Christmas

Record December caps strong year for Incipio

30-Jan-2024 By Ed Bedington

Innovative London-based operators Incipio Group have announced its strongest Christmas trading to date, along with a record year of sales.

Toy cheer from Craft Union

29-Jan-2024 By Ed Bedington

Community focused pub group Craft Union is celebrating another year of charity success having brought joy to children and their families last December.

‘Bumper Xmas trading doesn’t resolve ongoing challenges’

18-Jan-2024 By Nikkie Thatcher

Managed pubs saw like-for-like sales growth of 9.6% in December, according to new research, but this doesn’t solve the sector’s continuing challenges.

Review of the Week

'We need to go to war on VAT'

05-Jan-2024 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington met up with Oakman Group's Peter Borg-Neal to get his take on the week's news, from a knighthood for Sir Tim through to closures and Christmas trade.

Drinks sales up 7% during last two weeks of 2023

05-Jan-2024 By Rebecca Weller

Drinks sales were up 7% year-on-year during the final fortnight of 2023, indicating “positive trends” for 2024 despite continued “difficult trading conditions”, according to CGA.

The Lock In Podcast

Snowball anyone? Anyone?

18-Dec-2023 By Ed Bedington

The Lock In team take a look at Christmas, from how to handle the irregular customers (Doreen from Accounts, we're looking at you) through to nostalgic tipples!

Review of the Week

'We have a vital role'

15-Dec-2023 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington caught up with Frederic Robinson's William Robinson to hear his thoughts on the week, from Christmas trade to changing of the political guard.

Most pubs charge more than £30 for Xmas dinner

23-Nov-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Almost a third of pubs will charge in excess of £30 for Christmas dinner, a snap poll conducted by The Morning Advertiser has revealed.

POLL

VOTE NOW: do you sell gift cards at your pub?

22-Nov-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Hospitality gift cards could help “boost sales” during the quiet post-Christmas period, do you sell them at your pub? Have your say now in our snap poll.

Popular Xmas party dates ‘will help push sales up to £12bn’

20-Nov-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Hospitality is set to benefit from a £12bn boost during the festive period when 40m-plus people eat and drink out as the most popular dates for Christmas parties have been revealed.

Further strike action expected to cause Christmas trade disruption

16-Nov-2023 By Ed Bedington

The hospitality sector is braced for further Christmas disruption after train drivers announced plans to stage a fresh round of strikes in early December.

POLL

How much should pubs charge for Xmas dinner?

15-Nov-2023 By Rebecca Weller

How much should pub operators charge customers for Christmas dinner? Have your say in our snap poll.

Review of the Week

‘It doesn't feel like inflation is under control’

10-Nov-2023 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington spoke to Brucan Pubs’ James Lyon-Shaw to get his take on the week's events.

DRINKS MASTERCLASS

Festive cocktail recipes to 'elevate' your offering

06-Nov-2023 By Rebecca Weller

With the Christmas season fast approaching, this week’s Drinks Masterclass showcases some festive cocktail recipes to help pubs stand out from the crowd.

Perspective needed on work parties

11-May-2023 By Ed Bedington

If things can’t get much worse for the pub sector, the fun-police are now out trying to ban drinking at work parties.

Charity initiative helps keeps pubs lights on

09-Dec-2022 By Ed Bedington

A Sussex-based pub has come up with a unique way to try and offset the increased costs of Christmas lights this year.

Inflation makes pricing xmas menus 'tricky'

08-Dec-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Managing soaring food prices is going to be “tricky” for operators this Christmas as festive menus announced months ago no longer reflect current costs.

Another Christmas lost?

25-Nov-2022 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington catches up with hospitality expert Paul Pavli to get his take on the week's news, dominated by the rail union's decision to announce fresh strikes.

Christmas bookings see 20% decline

21-Nov-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Christmas bookings across the on-trade have shown a 20% drop, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

Consumers taking 'restrained approach' to Christmas

08-Nov-2022 By Rebecca Weller

The hospitality sector saw its smallest uplift since March 2021 during October despite consumer card spending having grown 3.5% year-on-year, data from Barclaycard has revealed.

The Lock In Podcast

The World Cup vs Christmas

24-Oct-2022 By Ed Bedington

The World Cup is usually a bumper time for pubs, but with it clashing with Christmas, how are operators going to manage the two? With their usual expertise and competence, the podcast team investigate...

Saturday 4 December most profitable trading day

20-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Pub sales were down 29.2% in December 2021 when compared to 2019 with New Year’s Eve sales down some 30%, however staff headcounts and hours worked were in good stead, the latest Fourth Hospitality Report has shown.

13 sites a day lost since pandemic’s onset

20-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

While Britain’s hospitality sector grew modestly in the last quarter of 2021, tough trading conditions now threaten to halt the sector’s upturn, the Market Recovery Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners has revealed.

Pubs and bars hit hardest over festive period

19-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Britain’s managed pub, bar and restaurant groups suffered a double-digit sales drop from pre-Covid levels in December, yet pubs and bars were hit particularly hard over the festive period, the latest CGA Business Tracker revealed.

Brewhouse & Kitchen saw a 'valiant performance' during December

18-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Brewhouse & Kitchen saw a growth of 8.9% across the last quarter of 2021 despite a disappointing and frustrating December period.

The Lock In Podcast

Hard times ahead?

