Cask Ale Week
This year’s event runs from 17 to 27 September. Organised by Cask Marque as before, and supported by CAMRA, this celebration of cask ale will feature various pub-based events such as beer festivals, tap takeovers, meet-the-brewer events, ale trails and quiz nights. You can find details of what is happening in your area on the events map at https://caskaleweek.co.uk/pubs-and-breweries/.
Private equity and pubs
Although the Stonegate pubco is currently trading well, they have a large long-term debt that they incurred primarily from their purchase of the Enterprise pub group. They have devised a ‘transformation strategy’ under which they are exploring the sale of what they call their ‘platinum estate’; this consists of around 1,000 of their best freehold pubs, amounting to roughly a quarter of their estate. Stonegate are reported to be planning to ‘test the market’ with a first batch of 300 pubs. Already a number of potential bidders have emerged, including Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm founded by Guy Hands and now run by his son Richard. I’m not convinced that the private equity model of business, with its expectation of relatively short-term gains on assets, will be good for the pubs involved.
Meanwhile, Whitbread’s closing of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre outlets in order to expand its Premier Inn hotels and improve their profitability has not gone down well with one of its major shareholders. Corvex Management, an American hedge fund, are demanding that the board simply put the whole company, valued at £3.9 billion, up for sale. Not all of the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites are suitable for incorporation into hotels and so some have been sold off. Wetherspoon’s have acquired five of them, although none are in London. Mitchells & Butlers have also acquired six sites, presumably to add to their Miller & Carter or Harvester chains. The Brewers Fayre in Dagenham, the Willow Farm in Rainham and the Winsor House in Beckton have been put on the market.
Wetherspoon’s news
Further to the report in the last edition that JDW are opening bars in European airports, Greggs are now opening their first European branch in Tenerife South Airport. Enrollado de salchicha anyone?
JDW have announced the names and planned opening dates of their two new pubs in London. The one at the Trocadero in Shaftesbury Avenue will be called the Piccadilly Hall and will open on 13 October. The other, next to Charing Cross Station will be called the Benjamin Franklin and will open on 24 November. Both dates may be subject to change.
Somewhat oddly, JDW closed the George in Croydon for ‘extensive refurbishment’ for the seven weeks 1 June to 31 July, thereby completely avoiding the FIFA World Cup.
Fuller’s news
Like-for-like sales in Fuller’s managed pubs increased by 4.9% over the year ending March 2026, with total revenue increasing by 5.7% to £397.8 million. This was despite a 0.8% increase in operating costs. Returns on drink, food and hotel accommodation all increased. This has generated sufficient funds to buy the freeholds of two London pubs: the Avalon in Balham and the Duke of Sussex in Waterloo. Both are currently leased to Stonegate who have subleased them to other operators. Fuller’s are looking for further sites to acquire and they also plan to spend £30 million on refurbishing existing pubs, with the flagship project being the addition of 26 hotel rooms to the Barrowboy & Banker at London Bridge. The share buyback programme will continue with the acquisition of one million ‘A’ shares.
Young’s news
At the company AGM it was reported that results for the first 14 weeks of the current financial year are good, with revenue increasing by 9.4%. Trade over the late May bank holiday weekend was ‘exceptional’, especially in those pubs with gardens and riverside locations. The FIFA World Cup and the Wimbledon tennis championships have alsovcontributed. The recently acquired Cubitt House pubs have been integrated and have also made a contribution. Chief executive Simon Dodd told the AGM, “While the backdrop remains challenging, we are well positioned and looking ahead to the rest of the year with confidence.” Mr Dodd also told the trade press that ‘the big thing we’re seeing is the resurgence of beer. We’ve seen 8% sales growth, with volume up 3%’. Young’s are also launching a share buyback programme, looking to acquire £10 million of its ‘A ordinary’ and ‘non-voting ordinary’ shares.
Mixed messages
Here are a few comments that readers might find interesting. All of these quotes come from the Propel hospitality trade newsletter.
On 22 May, the chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), Phil Urban, said that the company’s Nicholson’s brand remains the ‘golden goose that keeps on laying’.
On 12 June, one of M&B’s divisional directors said, “With the rise in labour costs, the key is to keep your pubs busy. It becomes a problem when you have quiet pubs. Focus on the guest experience, grow your volume and it’s not such a big problem.”
On 5 June, the chief executive of Stonegate Group, David McDowall, reported that they had received more applications over the last year for operator-led and leased and tenanted pubs, ‘than at any point in the history of Stonegate or Ei Group.’