London

Former GBPA finalist to reopen after fire

06-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

London’s Thirsty Bear, a finalist in the 2017 Great British Pub Awards’ Best for Sport category, will reopen on Saturday 17 October after fire forced it to close in July.

City Pub Group revenue recovers to ‘around 80%’ of pre-lockdown levels

30-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The City Pub Group's chairman has lauded the operator’s ‘encouraging’ post-lockdown performance after revenues bounced back from a 55% hit taken during 15 weeks of enforced closure.

Mosaic pieces together £2.5m from share offering

30-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Mosaic Pub and Dining Group has raised an extra £2.5m from a recent share offering in a bid to bolster its balance sheet amid the ongoing pandemic.

Westminster City Council extends outdoor eating and drinking ‘lifeline’ through October

29-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Westminster City Council has revealed temporary measures to enable al fresco dining and hospitality across areas including Soho, Covent Garden, and Chinatown will continue for an extra month.

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.

London Mayor calls for 12-month business rates holiday extension

18-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has urged the Government to extend its business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses by a further year amid fears of tens of thousands of job losses.

Property round-up

Pubco projects top £10m, Murdoch money to revive Camden stalwart, Top 50 Gastropub on the market

16-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Operators including JD Wetherspoon, Robinsons and Hall & Woodhouse all provided updates on seven-figure pub projects, while Elisabeth Murdoch is reportedly looking to restore Koko in Camden.

Content provided by Sky

‘When we show football here, it's a community event’

15-Sep-2020 By MA Editorial

Clement Ogbonnaya of south London pub, the Prince of Peckham, explains how he’s successfully introduced live sport to his inclusive, community venue on the border between north and south Peckham.

Low2NoBev2021 dates and venue revealed

14-Sep-2020 By MA Editorial

Trade show Low2NoBev2021 has been developed to help drive the low and no alcohol sector forward through immersive experiences, insights and thought leadership.

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.

Analysis

Will a season of behind closed doors football leave matchday pubs ‘skint’?

11-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

With plans to open turnstiles from October now under review, matchday pub operators and stadium beer suppliers outline the impact of a prolonged, pandemic-enforced, fan exile on their businesses.

NFL pub experience ‘lends itself well’ to Covid-secure trading, says GBPA winner

11-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The manager of the 2019 Great British Pub Awards’ Best for Sport winner believes that the existing playbook on American Football screenings makes the NFL well suited to post-lockdown pubs.

Incipio Group lauds landlords’ ‘flexibility and support’ over pandemic rent

10-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

London-based bar operator Incipio Group has publicly praised the bespoke rent support it received from commercial landlords while the business was in ‘fight mode’.

Post-lockdown sales in Fuller’s managed pubs down 20% YOY

10-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

While it started the new financial year with an estate of almost 400 closed pubs, Fuller, Smith & Turner has revealed that post-lockdown sales in its managed sites recovered to 80% of last year’s takings.

Property round-up

Two pub groups saved from administration, Red Fox & Peacock invests £1m in first freehold

09-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Hospitality groups Out Of the Woods and East Coast Concepts have both found buyers after being placed in administration while north west pub operator Red Fox & Peacock is poised to open its first freehold site following a seven-figure investment.

'London is open' message desperately needed, CEOs urge

01-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Commuters, tourists and residents need to be encouraged to get back to drinking and dining in the capital to secure the recovery of hospitality there, chief executives have said in a letter to the Prime Minister and Mayor of London.

Two more pub and bar operators face administration

12-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

The Morning Advertiser (MA) understands that London pub operator Out of the Woods Group and Leeds-based bar group APN have both gone into administration.

Working from home costs London’s pubs, bars and restaurants £2.3bn

04-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Hospitality businesses near the capital’s employment hubs have been hit for more than £2bn by lost lunches and abandoned after-work drinks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

Former GBPA finalist ‘closed until further notice’ after fire

23-Jul-2020 By Stuart Stone

Fire has forced a former Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) finalist to close until further notice less than three weeks after resuming trade following enforced coronavirus closure.

MA500

‘We aren’t out of the woods yet’

20-Jul-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Urban-based operators voiced their concerns for city centre businesses amid reopening and looking ahead due to rules on public transport and customers wanting to stay local.

MA500

How have operators with sites in Europe coped with coronavirus?

20-Jul-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Learning from different regulations set by local governments in countries across Europe has been helpful for one multiple operator when reopening its sites in the UK.

Reopening week sees 40% sales dip

17-Jul-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pub groups reported collective like-for-like sales down almost 40% on the same week last year for their reopening week, according to data from Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

Prime Minister visits London pub

13-Jul-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited a pub in his constituency at the weekend.

Face coverings 'right thing to do'

13-Jul-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Publicans have shared their experiences with face masks at their sites, reporting positive reactions from customers and staff.

