Punch closing in on £2.3bn deal with creditors June 26, 2014 PUB OPERATOR Punch Taverns is close to securing a £2.3bn restructuring deal with its lenders after it reached an agreement with its largest group of bondholders yesterday. The new accord is closing in due to Punch’s agreement to offer a debt-for-equity swap that could give control of the company to noteholders. “Junior notes would be [...]
Demand pushes Enterprise Inns to third straight growth quarter May 13, 2014 PUB GROUP Enterprise Inns said improving trade boosted by strong demand in the south of England and a support programme for its publicans left it confident of achieving full-year underlying net income growth. The group, landlord to some 5,500 pubs, has been investing in revamps to its estate, as well as better training for publicans, [...]
Made in Chelsea Pub group seeks £10m to expand October 28, 2013 THE CITY Pub Company is to launch a £10m fundraising this week to help fuel further acquisitions. The pub operator, whose pub The Phene makes a regular appearance in reality TV show Made in Chelsea, has 12 pubs in London and the South East, but aims to grow to 20 by the end of the [...]
Harvester owner plots Orchids deal May 11, 2014 MIDLANDS brewery Mitchells & Butlers is leading a pack of buyers hoping to acquire UK pub firm Orchid Group. M&B, which owns the Harvester pub chain, is looking at acquiring the group’s food business, while other bidders are hoping to buy the whole group from seller Deutsche Bank. First round bidding is due to close [...]
Food pulls in punters for Spirit April 24, 2014 Spirit Pub Company said yesterday that like-for-like sales at its managed pubs showed robust growth in March as a recovery in consumer spending encouraged more people to dine out. The company, which operates pubs under brands such as Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, said that like-for-like sales at managed pubs rose [...]
England World Cup final worth £1bn to retailers June 3, 2014 AS FOOTBALL fans around the world prepare for the start of the biggest event in the sporting calendar next week, it won’t just be supporters who are hoping England make it to the final of the World Cup in Brazil. New research suggests retailers stand to make a Mexican-wave-worthy £1bn during the game if England make [...]
Why interview brainteasers are on the way out – even at Google September 30, 2014 You don’t have to be a genius to work out why brainteasers are dying. Imagine you have eight balls of equal size. Seven of them weigh exactly the same, but one is slightly heavier. How would you go about finding the heaviest one using some scales and just two weighings? If you’re thinking [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Twitter buys ad specialist Namo Media June 5, 2014 TWITTER has acquired Namo Media, a mobile advertising firm, in a move to bolster its revenues in the face of growing investor unease surrounding its growth prospects. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Namo Media said in a blog post that its technology would be rolled into MoPub, the ad serving platform that [...]
JD Wetherspoon slams unsustainable taxes on pub sector October 16, 2013 JD Wetherspoon's 2013 annual report has shown pre-tax profits fall by three per cent to £57.1m in the 52 weeks ended 28 July as it warns that heavy taxation threatens the pub sector. There was some good news for shareholders with earnings per share, before exceptional items, increasing 12.6 per cent, along with revenue growth [...]