Punch

Punch Taverns names M&S man as CEO

05-May-2010 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has appointed Ian Dyson, currently Marks & Spencers' (M&S) group finance and operations director, as its new chief executive....

Hamish Champ: Punch Taverns and its 'chief executive replacement' conundrum

26-Apr-2010 By Hamish Champ

Succession planning is a thorny issue for any organisation, especially so if the main man has been in situ for a long time. Heaven knows - though...

Punch managed set to roll-out new concepts

22-Apr-2010 By The PMA Team

Punch has claimed that by the end of this year 220 pubs will have been "fixed" by conversion to new concepts or investment.

Punch to trial free-of-tie prices

22-Apr-2010 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns is to trial new leases in September that offer licensees free-of-tie prices and a free-of-tie option on cask ale produced by smaller...

City Diary — 22 April

22-Apr-2010 By The PMA Team

All the latest gossip and rumour from the City.

Thorley: Paving the way for retail-led growth

08-Apr-2010 By The PMA Team

Last week Giles Thorley revealed he was leaving Punch Taverns later this year. The PMA Team gives a view on the departure. It's been pretty much a...

Training: Keep them on board

08-Apr-2010 By Katie Coyne

Apprenticeships are back in vogue, it seems. And as they can offer a recognised qualification while delivering company-specific knowledge and skills,...

Giles Thorley to quit Punch Taverns

30-Mar-2010 By Hamish Champ

Giles Thorley, chief executive of Punch Taverns, has announced he is leaving the company. In a statement issued today Punch said Thorley had informed...

Sunday Times names Punch Taverns as 'One To Watch'

15-Mar-2010 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns has been named as 'One To Watch' in a Sunday Times company survey. The newspaper's accolade for the UK's largest pub operator comes in...

Punch due in court over false barrelage claims

10-Mar-2010 By Matt Eley Matt

Pubco giant Punch Taverns is to be questioned in court over claims it provided false barrelage information to incoming tenants. Philip Sambell,...

Ex-CEM boss in Punch court battle

10-Mar-2010 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns is to face court claims over the validity and accuracy of information it provided about a pub's trade to former County Estate Management (CEM) head of pubs Philip Sambell.

Punch tenants face 1% beer price rise

03-Mar-2010 By Matt Eley Matt

Pubco giant Punch Taverns has announced it will be increasing the majority of its beer prices for its licensees by one per cent. This move follows...

Punch holds price rises to 1% for tenants

03-Mar-2010 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has opted to help tenants' competitive position by holding price rises to 1% this year. The move will mean that Punch has chosen to...

Punch's incentive scheme success

12-Feb-2010 By Gemma McKenna

Almost 1,000 Punch pubs are on schedule to get £100 cash back per barrel of beer, following the introduction of an incentive scheme. The company's...

Go forth and multiply….in partnership with Punch Partnerships

01-Feb-2010 By Punch Partnerships

Punch Taverns is to re-survey MA200 members at first seminar of 2010 on Wednesday 14 April after a survey of members last year produced a number of...

Punch ups lessee support

16-Dec-2009 By John Harrington

Punch says it has increased its support for struggling lessees to £2m per month, up from £1.6m in the year to August. The pubco also revealed it...

Punch tenant hits out at eviction

02-Dec-2009 By James Wilmore

An award-winning pubco licensee has voiced his anger at being forced to quit his pub, claiming he has transformed the business. Brian Forgie, of the...

Punch resolves lessee dispute

27-Nov-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Punch lessee who claimed he was badly treated and misled by the pubco has agreed to stay on after Punch promised a £40,000 investment at his pub.

Pub profit forecasts set fair

19-Nov-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch and Enterprise have abandoned the estimation of tenants' average annual incomes — but the expected profit figure is much more helpful, says The PMA Team.

Punch: time to pull together in partnership

14-Oct-2009 By Roger Whiteside

Roger Whiteside took over as boss of Punch's leased division a year ago. He talks about what he has discovered — and the way forward. I joined...

Punch: we want to be most trusted pubco in UK

14-Oct-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has set itself the goal of becoming the "most trusted and best value" pubco in the UK. The pubco said that it had continued to evolve...

Punch Taverns annual profits down nearly a third

14-Oct-2009 By Hamish Champ

Punch Taverns today reported a 31 per cent slump in annual pre-tax profits and said the state of the economy and other factors meant it has knocked...

Punch tenants given access to guest ale scheme

07-Oct-2009 By Matt Eley Matt

Punch Taverns is running a trial allowing a greater number of its pubs to buy locally produced beer direct from the Society of Independent Brewers...

Trespass row ends between Punch and George Scott

02-Oct-2009 By Gemma McKenna

The trespass row between host George Scott and Punch Taverns has ended, with the judge returning the lease into Scott's name. Scott, licensee of the...