13-Jan-2022 By Ed Bedington

The Lock In team review the Christmas that wasn't and take a look to the months ahead and what to expect. We talk the challenging financial situation with top advice from expert advisor Chris Worden from 1st Business Rescue, hear from award winning...

Kent pub offers customers a second chance at Christmas

07-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Following announcements from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December, including the advice to limit socialising over Christmas, the Kings Arms in Bexleyheath saw 400 cancellations in just six days, but licensee Pete Marshall is giving customers a second...

Gov support ‘doesn’t touch the sides’

07-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Trade over the Christmas period was “pretty dire” at the Curlew in Bodiam, East Sussex, with the Government’s support packages doing little to provide sustained support to hospitality, said operator Matthew Devlin.

Hayfield pub sees busy Christmas followed by a devastating New Year

06-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

In the lead up to Christmas, the Pack Horse, Hayfield, Derbyshire, was surprised to be busy over the festive period, however the New Year bought in closure and coronavirus for the pub.

Northumberland licensee feels 'really lucky' not to lose trade

05-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

City pubs were hit much harder than rural pubs over Christmas but rallying local communities was essential to survival, according to one licensee.

‘We managed to get through Christmas by the skin of our teeth’

05-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Ben McKellar, owner of Hove-based pub the Ginger Pig, said mass cancellations and isolating staff made Christmas a “very tough” trading period.

Pubs lost £10,335 on average over Christmas

04-Jan-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Pubs, bars, and restaurants lost £10,335 on average in the week leading up to Christmas with Christmas Day takings down 60% when compared to 2019, figures from UKHospitality (UKH) have shown.

It's not biting the hand that feeds if its scraps from the table

22-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

It wasn’t so much a shining knight, riding to our rescue on the white horse, more like a clown on the back of a knackered old seaside donkey.

‘Catastrophic figures’ show December trade is set to be disastrous

21-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

Pub revenue was down more than 40% over the past weekend with one in five businesses having reported a sales drop of more than 60%, according to UKHospitality.

Lockdown by proxy must come with support

20-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

It was a sobering experience watching my social feeds this weekend, as operator after operator voiced their despair as they watched Christmas trade fall off a cliff.

The Lock In Podcast

Christmas woes and financial thoughts...

17-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Lock In team sign off the year with a focus on how operators can maximise the most of the current situation and plan for the worst in the New Year. From some great advice on how to offset or extend bounceback loans to best practice on handling reservations...

Pubs to sell 37m fewer pints and lose out on £297m this Christmas

17-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

Pubs have been predicted to sell 37m fewer pints and lose out on £297m in trade this Christmas, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

BII calls for Gov support after 78% of operators see trade plummet

17-Dec-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has called for support to safeguard the future of UK pubs after releasing the results of its Christmas Trading survey which showed trade dropping dramatically for many pubs.

The Chancellor must "step out of the shadows" and support hospitality

17-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

The Chancellor must “step out of the shadows” and offer financial support as the hospitality sector was only just getting off its knees before the emergence of Omicron, according to professional services and investment management company Colliers.

December revenue predicted to drop by a quarter

17-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

The Government need to step in and provide financial help before it’s too late as December revenue for the hospitality sector has been predicted to drop by a further quarter, according to industry body UKHospitality.

Pub to serve free meals to those alone on Christmas day

15-Dec-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The Alexandra in Wimbledon, London, will serve free Christmas dinners to guests spending the 25 December alone to combat loneliness, a scheme the owners started in 2014.

‘Viable businesses will be lost from communities’

13-Dec-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Government’s latest announcement including asking people to work from home to help curb the spread of the Omicron variant could mean viable businesses will be lost, one sector leader has said.

MA Review of the Week

'There'll be a hell of a lot people thinking April doesn't matter anymore because I'm not getting to the end of January'

10-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

With Plan B dominating the headlines, MA editor Ed Bedington chatted with Brucan Pub's James Lyon-Shaw about the impact he can see from the move and how Christmas trade was likely to shape up for the wider trade.

Industry 'shafted' by Government

09-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

Cancellations are reported to be flooding in from across hospitality in the wake of the Government's shift to Plan B.

Greene King offers employees a bonus package worth £6m

09-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

Pub operator and brewer Greene King has announced it will reward employees with a share of an incentive package worth more than £6m this Christmas.

Is Christmas slipping away?

06-Dec-2021 By Ed Bedington

The drip drip drip of paranoia and panic are starting to do damage and desperate operators are beginning to fear Christmas slipping through their fingers.

Operator's bid to become the ‘most festive-spirited pub company’

06-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

The Inn Collection Group has offered free Christmas lunches for isolated older people and shelter for those affected by Storm Arwen across its pubs in a bid to become the UK’s ‘most festive-spirited pub company’.

St Austell Brewery launches Christmas cocktail menu

01-Dec-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

St Austell Brewery, the independent owner of more than 180 sites across the West Country, has launched its first-ever festive cocktail menu.

Hospitality vacancies are set to hit a record high this Christmas

24-Nov-2021 By Rebecca Weller

Job vacancies in the hospitality sector have been forecasted to increase by 75,000 this December, in comparison to 2019.

The MA's Review of the Week

"Feels like everything is difficult to do at the moment"

19-Nov-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington caught up with Vicki Williams from Almond Family Pubs to get her thoughts on the weeks events, from ongoing supply challenges, staffing shortages, through to Christmas ordering nightmares.