. Others are cursed...
Footfall fever
The start of the premiership season is just a few short weeks away, so its time to prepare for those match days to lift your takings into the next...
Orchid goes for 600 pubs
£45m refit programme has completed early Orchid Group, the managed operator owned by private equity firm GI Partners, has set its sights on doubling...
Closures spark media frenzy
Recent months have seen local and national newspapers full of stories about the plight of pubs. But is it harming the trade? Steve Hemsley reports
Standing tall
It was the week when the pub trade stood tall. And it was the week when few in Parliament would have failed to hear the proud message of the pub...
Sky-high prices
Licensees have slammed Sky's latest deals on sports packages for 'giving with one hand and taking away with the other'. Last week The Publican...
Boulter buys his 2nd Devon pub
A licensee is rolling out a novel grill concept — where dishes are brought to the table on volcanic rocks, cooked to customers' tastes — to his...
Celebrating the great British pub
Year-long national promotion will lead to a massive event A national celebration of all that's great about pubs will be staged next year in London....
Focus South East: Reading the ban
Sitting in the stylish, slate-flagged garden of the Vine in Tenterden, Kent, under a sunny June sky it was easy to imagine that this was just how the...
Greene King's Abbot Ale sales grow 12% despite cask decline
"We're well on track to build the best beer business in Britain," Greene King Brewing Company managing director Justin Adams told the MA today....
A vine idea
The unseasonable rain had a profound affect on the vines shipped in by Australian wine company McGuigan for a Central London initiative earlier this...
Your say
Winning with brand positioning I was surprised that your panel of experts missed the key subject of brand positioning when considering the criteria...
MPs rush to ban Cocaine
MPs with a keen interest in the pub trade have rushed to sign Keith Vaz's Early Day Motion (EDM) condemning plans to launch energy drink Cocaine in...
Gerry: oppose duty with united voice
Pub closures caused by change in habits Licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe has repeated his view that the trade can overturn planned alcohol duty...
My New Pub Speed the Plough
Sonia Bessant and Sarah Tombs Tibberton, Worcester Sonia Bessant has swapped feeding inmates at Hewell Grange prison for punters at a 17th-century...
Surge in rent arbitrations
The number of rent arbitrations undertaken by large managed operators has surged due to the down- beat economic climate, particularly the high-street...
Football Preview: Sky making it a rich man's game
Like sir Alex Ferguson moaning at the ref and sports journalists bemoaning the scarcity of English talent, licensees' anger at Sky's prices come the...
Bar Talk
Has your Sky subscription increased? Adrian Clay Raikes Hall Blackpool I've just had to get the new Sky Ultimate package, costing an extra £69 per...
The agent
Mark Greig, MD of Paramount Investments We've all seen the depressing sight of boarded-up pubs in locations throughout the country. Mainly in city...
Off-licences asked not to sell to under 21s
Under 21-year-olds are to be banned from buying alcohol in the off-trade in a new scheme that echoes controversial proposals in Scotland. The scheme...
SABMiller 'talk alcohol' on new website
A new consumer-friendly website has been launched to provide a comprehensive guide to alcohol - from how beer is made to how drink impacts on the...
Ignore 'use by' dates at your peril
Proper storage of food is a critical part of keeping food-related illness - particularly food poisoning - at bay. And, as no food lasts forever,...
Midlands host stripped of licence
A licensee has been stripped of his personal licence — and licensees of four pubs fined £20,000 between them — for screening Sky using domestic...
Q&A
Not valid in Scotland Q. I am thinking of taking over a pub just over the border in Scotland. Will my existing personal licence be valid for that, or...
Death by a thousand voices
With Government and the health lobbyists constantly on the attack, it's time for the trade to provide some new vocals, and with one voice It's...
We must solve pub crisis together
You've got to hand it to Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. Not content with upsetting the Prime Minister once, he's risked the wrath of his boss a...
