British pubs closing at rate of two a day since April business rates hike | City A.M. February 5, 2018 Two pubs a day have shut their doors since last April, according to new research. Some 616 pubs have been demolished or converted to other uses since the change in business rates came into force, real estate adviser Altus Group has said. But the overall rate of decline has slowed since the decade following the [...]
Supply chain costs push EU’s potential hard Brexit bill to £100bn January 15, 2018 European nations could face a cost of as much as £100bn if the EU and the UK do not agree a Brexit trade deal, according to new analysis published today. Under a so-called hard Brexit, in which the UK trades with the EU under World Trade Organisation rules, the cost of rerouting European supply chains [...]
Focus On Angel: House prices have almost doubled in this central part of Islington in the last ten years January 4, 2018 Though the name has pious connotations, the Angel is actually named after a pub. Well, the 17th century Angel Inn was a hotel, too, then a restaurant, but is now a Co-Op Bank. Although there is a JD Wetherspoons pub called The Angel next door. As an incredibly central part of the London borough of [...]
Young’s pubs boss Patrick Dardis: “Smithfields is the new Covent Garden” November 16, 2017 Pub company Young’s has announced a deal to buy City favourite Smith’s of Smithfield and its sister site on Cannon Street. The acquisition was confirmed as the group reported a market-beating rise in sales across its pubs. The figures Revenue across managed pubs, which accounts for the biggest chunk of the business, was up 4.6 [...]
Wetherspoon’s releases Brexit beer mats… again November 1, 2017 JD Wetherspoon has today placed 500,000 new beer mats in its pubs, in an effort to persuade punters unilateral free trade is the best approach for the UK post-Brexit. Founder and chairman Tim Martin argued last month that unilateral free trade will reduce food and drink prices in the UK, allowing Wetherspoon's to make its [...]
Wetherspoon’s goes green with vow to stop using plastic straws | City A.M. September 25, 2017 Wetherspoon’s and its senior management have taken stands on several issues over the years. Chairman Tim Martin is still expounding his views on Brexit, and last week all 900 pubs reduced prices in protest against the tax burden on pubs. Now the chain has turned to an even more pressing issue: plastic straws. The company [...]
The CBI aims to drive UK manufacturing to fresh highs as it sets up new council with Ineos director Tom Crotty at the helm August 14, 2017 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is setting up a manufacturing council in an effort to support the industry. The chief executive-level council will bring together dozens of the UK’s top manufacturers, and will be headed by chemical giant Ineos’ group director Tom Crotty. Crotty said: “A vibrant manufacturing sector is essential to the growth [...]
Ukraine’s central bank pulls plug on PwC bank audit rights over PrivatBank’s balance sheet hole July 20, 2017 The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) announced today that it had pulled the plug on PwC’s domestic bank auditing rights, after it had failed to identify a $5bn (£3.9bn) balance-sheet hole at the country’s largest lender in previous audits. It comes after last December’s state takeover of PrivatBank by the NBU, in a move aimed [...]
Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin: Government tax policy is hitting the pub sector and forcing people to drink at home March 16, 2017 Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin has issued a call to arms to pubs and restaurants in an attempt to convince the government to slash "unfair" taxes levied on the sector. The pub chain founder said tax policy is not only harming the pub sector, it is also forcing poorer people to drink at home as alcohol can [...]
Tim Martin, chair of JD Wetherspoon, says the Budget didn’t do enough for Britain’s pubs March 10, 2017 JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has hit back at chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget, arguing it doesn't do enough to support pubs from increasing cost pressures. Wetherspoon's share price dipped in morning trading as investors took note of Martin's warning that lower sales and increased costs in the second half of the year will hit the [...]