Pubs and Bars

The Pubs and Bars section on Catering Today covers the business developments, market trends, and operational challenges shaping the UK’s pub and bar sector. It reports on acquisitions, brand expansions, drinks innovation, and regulatory updates, alongside insights into staffing, sustainability, and consumer behaviour. With expert commentary and commercial analysis, Catering Today provides industry professionals with the intelligence needed to navigate a competitive and fast-evolving on-trade environment.

Sep- 2024 -

23 September

Stonegate Group partners with Reef to offer flexible workspaces

Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company, has partnered with Reef, an app for remote workers, to offer more than 700 of its venues as flexible, laptop-friendly workspaces. Remote workers can now work and benefit from exclusive deals at venues including Slug and Lettuce, Proper Pubs and Pub and Dining,…
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20 September

JW Lees to acquire The Bellflower pub from Marston’s

JW Lees has agreed to acquire The Bellflower pub restaurant in Garstang Lancashire from Marston’s for an undisclosed sum. The news comes after the recent acquisition of The Craigside Hotel in Little Orme in Llandudno from Whitbread. The acquisition of The Bellflower pub restaurant will take Jw Lees’ Managed Pub…
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19 September

Pubs outperform licensed sector despite ‘disappointing’ weather

Managed pubs have outperformed the licensed sector as a whole in August, with year-on-year growth of 2.9% despite disappointing weather, according to the latest edition of the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker. Restaurants recorded a 0.8% increase, while the on-the-go segment achieved 5.0% growth. However, bars continued a long run…
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18 September

Urban Pubs and Bars opens The Wren Tavern

Urban Pubs and Bars has announced the opening of The Wren Tavern as a tribute to Sir Christopher Wren. The London pub on Watling Street features a whiskey lounge and a speakeasy cocktail bar called 5cc in the basement. The chefs have designed a menu offering classic food using British…
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17 September

Drinks sales drop 12% amid strong comparatives

Average drinks sales in Britain’s managed venues dropped by 12% year-on-year in the week ended Saturday 7 September. It is one of the biggest gaps in sales of 2024 so far, with trading down all seven days and is the result of difficult comparatives against September 2023. In the same…
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17 September

Arc Inspirations FY turnover rises 16.2% to £47.4m

Leeds-based hospitality group Arc Inspirations, which operates Box and Manahatta, has reported a 16.2% rise in turnover to £47.4m for the year to March. The group also revealed that EBITDA for the year rose by 37.1% to £5.3m, with average site EBITDA up by 22% to more than £550k per…
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16 September

Craft Union Pub hits £500k milestone in ‘Make it a Million’ campaign

Craft Union Pub Company has raised £500,000 for a range of local causes and charities across the country in six months. After raising £800,000 in 2023, the pub company is now aiming to surpass that total, with a goal of raising £1m by February 2025. The £500k milestone marks the…
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13 September

Admiral Taverns unveils Britannia Inn refurb

Admiral Taverns has unveiled the new Britannia Inn following an investment of £227,000. The pub has undergone a complete transformation including new furniture, fixtures and fittings throughout as well as a new bar area and games room boasting pool tables and darts boards. Outside, the pub features a newly renovated,…
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11 September

Red Engine to open its 14th UK Flight Club in Oxford

Red Engine has announced that it is set to open its newest Flight Club in Oxford, the 14th venue in the UK, on 22 November. Flight Club Oxford will feature semi-private oches around a bar with seating options and two terraces. The hospitality group and its partners have already opened…
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10 September

Admiral Taverns acquires 18 pubs from Marston’s

Admiral Taverns has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 18 freehold pubs from Marston’s PLC. The portfolio of 18 wet-led establishments spans the UK, located in counties including Dorset, Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The acquisition brings Admiral’s total estate to over 1,420, further strengthening its…
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