The perfect consumer experience
Pub in the Park will play host to a fantastic range of competitions that you can sign up to for your pub and your customers. These range from...
Westminster bans street drinking
The Council has won its attempt to ban drinking - or smoking - on the streets outside a pub after 6pm.
Walkers wants a flavour
Walkers has lined up a £10m marketing push for its crisps and a competition that invites consumers to invent a new flavour. The on-pack promotion,...
Focus South East: View from the Top
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… it was the spring of hope, it was...
Herald Inns closes venues
The concept had 'lost touch with the market' Herald Inns & Bars, the company headed by Julian Sargeson, has closed six venues. The company is...
Food & Drink Group to be sold via administrators
Food & Drink Group, the Aim-listed bar group, is to be sold via a so-called "pre-packaged" administration, M&C Report understands.
Councils want evidence of Best Bar None success
Best Bar None (BBN) schemes are struggling to get off the ground in some parts of the country because councils are unwilling to stump up cash to fund...
City analyst calls for cut in Punch Taverns' dividend
Punch Taverns should cut its dividend payment to help pay off some of its debt, a City analyst said today.Punch's shares have fallen sharply in value...
Decade of quality
The Cask Marque accreditation scheme is 10 years old and growing all the time. Jessica Harvey reports on its birthday celebrations and future plans...
MA website relaunches
MorningAdvertiser.co.uk has been unveiled with a fresh new look, packed full of additional features, but still delivering the latest news first,...
City Diary: 17 July
All the latest industry news and gossip.
Council blamed for top pub closure
A Welsh pub which featured in every edition of the Good Beer Guide for 35 years has closed. The Cherry Tree in Tintern shut its doors three weeks...
Message heard - Proud and clear
Proud of Pubs Week is making waves across Parliament this week as publicans unite to tell the true story about pubs to the people who count.Licensees...
Ask An Expert: Offering beer samples
I've noticed some pubs promote their beers, especially cask ales, by offering customers a taster. What's the best way of going about this? Are there...
Business boosters
Ideas for driving food sales at your pub Takeaway pizzas Where: Puesdown Inn, Compton Abdale, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...
Moves
Maloney joins Enterprise board David Maloney has been appointed as non-executive director of Enterprise Inns. He was previously chief financial...
Following the trade winds
The Cutter at Ely might have sunk without trace, but licensee Steve Haslam tells Graham Holter that the Enterprise pub has the wind in its sails once...
ALMR slams Sky's latest 'price freeze'
Sky TV in pubs now costs £1,000+ a month
Rates bill prompts pub demolition
A pub was knocked down by its enraged owner after he was sent a bill for £8,000 in unpaid business rates and council tax for the months it stood...
Licence reviews soar say lawyers
Even good operators struggle, says barrister Operators around the country have faced a 1,000% increase in the number of licence reviews and other...
Excellence as standard
After 150 years, brewer Timothy Taylor's beers are in ever-increasing demand. Roger Protz looks at the company's history and what makes their ales so...
We're right behind you...
Go to www.pubinthepark.com to register your support "This event will be great for everyone in the industry to showcase all that is good and great...
Your say
Portman Group is not an on-trade ally While broadly in agreement with almost everything your anonymous correspondent wrote about the Portman Group (3...
Punch's shares take roller-coaster ride
It's very hard to fathom why Punch's shares have hit such ridiculous highs and lows in the same year, says The PMA Team Share values are hard to get...
South Africa: home and away
Helen Bendell helen.bendell@william-reed.co.uk Manchester United were the first European club to be invited to join South African sides, Kaizer...
FSA revises label advice
Guidance encourages transparent practices The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revised its food-labelling guidance on use of marketing terms such as...
Coors creates Project Eve
Business unit is formed to boost beer drinking Carling brewer Coors has set up a women's business unit in an attempt to boost the amount of beer...
It's time to call a halt to legislation by the back door
Increasingly I am becoming concerned that, prompted by Government ministers, local authorities are trying to run the licensed trade. Many years ago,...