Pubco + Head Office

Property round-up

New sites for Trust Inns and Arc Inspirations

07-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

While multiple operators Trust Inns and Arc Inspirations have both announced expansions, brewer and pub operator Greene King announced the closure of more than half of its Loch Fyne sites.

The Alchemist to exchange food bank donations for free cocktails

06-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

Premium restaurant and cocktail bar operator The Alchemist has joined forces with Grey Goose and social enterprise Foodinate to offer visitors to two of its sites in Leeds, a free cocktail in exchange for food donations.

Hawthorn Leisure non-executive chairman David Lockhart passes away

02-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

New River REIT has announced David Lockhart, the company’s co-founder and a non-executive chairman of its pub arm, Hawthorn Leisure, has died.

Greene King and International Slavery Museum announce education partnership

02-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

Suffolk-based brewer and pub operator Greene King will work in tandem with Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum to raise awareness of the historic transatlantic slave trade.

Jobs round-up

Post-18 education plans ‘must target hospitality’, Covid-19 ‘catalyst for gendered and ethnic change'

01-Oct-2020 By Stuart Stone

Industry leaders have called for the Government’s post-18 education and training pledge to support hospitality businesses while a new report has found that Covid-19 ‘might be the catalyst for more positive gendered and ethnic change’.

Which pub operators are offering EOTHO-style discounts throughout October?

30-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Operators including Oakman Inns, Revolution Bars Group, Arc Inspirations and The Lost & Found will all continue to fund of similar discounts to those available under the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out (EOTHO) scheme throughout October.

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.

Property round-up

Star Pubs & Bars and Hook Norton Brewery revive listed pubs

30-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Heineken's pub arm pledged more than £600,000 to reopening a Dundee pub which has been closed for the last four years while Oxfordshire-based Hook Norton Brewery has put wheels in motion at a 17th century coaching inn.

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.

Opinion

How can pubs wean guests off of EOTHO-style discounts?

28-Sep-2020 By Chris Harris, head of restaurant partnerships at Cardlytics

The coronavirus crisis has had a profound impact on how and when the public visit hospitality venues.

Operator confidence slips in just 7 days

28-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Hospitality operators' confidence levels have fallen by 10% in just a week, the latest results from an industry survey has found.

Robinsons vows to grow managed business despite ‘cautious’ view of 2021

28-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Cheshire-based brewer and pub operator Robinsons has pledged to continue site investment and acquisition as the 182-year-old family run business weathers the ongoing pandemic.

Revolution Bars Group considers CVA

28-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The nationwide operator of 74 Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba bars has confirmed it is working with advisors to secure its long-term viability.

Analysis

Who are the winners and losers from the Chancellor’s ‘winter economy plan’?

25-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Following on from his ‘mini-budget’ in July, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a ‘winter economy plan’ in the hope of encouraging the UK’s post-lockdown economy to snowball. But have pubs been given the cold shoulder?

M&B sales slip 6.4% post-EOTHO

24-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Birmingham-based pub group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has revealed its like-for-like sales for the first three weeks of September are down versus its Eat Out to Help Out boosted August numbers.

Jobs round-up

Job protection update imminent, JDW and Whitbread redundancy plans, The Alchemist’s ‘Culture Shock’

24-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

As the Government prepares to address the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's expiry, nationwide operators JD Wetherspoon (JDW) and Whitbread announced redundancy plans and the Portman Group announced the appointment of a new chair.

Ei Publican Partnership tenants to receive rent reductions in October and November

23-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Stonegate Pub Company’s leased and tenanted arm Ei Publican Partnerships has announced additional rent reductions.

Whitbread to cut 6,000 jobs

22-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The operator behind brands such as Brewers Fayre, Beefeater and Premier Inn has announced that as many as 6,000 members of staff could face redundancy following a collapse in sales during the coronavirus crisis.

Opinion

Pubs code review must provide businesses and licensees with greater clarity

22-Sep-2020 By Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs & Bars managing director

As we take stock of the continuing Covid crisis, it’s clear that many pubs in this country, regardless of their ownership model, are proving resilient through the pandemic.

Opinion

Rents, Covid and the code

21-Sep-2020 By Fiona Dickie – pubs code adjudicator

A top concern expressed by tenants since lockdown began has been their rent levels. They want to know what the Pubs Code and the PCA can do. I am pleased to have this opportunity to set out the position.

Jobs round-up

EOTHO created an extra 821 years’ worth of work, Brighton Pier Group announces layoffs, sector jobs under threat

17-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The latest hospitality jobs data has found that while the Government-backed Eat Out to Help Out scheme saw a 44% increase in scheduled hours in August, hundreds of thousands of the sector’s jobs remain at risk.

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.

Thousands of pubs under threat from £800m business rates bill

15-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the Government to extend business rates relief to ensure that pubs facing average bill of £25,000 each don’t fall victim to the coronavirus crisis.

BrewDog posts £8.1m losses due to pandemic

14-Sep-2020 By Finn Scott-Delany

BrewDog made a net loss of £8,151,071 in the six months to 30 June 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

MA500 October to focus on maximising winter trade

11-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The next virtual MA500 conference is set to take place on 1 October, highlighting the ways operators can make the most of winter trade safely.

