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.
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Dec- 2023 -4 December
Drinks sales fall 5% on tough comparatives, says CGA
Drinks sales were down by 5% year-on-year in the week ended 25 November as a result of tough comparatives with last year, according to data from CGA. Trading suffered when compared with late November 2022, which brought the start of the football World Cup. This kept sales on Monday 20…
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4 December
Greene King launches estate-wide energy-saving initiative
Greene King has launched an initiative to install energy-saving technology in 600 managed pubs by the end of 2023, with further sites planned to benefit from the scheme in 2024. The voltage optimisation technology that will be installed at each pub will help to regulate the incoming power supply by…
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4 December
New licensees reopen Shepherd Neame’s Woolpack Inn
Shepherd Neame is set to reopen its 600-year-old Woolpack Inn in Chilham after undergoing a two-month refurbishment. The new licensees, Gordon and Sharon Thompson, have put their four decades of hospitality experience into the project, along with their children and their partners. The two-month renovation has seen the building’s period…
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1 December
RMT accepts pay offer ending strikes until at least spring 2024
The RMT has announced that it has accepted a pay deal from the Rail Delivery Group, ending strike action until at least spring 2024. Members of the union have accepted a 5% pay increase which is backdated to 2022-2023 alongside a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until the end of…
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Nov- 2023 -24 November
Admiral Taverns reopens The Spinners after £250k refurb
Admiral Taverns has reopened The Spinners, a local pub in Leigh, following a combined investment of £250k from the pub group and licensees Karen and Naomi Baird. The investment has changed the interiors of the pub, which now has two new bars, flooring and furniture throughout. The venue’s beer garden,…
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24 November
Young’s acquires Tattenham Corner Pub from Whitbread
Tattenham Corner Pub in Epsom Downs, Surrey, has been acquired by Young’s and Co.’s Brewery from Whitbread. Formerly a Beefeater, the acquisition will be Young’s first site in the Epsom Down area, joining its collection of premium pubs in Surrey, including The Bear in Oxshott and Chequers at Walton on…
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23 November
Coulsdon pub reopens following £250k refurb
The Pembroke Pub in Coulsdon has reopened its doors following a £250k investment by the Stonegate Group. The pub has been refreshed during its short closure and the new site features additional seating, new fixtures and fittings, as well as a new sports area with a pool table and darts…
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21 November
One fifth of night time businesses face collapse, NTIA warns
One fifth of night time economy businesses face collapse before January without government support in the Autumn Statement, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). Almost three quarters (72%) of businesses stated that they were barely breaking even or making a loss. Over half (55%) of the businesses polled…
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17 November
Shepherd Neame acquires The Ship Inn in Herne
Independent family brewer and pub company Shepherd Neame has expanded its estate with the acquisition of historic seafront pub The Ship Inn in Herne Bay. The addition of the freehold property, which was part of the Stonegate Group portfolio, takes Shepherd Neame’s total of pubs and hotels to 296, across…
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15 November
Wet weather dampens managed hospitality venue sales in October
Britain’s leading hospitality groups saw year-on-year growth slow to 3.2% in October amid widespread poor weather, according to data from CGA. It is a 13th consecutive month of like-for-like growth for managed restaurants, pubs and bars however, it represents a slowdown from a 5.9% rise in September. The data shows…
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