Our Weekly Roundup of Licensed Trade News – 21st-25th July
Monday
Propelinfonews.com: TV presenter Kate Humble opens cafe at her farm: The television presenter Kate Humble, who fronts BBC series such as Springwatch and Lambing Live, has opened a cafe and shop at her Monmouthshire farm. Humble said the outlet would provide a showcase for food producers in and around Monmouthshire.
Propelinfonews.com: Brasserie Blanc branch offers breast-feeding mothers free cup of tea: The Brasserie Blanc restaurant in Cheltenham, Gloucester has made headlines by offering breast-feeding mothers a free cup of tea. The restaurant hung a chalkboard on an umbrella outside its establishment which read: “Breastfeeding mums – pop in & have a free cup of tea if you need a pit stop … no need to eat, no need to ask – please relax :)” A picture of the signboard was posted to the parenting Facebook page RefreshMe, and was promptly shared almost 8,000 times and liked 11,500.
Propelinfonews.com: St Peter’s seeks tenants: The St Peter’s Brewery is looking for tenants for St Peter’s Hall, the venue it runs near Bungay, Suffolk. Colin Cordy, the company’s managing director, said the half-moated medieval Hall, dating from 1280, the brewery’s home, “has always been run as a bar, restaurant and wedding venue.
Hawthorn Leisure launches buying club with Pelican
Hawthorn Leisure, the newly established pub group, has entered a procurement deal with Pelican to form a buyers’ club for its 350 pub tenants.
Warning after CAMRA website is hacked
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) members have been warned to vigilant after the consumer group’s website was hacked.
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Warning-after-CAMRA-website-is-hacked
Tuesday
Propelinfonews.com: Two York pubs listed as assets of community value: Two York pubs have been listed as assets of community value and included on a council register. Rawcliffe Parish has seen its application to have The Mitre on Shipton Road included on the register of community assets, while campaign group Save the Fox Inn has also had its application approved by the City of York.
Propelinfonews.com: Loungers lines up Peterborough opening: Loungers, the cafe bar concept headed by Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, is lining up an opening in Peterborough’s Cathedral Square area. Loungers is looking to take over the Barista coffee and pizza place on Bridge Street – and the vacant former NatWest bank office next door.
Propelinfonews.com: Skegness theme park owners buy King’s Lynn nightclub: Andy Mills-Brown and business partner Debbie King have re-opened the Heights nightclub in King’s Lynn having bought it a month ago. The pair already operate three other nightclubs across the UK as well as owning the Fantasy Island theme park in Skegness.
Warning over employment checks as government doubles fines for illegal workers
As the government cracks down on illegal workers, hospitality employers have been urged to carry out stringent right-to-work checks on potential staff.
Supermarkets ‘just giving away’ alcohol, says peer
Supermarkets that offer low price alcohol in promotions were dubbed irresponsible in a debate at The House of Lords earlier this week relating to changes to be made to the mandatory licensing conditions.
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Supermarkets-just-giving-away-alcohol-says-peer
Wednesday
Sterlingstockauditors.co.uk: Greene King’s latest Leisure Spend Tracker Report has been released this week. The report covers the month of June and it showed
Friday
Propelinfonews.com: Irish restaurateur calls for VAT cut after seeing difference 9% rate makes in Dublin: The owner of an Irish restaurant chain is leading calls for a VAT cut for tourism in the UK after an alarming slump in visitors from the south, The Belfast Telegraph has reported. After only months of running a new restaurant in Dublin, Bob McCoubrey said the difference in his Vat return, based on the Republic’s 9% rate for hospitality firms, against the UK’s 20% rate, was “amazing” compared to his established eateries in Belfast and Dundrum, Co Down.
Propelinfonews.com: Camra hires planner to help save pubs: The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has appointed a planner to fill a new post to try to help safeguard the country’s pubs. Planning adviser Matt Brown, who joins from the London Borough of Brent where he was a planning officer, told Planning magazine: “Around 28 pubs are closing every week.
Propelinfonews.com: Pub chain to open fourth site thanks to peer-to-business lender: A growing East London pub chain is set to open its fourth pub after receiving a £43,000 refurbishment loan from the peer-to-business lender rebuildingsociety. Electric Star, which operates The Star of Bethnal Green, The Star of Kings and The Star by Hackney Downs, is opening the doors of The Jackdaw and Star in Homerton later this summer, after a bespoke refurbishment. Rebuildingsociety works by allowing hundreds of individual lenders to pledge varying amounts towards a loan request posted on its website.
Underage drinking falls to record low, Government stats reveal
The rate of underage drinking has fallen to its lowest level since records began more than a quarter of a century ago, according to official government figures.
Liverpool to consult on late-night levy while Islington announces implementation date
Liverpool City Council’s licensing committee has granted a consultation on implementing a late-night levy.