Last orders: Boss of under-fire pub regulator defends her record Hospitality 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 [...]
UK’s biggest pub firm probed over treatment of tenants Hospitality 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 [...]
Pub bosses warn tax hikes driving youth unemployment crisis Hospitality Pub bosses have warned that Labour tax hikes are driving the youth unemployment crisis, which is pushing the UK towards an “economic catastrophe”. Several hospitality leaders have called on the government to reverse its increases to employer national insurance contributions (NICs), which pubs say are making it harder for them to hire young people. Last [...]
Where is London’s cheapest pint? March 25, 2026 Drawn out of the office and into the City’s pubs by the springtime sun, Square Mile workers will face a bitter taste when they pay for their pints. The City of London is one of the 28 London boroughs where the cost of a pint has surged over the past two years, with the price [...]
Over 400 Stonegate pubs in London risk closure, GMB claims April 19, 2024 Almost 450 pubs in London face closure after one of the UK’s biggest hospitality groups Stonegate warned on its profitability, the GMB Union has said.
Stonegate Group warns on future as it battles £2.2bn debt pile April 10, 2024 Britain's biggest pub operator Stonegate has raised concerns about its future as it battles a £2.2 debt pile.
‘Last call’ — Stonegate pubs founder to step down November 17, 2023 Payne, a 50-year stalwart of the on-trade sector, started out his career working through the ranks at the likes of Guinness and Bass taverns in the 1970.