Wetherspoon boss blasts Soho’s ‘barmy’ vertical drinking crackdown Hospitality JD Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin has blasted Westminster Council’s “barmy” curbs on vertical drinking, which he said are “inhibiting business”. Martin, the chairman of Britain’s best-known pub chain, has waded into a row over the Council’s restrictions on so-called “vertical drinking” in Soho and an effective ban on new pubs and bars in the [...]
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 [...]
Britain’s oldest brewery mulls future as cost pressures bite Hospitality The family-run company behind Britain’s oldest brewery is exploring its future after wrestling with soaring costs and sliding sales. Shepherd Neame, which was founded in 1698 in Faversham, Kent and is the firm behind classic British beers Spitfire, Bishop’s Finger and Whitstable Bay, said it had begun a strategic review into its brewing operations “to [...]
Can Brewdog get ‘equity punks’ onside in bid to move on from James Watt? September 30, 2026 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 September 29, 2026 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 [...]
Last orders: Boss of under-fire pub regulator defends her record September 29, 2026 The Pubs Code Adjudicator, Fiona Dickie, is preparing to step away early next year. She tells Felix Armstrong why the beleaguered watchdog deserves a future Can an industry watchdog be effective if it has launched only two investigations in its 10 years of existence? Yes – at least according to Fiona Dickie, the Pubs Code [...]
Lord’s Cricket Ground, West Ham, EY among creditors owed £190m by Brewdog September 24, 2026 Lord’s Cricket Club, West Ham United and Big Four accounting firm EY are among the big-name firms which are owed £190m by Brewdog. The craft beer firm collapsed earlier this year and its administrators have said that its unsecured creditors, who are owed £189.9m, will not be paid back. AlixPartners, Brewdog’s administrators, said there are [...]
‘Less allegation’: Brewdog hits out at former owners September 21, 2026 Brewdog’s new owners have sought to distance the company from its founders James Watt and Martin Dickie with a new campaign that pledges the controversial brewer will be “run properly” and attract a “little less allegation”. The craft beer firm, which is now owned by US cannabis firm Tilray, has launched a multi-million pound campaign [...]
Reynolds, Mac and Apollo buy Wrexham pub September 21, 2026 Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac and Apollo Sports Capital have purchased a pub in a move that expands Wrexham AFC’s footprint. The Turf, which used to look over the stands and into the Championship football ground, has been added to a portfolio by the club’s owners which includes both Wrexham and their Racecourse Ground home. The [...]
Wetherspoon boss: ‘Not up to Burnham’ to choose who is on the high street September 11, 2026 Britain’s pubs have few more committed defenders than Sir Tim Martin. The Norwich-born businessman founded JD Wetherspoon in 1979 when he bought his first pub in Muswell Hill, initially named Martin’s Free House. Since rebranding the pub to Wetherspoon – named after a former teacher of Martin’s who could not control his class – it [...]