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 [...]
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 [...]
England draw with Ghana worth £20m extra to British pubs June 24, 2026 England’s lacklustre 0-0 draw against Ghana may have lacked fizz but hospitality industry experts estimate it was worth an extra £20m in trade for Britain’s pubs. Thomas Tuchel’s men were held to a goalless 90 minutes in Boston on Tuesday but the late kick-off and blistering weather proved a boon to boozers up and down [...]
‘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 [...]
Brits urged to back UK pubs during World Cup amid booking surge June 16, 2026 Brits have been urged to support their World Cup team by getting down to the local pub amid a four-fold increase in bookings for England games. The UK hospitality sector is set for a 42 per cent sales boost across the group stages of the World Cup – with kick-off times in the US, Canada [...]
Hospitality leaders ramp up pressure on Labour to slash VAT June 11, 2026 Leaders of top hospitality firms have ramped up pressure on Labour to slash VAT, which they warn is leading to hundreds of thousands of job losses. Pub chains JD Wetherspoon, Fuller’s and Greene King, as well as hotel giant Hilton and Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca, have thrown their weight behind a campaign to cut Value [...]
Podcast: Palantir to sue Sadiq Khan, GSK’s $10bn mega-deal, and could the World Cup rescue pubs? June 10, 2026 In today’s episode of City AM’s Business As Usual podcast, we get stuck in the top stories of the day – from a major pharma M&A deal to a US software giant poised to take legal action against the Mayor of London. City Editor Simon Hunt gives his round up of major markets stories, as Pharma giant [...]
Fuller’s slams ‘unprecedented government interference’ in pub sector June 10, 2026 The boss of Fuller’s has slammed Labour for “unprecedented government interference” into the pub sector, which he says is to blame for 5,800 pubs closing in a decade. Simon Emeny, executive chairman of Fuller, Smith and Turner, has launched a broadside against the government’s hikes to business rates, national insurance contributions and alcohol duty. “When [...]
‘Reason to be optimistic’: Hospitality bosses say World Cup a lifeline for pubs June 9, 2026 Pub bosses are hoping for a much-needed boost from the World Cup this summer, as the hospitality industry warns of a crushing tax and cost burden. Leading pub chains Greene King and JD Wetherspoon have told City AM they are hoping for a “useful boost” to counteract the “layering of costs” they have faced in [...]