Pubs, Bars & Clubs News – Page 60
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NewsNorthern cities braced for lockdown
Speculation is rising that Boris Johnson will order a shutdown of pubs and restaurants in northern England on Monday, according to a report in the Times. It said the prime minister “signed off” the regional lockdown as well as agreeing a new support package for affected businesses and a new “simplified” system of lockdown restrictions. It reports that “Merseyside and other parts of northern England” will see pubs, restaurants and cafés forced to close but schools and universities will remain open. It added that “Whitehall sources” had said the support package will be more generous that the measures outlined in the Winter Economy Plan.
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NewsShepherd Neame: “profitable and cash generative” since reopening
Shepherd Neame has said since July, “nearly all” its pubs have reopened and are trading “successfully”. In a trading update it said in the 13 weeks since 4 July the business has been “profitable and cash generative”. Net debt at the year-end was £84.4m with an additional £11m of tax liabilities that had been deferred in agreement with HMRC. As at 26 September net debt was £82.4m with the tax liabilities that had been deferred reduced to £5.7m with a further £1.2m of general deferrals. It said liquidity is “sufficient for the foreseeable future”. Like-for-like sales in the 64 managed pubs and hotels that were open for this period were down 7.9%.
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NewsNew River feeling positive post-lockdown
New River has said “almost all” of its pubs in England, Scotland and Wales are now open and trading. In a trading update it said its Hawthorne Leisure pub portfolio has “outperformed the wider market since the easing of lockdown restrictions. “For the 12 week period since 5 July 2020, the day pubs were allowed to open in England, like-for-like volumes in our Leased & Tenanted pubs were down only 8% compared to the same period in 2019, and like-for-like sales in our Operator Managed pubs were down 16% compared to the same period in 2019. “Our trading performance compares favourably to the wider market over the same period, with data from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker reporting that pub like-for-like sales are down 18% compared to the same period last year.
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NewsPeach Pubs: A second national lockdown would be hugely costly
Peach has released its 2019 results and offered an update on current trading. Founder Hamish Stoddart said in 2019, the business was “flat like-for-like at £27m, whilst operating profit before exceptional items was £423k for 2019, down from £671k in 2018. The decrease is a disappointment reflecting the growing cost pressure on hospitality businesses in general between 2017 and 2019.” In 2020, Peach refinanced the business, selling four freeholds for ground rent leases and removing most of its debt. It opened a new pub in Maidenhead with a £750,000 refurbishment which closed after one day alongside all UK pubs on 20 March.
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NewsGreene King to cut 800 jobs and close 80 sites
Greene King is planning to cut around 800 jobs and shut dozens of pubs following a drop off in trade as a result of the 10pm curfew.
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NewsCurfew prompts mass late-night redundancies
The implementation of the 10pm curfew and further restrictions on hospitality last month have confirmed mass job cuts across the late-night sector, according to the latest insight from Sprout CRM and the Night Time Industries Association.
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NewsHawthorn’s David Lockhart dies
David Lockhart, co-founder of NewRiver and non-executive chairman of pubco Hawthorn Leisure has passed away. During his career, Lockhart set up three successful business – co-founding Hawthorn and NewRiver with Allan Lockhard and Mark Davies in 2009. He played a key part in developing the group – which now has a portfolio valued at £1.2b – before stepping down as chief executive in 2018.
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NewsFuller’s to lay off 10% of staff
Fuller’s has said government advice to work from home means the pub company will have to lay off “at least” 10% of its staff, around 500 people.
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NewsStonegate CEO Simon Longbottom: Curfew a ‘perilous turning point’
Stonegate CEO Simon Longbottom has told MCA the 10pm curfew is a “devastating blow” to the hospitality sector and a “perilous turning point”.
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NewsEclectic Bars secures £1.8m CBILS
Eclectic Bars, the late-night division of the Luke Johnson-backed Brighton Pier Group, has secured £1.8m, via the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruptions Loan Scheme (CBILS).
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NewsEi Publican Partnerships gives away 100,000 drinks
Ei Publican Partnerships is giving away 100,000 drinks after teaming up with Budweiser, Britvic, Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors and Sharp’s Brewery. The offer will be available in 1,250 pubs in October. Drinkers can claim one free drink a week by downloading a voucher via the Great British Pubs website. “We are delighted to be running our free drinks campaign again,” said MD Nick Light. “This time, as a thank you, we’ve extended the offer so that our customers can have up to one drink a week throughout October on a wide range of products, including from the low and no category.
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NewsCity Pub Group to ‘emerge and rebuild quickly’
City Pub Group has reported it is in a strong financial position to emerge and rebuild quickly from the coronavirus crisis.
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NewsMosaic Pub Group raises £2.5m with City Pub investment
Three companies within the Mosaic Pub and Dining Group have concluded a share offering, raising subscriptions over costs of over £2.5m. The Galaxy, Pioneer and Sovereign City Pub Co. – which make up an estate of 9 pubs, 7 freehold and 2 leasehold – have reduced debt to under £2m ...
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NewsFirst night of curfew passes ‘largely without incident’
The first night of the 10pm hospitality curfew in England and Wales has passed “largely without incident,” according to Sky News. As part of an investigation into how the curfew was handled in London and Birmingham, Sky reported overall compliance, streets adorned with “fluorescent vests and jackets of enforcement officials” and “eerily quiet” streets at 10pm.
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NewsWetherspoon proposes 450 airport job cuts
Wetherspoon has announced that 400-450 jobs at its airport pubs are at risk of redundancy.
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NewsStonegate extends £36.5m tenant support package
Stonegate Pub Company has announced further support for its pub partners, creating an overall coronavirus support package in excess of £36.5m. Within its lease and tenanted business – Ei Publican Partnerships – the pubco will offer rent reductions of 30% in October and 20% in November for tied publicans operating substantive agreements in England.
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NewsTim Martin calls for tax equality between pubs and supermarkets
Wetherspoon is to cut the price of all food and drink on Thursday 24 September as it hosts a ‘Tax Equality Day.’
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NewsBBPA: North East curfew a significant blow to pub sector
The latest lockdown restrictions in parts of the North East are a “significant blow” to the sector, the British Beer and Pub Association has said.
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NewsSeafood Pub Co portfolio up for sale
Ten pubs formerly operated by Seafood Pub Company have been brought to market after the business went into administration.
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NewsWetherspoon to develop £6.6m new-build pubs
Wetherspoon is to start development work on two new pubs in the coming weeks.