#Unitedwestand

London night czar asks councils for 12-month licence fee holiday

07-Apr-2020 By Stuart Stone

Greater London night czar Amy Lamé has written to each of the city region’s local authorities requesting they suspend collection of annual licence and late-night levy fees for a year

#unitedwestand

Mayor of London: future of London pubs threatened unless Government acts

20-Mar-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has echoed many voices in the sector by saying the Government must implement additional financial support to keep pubs afloat while it advocated the public steer clear of them.

coronavirus

Tonight Josephine operator launches crowdfunder as Government ‘offers no respite’

20-Mar-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Multiple operator Adventure Bar Group has said it is looking to raise at least £500,000 through crowdfunding to save its most popular cocktail bars.

Draught debut for low-alcohol Lucky Saint

27-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Low-alcohol lager brand Lucky Saint has launched its flagship beer on draught to more than 40 sites.

Late-night levy ‘ignores values of Redbridge pubs’

10-Jan-2020 By Emily Hawkins

An east London council has moved closer to adopting a late-night levy in a move pub campaigners have said ignores needs of the sector.

Train strikes ‘concern’ for London pubs

09-Dec-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Railway strikes mean that London pubs are seeing a downturn in Christmas trade as punters have to make their way home earlier in the evenings.

Victory for pub’s campaign against flats

05-Aug-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A south London pub has won its fight against a proposal for flats to be built above the venue, a move that operators said would have destroyed their business.

East London council protects historic pubs with local list status

05-Aug-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Historic pubs in a London borough have been granted a protective local listed status, which will help protect their vibrant histories from developers.

Camden Town Brewery is official Arsenal beer partner

22-Jul-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Camden Town Brewery has announced its Camden Hells Lager is the official beer of Arsenal Football Club.

Fourpure Brewing opens taproom with £500k funding

22-Jul-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Fourpure Brewing has opened a new taproom in London which it said would ‘blow people away’.

Flat proposals will ‘kill all business’ at music pub

16-Jul-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Plans to build flats above a pub will make it ‘unviable’ to trade, according to the pair of brothers operating the site.

LITTLE INTERVIEW

‘I want to redefine pub culture’ says south London operator

09-Jul-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Brimming with energy from the success of his first site, a south London pub operator has said he wants to open pubs that cater to every layer of the diverse communities they serve.

Bermondsey Beer Mile could end up ‘like a poorly run high street’

24-Jun-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The founder of a brewery situated on the Bermondsey Beer Mile has shared his concerns that rising rents and new management of businesses under railway arches could ‘end up going the same way’ as a neglected high street.

Hackney pub offering free beer for NHS birthday

21-Jun-2019 By Emily Hawkins

NHS workers will be able to order a free pint at one London tavern next month when the service marks its 71st year.

Parliament move could be blow to Westminster pub

10-May-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The relocation of the House of Commons could have ‘negative consequences’ for a pub in the heart of Westminster, its pubco has said.

Soho pub to stage play amid battle over lease

29-Apr-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A London pub will stage a play about a past patron to celebrate the site’s cultural presence as part of a campaign against Fuller’s plans to take back the lease.

Paddington pub unlikely ‘symbol’ for Sudan activism

15-Apr-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A pub in central London has found itself an unlikely character in protests about the ousted Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir.

London Fields Brewery recalls beer for containing wheat

25-Mar-2019 By Emily Hawkins

London Fields Brewery has recalled its Hackney Hopster beer because it contains sources of gluten that are not mentioned on the label.

West Londoners petition council to prevent pub demolition

22-Mar-2019 By Emily Hawkins

West London residents have petitioned their local council in order to prevent an historic pub from being demolished to make way for housing.

Music bar needs £95,000 to prevent closure

15-Mar-2019 By Emily Hawkins

More than £40,000 has been raised via a crowdfunding page in a bid to stop the closure of a Fitzrovia music bar.

Crowdfunding campaign to save Camden pub

25-Feb-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The reaction to a crowdfunding campaign to buy the Hawley Arms, in Camden, from Greene King, has delighted the team behind it.

London needs "an active 24-hour licensing regime”

31-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

London “needs to have an active 24-hour licensing regime” in light of the closures of many bars and clubs, a new report has recommended.

What makes a Brewhouse & Kitchen tick?

30-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

In a city with many brewpubs and a customer base that is ever-changing, Brewhouse & Kitchen knows it has to go above and beyond. General manager James Pears explains what the Islington site does to catch punters’ attention

Pubgoers can 'apple pay' for cider at London taproom

24-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A London-based cidery wants to help customers through the gloom of January by allowing them to pay for a pint of cider with an apple.

New owner for East End pub with Kray twins history

07-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

The East End freehouse previously owned by the Kray twins has changed hands for the first time in around a decade.

Bid to raise cash for ‘50 best London pubs’ tour guide book

03-Jan-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Time is running out to donate funds to help publish an illustrated guide to some of the capital's best pubs.