Licensing Hub – Legal with Poppleston Allen

Insolvency and your premises licence

11-Sep-2020 By Poppleston Allen

Sadly there are more hospitality businesses becoming insolvent due to the impact of Covid-19.

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.

Tenants to protest pub-owning hedge fund’s rent relief

09-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

A group formed by the tenants of 202 pubs owned by Global Mutual will march on Whitehall to deliver a letter to Small Firms Minister Paul Scully today (9 September) despite the hedge fund stating that it has provided £4.4m worth of pandemic support thus...

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.

Analysis

Covid-19 recession may yield ‘much sharper decline and recovery’ for pubs

07-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

While the UK recently slipped into its first recession since 2009 off the back of the coronavirus lockdown, early signs are the ‘dynamics’ affecting the pub sector will be different to those at play 11 years ago.

B&K plans £2.5m rights issue to offset lockdown losses

07-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Nationwide brewpub group Brewhouse & Kitchen is seeking funds to counteract sales lost during lockdown and the subsequent recovery period.

Thwaites begins redundancy programme

07-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Lancashire-based brewer and pub operator Daniel Thwaites has taken the 'unwelcome decision' to initiate a programme of redundancies in light of uncertainty around winter trading conditions.

Greene King sees record number of new T & L applications

04-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubco Greene King’s tenanted and leased arm Pub Partners has recorded its highest number of new applications across this summer.

MA's review of the week

Post-EOTHO footfall drivers will be geared around quality rather than discounting

04-Sep-2020 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington speaks with Anglian Country Inns' managing director James Nye about the biggest issues from the news this week.

Revolution seeks ‘meaningful discussions’ with landlords amid EOTHO sales boost

03-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

While post-lockdown trading has exceeded its best-case scenario trading forecasts, Revolution Bars Group continues to seek rent relief discussions with commercial landlords at almost half its sites.

Big Interview

‘The playbook on the 'new normal' is being rewritten almost every day’

02-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The chairman of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) and Thwaites’ CEO, Rick Bailey, explains how some of the UK’s oldest pub companies are weathering the Covid-19 pandemic.

Greene King and Prince’s Trust partnership to create 1,000 jobs for young people

27-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Brewer and pub operator Greene King has pledged to increase the percentage of young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic background on its payroll through a new five-year partnership with the Prince’s Trust.

Star Pubs and Bars among operators to extend EOTHO throughout September

27-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Star Pubs and Bars, Oakman Inns, Hall & Woodhouse and Arc Inspirations have all pledged to fund the continuation of discounts available under the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out (EOTHO) scheme throughout September.

Opinion

'Knowing the pubs code will help tenants negotiate in this challenging time'

27-Aug-2020 By Fiona Dickie – pubs code adjudicator

During this uniquely challenging time the financial stresses that Covid-19 has inflicted on tied tenants should not exacerbated by pubs code breaches by their pub-owning business. The industry should know I am watching this very closely.

Jobs round-up

Publican Award winner steps up recruitment campaign, Beaverworld creates 150 jobs, Boxpark hires Bishop

26-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

The Inn Collection Group has outlined plans to hire more than 200 new staff members across its estate while Beavertown Brewery’s recently revealed new home will add 150 new roles to the north London jobs market.

Greene King announces 40% rent concession for tied tenants

25-Aug-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubco Greene King has revealed £6m worth of financial support for its 975 tied tenants following the coronavirus lockdown including tapered rent concessions.

Small Brewers’ Forum aims to bridge gap between pubs and local beer makers

25-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

The newly formed Small Brewers’ Forum will work in tandem with the Forum of British Pubs to increase the flow of locally brewed beer into pubs.

Ei Publican Partnerships’ rent support spend passes £32.5m

21-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Ei Publican Partnerships, the leased and tenanted division of Stonegate Pub Company, has announced further subsidised rental payments of 40% throughout September – taking its overall support spend past £32.5m.

Greene King reports £273m loss for 2020 financial year

21-Aug-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Suffolk-based brewer and pub operator Greene King has reported losses of more than £270m in the 52 weeks to 26 April 2020 in its latest trading update.

MA's Review of the week

EOTHO helping pubs move towards ‘continental model’ of increased weekday trade

21-Aug-2020 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington speaks with Brewhouse & Kitchen chief executive Kris Gumbrell about the biggest issues from the news this week.

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the pub property market so far?

19-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Experts from Fleurets, Davey Co and Christie & Co dissect the pub property market and highlight a number of sector trends emerging amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Jobs round-up

Hundreds apply for pub jobs, Robinsons reshuffles board, A-level results 'shambles'

19-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Our latest jobs round-up includes a closer look at soaring job application figures from a number of nationwide pub operators, boardroom changes at Robinsons and the thoughts of Brewhouse & Kitchen boss Kris Gumbrell on the recent A-level results 'shambles'.

Sam Smith’s refuses to support track and trace

19-Aug-2020 By MCA Editorial

Yorkshire-based brewer and pub operator, Samuel Smith, is refusing to cooperate with the Government’s track and trace system.