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A round-up of industry news
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Orchid considers bid to save PBR
Talks are under way for Premium Bars and Restaurants (PBR), which operates The Living Room and Prohibition bars, to be sold to pub operator The Orchid Group. PBR has been in the hands of administrators from BDO Stoy Hayward since the beginning of August. BDO business restructuring partners Shay Bannon, Dermot Power and Tracey Pye said they were in discussions to sell the business and assets to Orchid, which is backed by private equity firm GI Partners. A sale is expected to be completed by mid-November. |
Winners of International Spirits Challenge announced
Merlet Crème de Cassis was named as the overall winner of best spirit at this month’s International Spirits Challenge awards. Best tequila was Sierra Milenario Extra Añejo, best gin was Martin Miller’s 10th Anniversary Limited Edition, and best rum was Admiral Rodney. Two brands shared the vodka category: La Martiniquaise Poliakov Premium and Kuchino Russian Premium. The top whiskies were Whyte & Mackay 30-year-old blend, The Balvenie Portwood 21-year-old and Nikka’s Taketsuru 21-year-old, and the winning brandies were Distell Van Ryn 12-year-old and Bache-Gabrielsen Dupuy Cognac Hors d’age.
Sales up at Shepherd Neame
Kent brewer and pub operator Shepherd Neame has reported a 7.7 per cent rise in turnover to £109.5million for the year
to June 27 along with a 6.3 per cent rise in beer volumes and a 1.6 per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its managed houses. However, its pre-tax profits for the year were down 21 per cent to £6.9million. Read more:
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Police chief links bars to responsible drinking
Stephen House, the chief constable of Strathclyde Police in Scotland, has highlighted the role of bars and pubs in ensuring responsible drinking of alcohol. He pointed to the availability of cheap deals in the off-trade as a reason for alcohol-related violence, saying that responsible licensees can oversee consumption and use their discretion over who is served and when to stop. Read more>>
C&C Group faces challenging trade and OFT
Irish drinks company C&C Group, whose brands include Magners and Tennent’s, has reported a 13.6 per cent fall in operating profits for the six months to August 31. It said that cider volumes were level but spirits and liqueurs volumes were down 15 per cent. Group chief executive John Dunsmore said: “Following a positive start to the first half, trading conditions in August and September have been more challenging. However, we remain on track to deliver on the objective of stabilised volumes and a full -year operating profit outcome in line with our stated guidance.” The Office of Fair Trading has announced it is investigating the group’s £180million acquisition of Tennent’s lager from AB InBev in August to determine if it could have
a detrimental effect on competition in the UK drinks market.
Geronimo ploughs on with investment
Premium pub operator Geronimo Inns is this week set to open its sixth refurbished pub in three months after investing £1.5million in six London outlets bought from Punch Taverns. The company has opened revamped pubs in Barons Court, Battersea and the West End over the past month and next week relaunches sites in Whitehall and Ladbroke Grove.
Tenants threaten rent “strike” against pubcos
The battle between tenants and the pubcos reached the pages of The Sun on Friday, with a report that up to 800 tenants of Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns will refuse to pay their rent from the end of this month.
Read more>>
High Court backs bars’ right to ban
The High Court last week ruled that organisations such as bars and pubs have an unrestricted right to ban individuals from their venues. It followed a judicial review brought forward by an individual who was banned from venues involved in Pubwatch in Haverhill, Suffolk.
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