World Cup: Boost for pubs as Brits set to buy 1m pints during England vs Mexico July 4, 2026 Brits are poised to buy one million extra pints throughout the England and Mexico’s World Cup showdown, in what is set to be the one of the booziest Sunday nights the country has ever seen. The fixture in Mexico City – which will kick off at 1am BST – is expected to spark a major [...]
Don’t let council killjoys destroy London’s pubs July 3, 2026 Hounslow council has caused outrage by ordering three Chiswick pubs to remove their riverside tables. London doesn’t have to be this way, says Jack Emsley Sitting by the Thames with a pint on a sunny afternoon is one of the great joys of living in London. Our city is renowned for its pub culture, from [...]
Staff would turn down promotion to keep flexibility at work July 3, 2026 Half of the UK’s part-time staff would turn down a promotion if it meant losing the flexibility of their current role, according to fresh polling, leading industry chiefs to warn against an overzealous crackdown on agile working. The Yougov data, commissioned by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and shared exclusively with City AM, found exactly [...]
Cruyff turn: Starmer allows pubs to stay open for England World Cup game July 2, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has performed a Cruyff turn as he announced that pubs would be able to stay open until 5am for England’s game against Mexico on late Sunday night. Before the change in policy, pubs were set to be forced to kick punters out at half time in the early hours of Monday morning. [...]
Brewdog chief executive quits after only one year July 1, 2026 The boss of Brewdog has stepped down barely more than a year after taking up the role in the latest twist in the long-running saga over the management of the beleaguered beer business. James Taylor, who took up the role of chief executive at the beginning of last year and who oversaw the takeover of [...]
Exclusive: Richard Caring in talks to buy City icon 1 Lombard Street June 27, 2026 Richard Caring is in advanced talks to buy iconic City restaurant 1 Lombard Street, marking his first foray back into the restaurant business since the £1.4bn sale of his empire. A deal for the Lombard St restaurant, located in a stunning former banking hall, is understood to be in the final stages of negotiations following [...]
Burnham camp goes quiet on hospitality VAT cut June 25, 2026 Allies of Prime Minister-to-be Andy Burnham have gone quiet on whether he would slash VAT for hospitality despite previously backing calls to do so and committing to a raft of other measures to support pubs, restaurants and bars. The outgoing Mayor of Greater Manchester had previously said he would back calls to cut value-added tax [...]
Franco Manca and Real Greek owner slumps to £14m loss as boss quits June 24, 2026 The owner of Franco Manca and Real Greek slumped to a £14m loss shortly after it its boss quit in the wake of a swathe of restaurant closures. Private equity firm Fulham Shore was hit by a £14.2m loss before tax in the year to March 2025, Companies House filings have revealed, nearly triple its [...]
‘Not all sunlit uplands’: Pub bosses weigh in on whether Brexit leaves a bitter taste June 23, 2026 A decade on from the referendum, has Brexit left a bitter taste? The bosses of the UK’s biggest pub firms have their say Notoriously outspoken, the bosses of the UK’s leading pub brands are usually shouting about the same thing: the tax and regulatory burden threatening watering holes across the country. But, on the anniversary [...]
Would a £10bn VAT cut really save hospitality? June 20, 2026 Calls for the government to slash VAT on hospitality firms have been backed by pub and restaurant bosses, and Prime Minister hopeful Andy Burnham. What would this tax break really mean for the economy? The UK’s pubs, hotels and restaurants say they are at breaking point. Higher business rates, hikes to national insurance and minimum [...]