Liverpool

MA LEADERS

What matters to your managers?

13-Mar-2024 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Abi Dunn, the founder of hospitality recruitment agency Sixty Eight People, advised on how to retain managers at the MA Leaders conference in Liverpool last week.

MA LEADERS

City Pub Company founder: ‘Things will change, things will get better’

12-Mar-2024 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Clive Watson, the founder of City Pub Company, looked back on his career at last week’s MA Leaders conference, having sold the business to Young’s earlier this month.

MA LEADERS

What is operating in Liverpool like?

11-Mar-2024 By Nikkie Thatcher

A buoyant Saturday trade, the impact of businesses continuing to work from home and the need for stronger infrastructure were three of the topics discussed when it comes to operating in the seaport city.

MA LEADERS CLUB

MA Leaders in Liverpool happening today

07-Mar-2024 By Rebecca Weller

The MA Leaders event in Liverpool is taking place today (Thursday 7 March).

MA Leaders Liverpool stellar agenda and study tour revealed

16-Feb-2024 By Nikkie Thatcher

The MA Leaders Club will be hitting the pavements of Liverpool next month and we can now announce the full line up of speakers and study tour venues.

Mayors of the North call for VAT cut

14-Feb-2024 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Mayors of the North united to call for an industry-wide VAT cut in the Spring Budget at the Night Time Economy Summit last week.

'Rising costs' force Seven Bro7hers to shut site

24-Jan-2024 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co has temporarily closed its Liverpool Beerhouse, citing inflation and a lack of Government support.

Liverpool operator 'taken aback' by Eurovision impact

15-May-2023 By Rebecca Weller

A Liverpool-based pub and brewery director has said he was “taken aback” by the “positive” effect of the Eurovision Song Contest on the city.

Liverpool pubs 'buzzing' ahead of Eurovision final

09-May-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Pubs in Liverpool are “buzzing” ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest finale.

Slight sales uptick in April

09-May-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubs, bars and clubs saw a rise of 3.7% in consumer card spending for the month of April, new data has revealed.

BOXPARK sets sights on new site

01-Feb-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

BOXPARK has secured planning permission for a new Liverpool venue which will open later this year.

Bars to donate to human rights charity during World Cup

21-Nov-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Liverpool bars Bobo and Abditory in Merseyside are asking customers to support human rights charity Amnesty International during the Qatar World Cup to remind of the “wider issues at stake than football glory”.

Liverpool late-night levy 'stifling growth'

02-Nov-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

There have been calls for Liverpool City Council to abolish its late-night levy, in response to a consultation on removing it.

Greene King opens 'milestone' Hive pub site

11-Oct-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Greene King Pub Partners, the leased, tenanted and franchise division of Greene King, has launched its 20th Hive Pubs Site following a £450,000 investment.

1 in 7 licensed venues lost in capital centre

15-Aug-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Licensed premises in the City of London have seen a net decline of 14% since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, new research has found.

Disabled customer sent gift voucher 18 months after being refused service

07-Dec-2021 By Rebecca Weller

A pub in Liverpool has sent a customer a £20 voucher and letter of apology 18 months after staff accused her of being drunk having failed to recognise her disability.

Opinion

‘Freedom Day’: ‘After numerous false promises, I will only believe it once I see it’

08-Jul-2021 By Kate Stewart, the Sandon, Liverpool

Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday (5 July) was obviously a positive one for the hospitality industry and many others who have been repeatedly devastated by the ongoing restrictions and lockdowns that have been imposed on our country.

Rileys Sports Bars reports above expected trading

18-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Thirteen-strong multiple operator Rileys Sports Bars has announced growth of 9% compared to 2019 across its estate for the three weeks since reopening on Monday 17 May.

Club pilots will challenge 'misconceptions' about sector

29-Apr-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Late night sector event pilots will help prove that large participation events can return safely, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has said.

Opinion

Reopening ‘a huge task’ that can only happen ‘when the time is right’

14-Apr-2021 By Kate Stewart, the Sandon, Liverpool

A finalist in the 2019 Great British Pub Awards’ and a must visit on Anfield matchdays, the Sandon Complex in Liverpool hasn’t reopened this week despite relaxed outdoor trading rules.

MA’s Review of the Week

‘Tsunami of other problems’ not factored into speed of lockdown exit

12-Mar-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington speaks with Rockpoint Leisure CEO and chair of the Institute of Licensing and National Licensing Forum, Dan Davies, to reflect on some of the week's biggest headlines.

How has 2020 changed people and pubs?

‘We waited 30 years for this and the celebration the team and fans deserved was far from possible’

27-Dec-2020 By Kate Stewart, the Sandon, Liverpool

Kate Stewart from the Sandon – a firm fixture on matchdays at Anfield – describes the ‘heart-wrenching’ feeling of not being able to celebrate Liverpool’s first Premier League title with supporters due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Sport pubs unable to convert partial fan return into matchday trade

08-Dec-2020 By Stuart Stone

Despite sport fans being able to return to stadiums in tiers one and two – and consume alcohol there – from 2 December, traditional matchday pubs haven’t experienced anything like their usual boost.

lockdown live

Prime Minister pledges cash for wet pubs

02-Nov-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Most areas in England will be placed into tier two measures this week while pubs in a number of areas must remain closed under the strictest rules.

