Fuller’s tops expectations with record beer volumes February 4, 2010 London brewer and pub operator Fuller, Smith & Turner announced yesterday that it would exceed financial expectations for the year, having ridden out the recession well. The company reported a like-for-like sales boost over the festive period for its managed division, which covers directly owned pubs and hotels. The division’s sales rose 2.6 per cent [...]
Marston’s boosted by food sales January 28, 2010 PUB group Marston’s saw sales grow after a festive food boost – but the cold snap hit takings. Sales at managed pubs open more than a year were up 1.5 per cent in the 16 weeks to 3 January. That included a 2.9 per cent increase in the five weeks to 2 January – with [...]
Greene King ‘weathering well’ January 26, 2010 GREENE King (GNK) may have managed to weather the worst of January’s snow storms, but the integrated pub and brewery giant expects the rest of 2010 to prove even tougher. During the 38 weeks ending 24 January 2010, the Suffolk based pub chain reported a 4.3 per cent growth in sales, despite a three week [...]
Opening up the Garden of England June 3, 2010 WITH the recent fresh spates of sunshine over the City, workers commuting from office to apartment might be thinking longingly uprooting from London for somewhere more rural. With expanding rail links connecting more and more towns to London, property prices are on the up and it’s easier than ever to enjoy the pleasures of the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS HIT BY MAY VOLATILITY Some of the world’s biggest hedge funds have suffered significant losses this month after high levels of volatility across markets and the shortlived stock market plunge in New York combined to wipe billions from portfolios. Losses in the first week of May alone erased all gains made [...]
LIB DEMS SET TO RIDE CREST OF BEER WAVE April 15, 2010 A WELCOME pre-election boost for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, from the most unusual of quarters – the traditionally right-leaning environs of the City. It’s just 20 days before polling day and Clegg’s policies haven’t exactly met with rapt enthusiasm from the Square Mile, what with proposals to slap a “mansion tax” on homes worth [...]
Punch Taverns sells off 300 pubs as shareholder urges it to turn off taps September 24, 2009 SCHOCHRODERS fund manager Andrew Brough has said that pubs group Punch Taverns should consider winding up the business over the next 18 months. Brough, who owns a 3.4 per cent stake in the pub group through his Schroder Mid 250 fund, said it would be in investors’ interests if the struggling pub group called time [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 10, 2010 PUNCH TAVERNS Numis Securities has issued a “buy” recommendation on Punch Taverns. It believes Punch’s shares have been overlooked by the market in recent weeks, and thinks they are well placed to outperform as the company stabilises average pub profitability in the second half of the year. Says first half results on 11 April should [...]
JD Wetherspoon’s sales take a tumble due to cold weather January 20, 2010 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon yesterday reported a decline in second-quarter like-for-like sales as a prolonged outbreak of snow across Britain kept drinkers at home. The company, which has 744 pubs, said sales at pubs open for more than a year fell by 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 January, with the last [...]
Beer sales begin to recover January 28, 2010 Beer sales are showing signs of recovery after the largest fall for two years, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said yesterday. Total UK sales for the last three months of 2009 were down 3.6 per cent on the same period in 2008, figures from the industry body revealed. This is the lowest fourth [...]