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.

Mar- 2021 -

4 March

JD Wetherspoon to reopen 400 sites on reduced hours

JD Wetherspoon is set to reopen 394 of its pubs with beer gardens, rooftop gardens, and patios, in England from 12 April 2021. While there has been no curfew put in place as a part of government measures, the pub chain will operate on a reduced hours structure. The majority…
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1 March

30 licensed premises closed a day in 2020

Nearly 12,000 licensed premises have closed in Britain since December 2019, an average of around 30 a day and the highest rate on record, according to research from the new edition CGA and AlixPartners. While 4,170 new sites have been recorded since December 2019, the loss of 11,894 venues means…
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Feb- 2021 -

25 February

Chester Pub manager found guilty of watering down spirits

A pub in West Chester and its manager faces a £2,454 fine after the manager was found to be watering down the alcohol it served to customers. Jia Tong Chen, manager of the Dunham Arms on Chester Road, Dunham on the Hill, pleaded guilty to nine offences in respect of…
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22 February

M&B’s £350m open offer ‘critical’ for survival

Mitchells and Butlers has announced the launch of an open offer, following an announcement last week that the group intends to raise £350m from shareholders. The board, which includes representatives of the Odyzean Group, a major shareholder of Mitchells and Butlers, said it believes that the open offer is “critical…
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18 February

Meat-free dishes to become more ‘prominent’ on menus post-covid, says CGA

Consumers’ focus on health during the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to make vegetarian and vegan dishes more prominent on menus according to the CGA’s MealMetrics service. Drawing on £4bn of aggregated food till sales data from more than 7,000 pubs, bars and restaurants, the metric data was designed to help…
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16 February

Mitchells & Butlers seeks £350m cash injection

Mitchells and Butlers has announced its intention to raise £350m through an underwritten open offer. The proposed offer, which follows an original announcement on 7 January 2021, will include a facility for shareholders to apply for any shares not currently held. A £150m three-year unsecured revolving credit facility has also…
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12 February

Mitchells and Butlers pub branch announces permanent closure

A Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) pub, in Didsbury Manchester has announced that it will be permanently closing, as ongoing restrictions continue to take a toll on the hospitality sector. In a social media post owners of The Stoker’s Arms stated that due to “circumstances outside of their control” the pub…
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11 February

Platinum abandons Marston’s takeover

Platinum Equity, a US-based private equity firm, has confirmed that it will no longer move forward with a proposed takeover of Marston’s, after the pub group “unanimously rejected” its proposal earlier this month. Last month, Marston’s confirmed that Platinum put forward an unsolicited, non-binding proposal of a possible cash bid…
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10 February

Beer and pub leaders push for reopening date as sales plummet 56%

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and business leaders of the beer and pub industry are pushing the government to confirm a clear timeline and date for the reopening of the sector. It comes as it was revealed that trading restrictions and lockdowns caused sales of beer to plummet…
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5 February

London pubs encouraged to use sites for film and TV

London pubs are being encouraged to generate alternative income during lockdown by promoting their venues to be used as locations for the TV and film industry. Locations London, a leading filming location agency, said it is now backing the hospitality industry by encouraging pubs to get listed on their books,…
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