Pubs and Bars

The latest news and updates on pubs and bars, from the business journalists at Catering Today. We bring you the latest on what’s happening in the restaurants, bars and catering industry, with exclusive stories, analysis, best practice and industry comment.

Sep- 2018 -

3 September

Buzzworks acquires second venue in east Scotland

Scottish hospitality business, Buzzworks Holdings, has confirmed the purchase of The Bridge Inn in Linlithgow making it its second property in the east of Scotland. Buzzworks is set to launch its first venture in the east of Scotland when Scotts bar and restaurant at Port Edgar Marina, South Queensferry opens…
Read More »
3 September

Sarnia Hotel Group invests £1m in Guernsey bar

Sarnia Hotel Group has announced it has completed a £1m refurbishment of its Guernsey bar, JB Parker’s Bar & Cellar, located at Moores Best Western Hotel. The refurbishment comes after the company invested £1.5m in its Copenhagen Restaurant, located at Les Rocquettes Hotel. The project, which took six months to…
Read More »
Aug- 2018 -

31 August

New World Trading Company secures £5.6m investment

Bar and restaurant group, The New World Trading Company (NWTC), which operates 22 venues across the UK, has secured a £5.6m investment from NatWest, to help fund its roll-out programme. The group which operates 22 venues across the UK has expanded with seven further openings since its last funding round…
Read More »
30 August

Nine Lives launches sustainability-focused cocktail menu

Nine Lives, the neighbourhood bar in London Bridge founded by industry experts Allan Gage, Emma Hutchison and Tom Soden, has unveiled a new sustainability-focused cocktail menu. The menu is said to be dedicated to a reduced carbon footprint due to the source of the ingredients. In addition to the new…
Read More »
30 August

‘Beer Goggles’ ale pulled after Twitter outrage

A pub has been forced to remove an ale named Beer Goggles from sale after it sparked outrage with Twitter users describing the name as “sexist” and “outdated”. Elgood Brewery, the ale’s manufacturer have defended the product saying it was a “bit of fun”. The ale’s pump clip featured the…
Read More »
29 August

Hakkasan pays outgoing boss $50m golden goodbye sending it to $145m loss

Struggling restaurant and nightclub operator Hakkasan gave former boss Neil Moffitt a $50m (£39m) payout last year, despite deepening financial woes. The payout came following a difficult year for the company which saw losses of $145m in the 12 months to June 2017, the equivalent of half its annual turnover.…
Read More »
29 August

Bailiffs visited more than 200 firms daily over unpaid business rates

In the first year after the new business rates revaluation came into effect, councils sent bailiffs to more than 200 commercial properties everyday for unpaid rates. An investigation by real estate advisor Altus Group revealed that during 2017/18, over 81,000 business premises liable for rates were referred to bailiffs to…
Read More »
28 August

The Craft Beer Co selling £22.50 pint

The Craft Beer Co has begun selling a new craft beer for £22.50 per pint, with the high price attributed to expensive ingredients. Speedway Stout’s price makes it five times more expensive than the average UK pint, and makes it more expensive per millilitre than Belvedere vodka. The beer itself…
Read More »
28 August

Liquor Box and Pantry acquire second site as part of 10 pub plan

The father and son duo behind Liquor Box and Pantry, Simon and Dan Barton, have acquired their second pub as part of a plan to run 10 pubs in the Kent area. The White Horse pub in Sundridge will become the group’s first Star Pubs & Bars site, the pub…
Read More »
24 August

Greene King launches ‘industry first’ compostable straws

Pub group Greene King has announced it will introduce compostable PLA straws across its entire UK estate of 1,750 pubs, as part of its pledge to send zero waste to landfill by 2020. This move is set to remove over 30 million plastic straws from use every year. This follows…
Read More »