Pubcos go separate ways over AWP tie

11-Sep-2009 By The PMA Team

The bruising Business & Enterprise Committee report on the pubco/tenant relationship in May this year was no less than a major body shock for the...

Punch: huge strides after fire fine

04-Sep-2009 By John Harrington

Punch says it has taken "huge strides" in its approach to health and safety after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation at a...

Fair Pint: machine tie must be scrapped

03-Sep-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch's move to stop rentalising machine income is a "half-hearted" response to the Business and Enterprise Committee report.

Punch stops rentalising machine income

01-Sep-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has begun to stop rentalising machine income in a move that will boost pub income for licensees by around £1,250 per annum. The...

'Sharper' food pricing stalls Punch managed sales slide

25-Aug-2009

Punch Taverns has seen an improvement in like-for-like sales in its managed estate through reduced food prices and a boost to service. However, the...

Punch Taverns to 'hospitalise' a further 450 struggling pubs

25-Aug-2009 By Hamish Champ

Sounding a cautionary note on future trading prospects, Punch Taverns said today it plans to transfer a further 450 of its struggling leased pubs to...

Punch seeks 100 recruits

12-Aug-2009 By John Harrington

Punch is looking to recruit up to 100 people in its managed pubs division including chefs and kitchen managers.

Punch could sell 3,000 pubs by 2012

06-Aug-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns could sell as many as 3,000 pubs by the end of 2012, a top City analyst has forecast. Douglas Jack, of Numis Securities, says that he...

New pub training programme for Punch staff

31-Jul-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch has launched a new e-learning programme for its managers and their staff using e-learning, DVDs and coaching.

Collyer: Punch has raised circa £220m from pub sales

14-Jul-2009 By The PMA Team

A City analyst has estimated that Punch Taverns has raised around £220m from disposing of 298 pubs so far this year. Geof Collyer, of Deutsche...

Punch's vision of the future

19-Jun-2009 By The PMA Team

New Punch boss Roger Whiteside has given the sector's first indication of how a post-Bec tenanted pub company will look. The PMA Team gives it the once-over.

Punch 'trespass' host wins reprieve

18-Jun-2009 By Gemma McKenna

A Punch host about to be kicked out of his pub for "trespassing" as his name was incorrect on the lease has won a reprieve. Roger Whiteside, MD of...

Pete Robinson: The pubco disease

16-Jun-2009

Where did it all go wrong?The entire sorry saga can be summed up in three words - Suits, Greed and Smoking Ban. Okay, that's four words.Punch was...

Punch makes BEC promises

15-Jun-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch has confirmed that it will be backing a range of recommendations contained within the highly critical BEC report.

Punch Taverns hoping to raise £350m

15-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has announced its intention to raise £350m via a firm placing and an open offer of new ordinary shares and use the cash to make a...

Thorley: 300 hosts lined up to buy pubs

15-Jun-2009 By The PMA Team

The number of individual Punch licensees who end up buying their pub is likely to end up well in excess of 300. This morning, Punch said there were around 300 deals either complete or going through legals.

Selling the crown jewels. Or not

06-Jun-2009 By Hamish Champ

Just how far short Young's fell from the asking price of the pubs it was seeking to acquire recently and from whom the South London-based operator...

Joe Cussens, Marlborough Tavern

04-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch licensees in Bath — what they told Punch executives and the Morning Advertiser. Joe Cussens, Marlborough Tavern Background: Signed a lease in...

Alan Morgan, Abbey Ales, the Star

04-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch licensees in Bath — what they told Punch executives and the Morning Advertiser. Alan Morgan, Abbey Ales, the Star Background: Multiple lessee...

Hosts 'kept in dark' as Punch sells pubs

04-Jun-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Two licensees have accused Punch of selling their pubs "behind their backs" to regional brewers while they were busy still bidding for the freeholds....

Punch: 'We'll listen and change'

04-Jun-2009 By Ewan Turney

We are far from perfect, but we are listening and we are willing to change — that is the message from Punch Taverns as it looks to evolve its model...

Openness is Punch's policy

08-May-2009 By The PMA Team

Punch Taverns has outlined a strikingly frank view of the harsh forces buffeting its tenanted division. The PMA Team gives his view.

Punch sells 23 pubs to tenants

07-May-2009 By Gemma McKenna

Punch Taverns says 1,000 of its tenants have expressed an interest in buying the freehold of their pub, but so far 23 deals have gone through. That's...

Punch denies appointment of advisers

05-May-2009 By Ewan Turney

Punch Taverns has denied reports that it is looking to appoint financial advisers to oversee a restructuring process. A report in the Daily Express...

Value meals: Offer on the table

01-May-2009

For pubs that have traditionally been wet-led, the first step into serving food can often seem to be a leap in the dark. However, the reality is that...

Give licensees a fair chance

02-Apr-2009 By Andrew Pring

Punch shouldn't waste the time of those licensees who really are interested in buying, says Andrew Pring.