Warrington pubs forced to close

26-Oct-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs in Warrington, north-west England, will have to close unless they can serve meals with alcohol.

Third of tier three pubs, bars and restaurants closed or plan to shut

26-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 33% of hospitality businesses in the ‘very high’ tier three do not have sufficient support to remain viable and have closed already or plan to, an industry survey has found.

16,436 pubs under tier two and three restrictions

21-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 43.69% of all pubs in England are currently under ‘high’ or ‘very high’ restrictions including closures.

Tier three puts a fifth of northern England's venues at risk of permanent closure

20-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Forcing pubs, bars and restaurants to close in the north of England as part of the tier three restrictions could see 3,754 on-trade venues close for good, new research has found.

‘Help us or we’ll lose three quarters of a million jobs’ trade warns

19-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 750,000 hospitality roles will be lost by February 2021 without further Government support, a survey from trade bodies has found.

£40m emergency funding for Liverpool hospitality

16-Oct-2020 By Emily Hawkins

An emergency funding pot of up to £40m has launched to help pubs in Liverpool survive severe coronavirus measures.

Map: where are pubs under the strictest measures in England?

15-Oct-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A tiered system of coronavirus measures came into effect on Wednesday 14 October, splicing the country into different sets of restrictions.

Liverpool pub 'trapped between devil and deep blue sea'

15-Oct-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A Liverpool operator has said he feels “trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea,” as he debates whether or not to close his site.

Analysis

What does the Government’s new three-tier Covid system mean for pubs?

13-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

In its latest attempt to stem the pandemic tide, the Government has unveiled three new levels of lockdown measures across England – but how will pubs in different tiers be affected?

PM orders Liverpool pubs to close this week

12-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced pubs in Liverpool must close from Wednesday (14 October) amid rising coronavirus cases in the area.

Liverpool pubs to close, city leaders say

12-Oct-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs in Liverpool will be closed under new restrictions from the Government, city leaders have outlined in a joint statement.

Analysis

More than 1,000 pubs and 1.6m people in Liverpool City Region hit by Covid-19 'hammer blow'

01-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

New restrictions on the Liverpool City Region have been described as an economic ‘hammer blow’ and a ‘massive step backwards’ despite local leaders’ acknowledgement that they may be necessary to halt the spread of Covid-19.

Curfew review urged after crowded streets and house parties

28-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The 10pm curfew is doing more harm to public health than good, according to industry chiefs and operators across the country.

315 pubs lost for good so far in 2020

14-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

More than 300 pubs have been permanently closed, set to be demolished or converted for other uses according to exclusive data for the 34 weeks and six days to 1 September 2020.

Police appeal for information after black pub operator targeted with ‘white lives matter’ graffiti

22-Jul-2020 By Stuart Stone

Officers from Merseyside Police are investigating an incident which saw the letters ‘WLM’ daubed on the walls of a pub owned by a black publican in Liverpool’s Old Swan neighbourhood.

Liverpool football pub unveils £1m hotel expansion

08-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

One of Liverpool’s famous football match-day pubs has opened a £1m extension that will house 115 beds.

Thai cocktail bar opened by restaurant brand

30-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

A cocktail bar made to look like a street scene from the far east will open in Liverpool city centre this autumn.

Popular Liverpool coffee shop to expand into bar

21-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Bold Street Coffee, a Liverpool city coffee shop will reopen with a bar element after partnering with independent bar and restaurants company Graffiti Spirits Group.

Liverpool footy pub adds rooms in £1m expansion

02-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Liverpool’s famous football match day pub the Sandon will see the addition of 115 hotel rooms by the end of the year, in a £1m expansion.

What sports pubs need to know about the January transfer window

01-Feb-2018 By Tommy Leighton

Another transfer window closes and another batch of players wind their way to pitches new. So, which Premier League clubs have made an inspired January swoop to guarantee glory or secure safety and which have succumbed to the multi-million pound temptation...

What sports pubs need to know about the transfer window

01-Sep-2017 By Tommy Leighton

Last night, Sky Sports’ Jim White loosened his bright yellow tie, took a long, deep breath and brought another hectic transfer window to a shuddering halt. But what will your customers be talking about in the coming weeks and months? And were your local...

Football and rugby seasons approach their conclusion

19-May-2017 By Liam Coleman

The final football matches for the top leagues in both England and Spain can bring a handy boost in trade this Sunday.

JD Wetherspoon plans to transform sixth Liverpool city centre site

16-May-2017 By Georgina Townshend

JD Wetherspoon plans to spend £2.5m converting a derelict office building into its sixth site in Liverpool’s city centre.

High Court dismisses challenge to Liverpool late-night levy

10-May-2017 By Claire Churchard

Liverpool City Council is free to continue running its late-night levy after a challenge brought by the Pub Invest Group was dismissed by the High Court.

MA500 Member Profile: Andrew Stones on why Liverpool is a good bet

12-Apr-2017 By Nikkie Sutton

After its inception in 1998, Be At One now has more than 30 bars across the country. After opening its Liverpool site just six months ago, operations director Andrew Stones outlines why operators should consider the thriving city and what it has to offer...

LATE-NIGHT LEVY

BBPA demands clarity on late-night levy decision

22-Dec-2016 By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has written to Liverpool City Council to ask for clarification over the process it used to reach a decision to implement a late-night levy (LNL).