Wetherspoon boss attacks Labour for ‘high street dereliction’ as profit falls Hospitality Pub chain Wetherspoon has hit out at the government for causing “high street dereliction” by hiking taxes, as the company’s profit slipped by a quarter. The London-listed pub group saw revenue jump by five per cent to £2.2bn in the year to July – in line with analyst forecasts – though pre-tax profit fell further [...]
Can Brewdog get ‘equity punks’ onside in bid to move on from James Watt? Hospitality Craft beer giant Brewdog has launched a reset under its American owners Tilray. Felix Armstrong explores whether the company can truly move on from James Watt Dessert-flavoured beer, provocative ad campaigns, waxy-mustached artisans – much about Brewdog’s long-anticipated reset feels familiar, as if the recently-collapsed craft brewer is really getting back to its roots. But [...]
New Brewdog owner mounts comeback from ‘horrible’ collapse Hospitality The new owner of Brewdog has launched a comeback for the company after it collapsed earlier this year, blaming “horrible” sales during its change of ownership on “negative” media reports. The craft beer firm saw sales slump by as much as 20 per cent year on year following its takeover by US cannabis and drinks [...]
Heineken-owned pubs group faces probe over eviction threat August 5, 2026 One of the UK’s biggest pub chains is facing a potential probe by the UK’s pubs watchdog after it threatened to evict one of its London tenants. Star Pubs, which operates more than 2,000 sites across Britain and is owned by Dutch brewing titan Heineken, has been told it will be referred to the Pubs [...]
UK’s biggest pub firm probed over treatment of tenants July 15, 2026 The UK’s biggest pub landlord is being probed by the industry watchdog over concerns that it is mistreating its tenants. Stonegate, whose 4,500 UK sites include the Cannick Taps on Cannon Street and the Cheshire Cheese on Tower Hill, is facing an investigation from the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA). The watchdog said it had “reasonable [...]
This is what proper British pub lock-ins used to be like July 14, 2026 If you’re under 60, you’re unlikely to have experienced a proper British pub lock-in. But there was a time when it was a cornerstone of a good night out, a rite of passage and a membership to an illicit club. Andy Blackmore tries to remember the good old days A few decades ago, this country [...]
‘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 [...]
Oyster Shed: Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone helps pub chain Young’s to biggest day of takings in 200 years May 22, 2026 One of the Square Mile’s best-known watering holes has marked the biggest single day of takings of any venue owned by pub chain Young’s since it was founded nearly 200 years ago, City AM can reveal. And the Oyster Shed had a helping hand from one of the best-known names in UK television: Jeremy Clarkson, [...]
‘Pint prices are crazy’: Meet the legends ensuring London still has £5 pints May 14, 2026 Outrage this week as one Mayfair establishment was caught froth-handed charging £11 for a pint of Moretti. It wasn’t even a special craft pint, just a bog standard lager. But as our City Editor Simon Hunt points out, it’s wrong to immediately stick it to London’s pubs, which are facing insurmountable costs forcing them to [...]
Tax hikes call time on two pubs a day crushing 2,400 jobs May 5, 2026 The government’s bitter round of tax hikes imposed on the hospitality industry is said to have forced the closure of two pubs a day in the first three months of the year in yet another blow to the already bruised sector. Figures from the Beer Bar and Pub Association (BBPA) showed 161 pubs across Britain [...]