{"id":871,"date":"2020-03-23T21:46:08","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T21:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=871"},"modified":"2020-03-23T21:47:24","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T21:47:24","slug":"trade-news-march-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/03\/23\/trade-news-march-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade News – March 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

GOING VIRAL <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AB InBev are claiming that their Mexican subsidiary, Cervecer\u00eda Modelo, suffered a loss equivalent to \u00a3220 million in January and February because of the effect that the Covid-19 virus had on sales of their Corona beer. Corona is the most popular imported beer in the USA. Not all of this is down to people reacting to the coincidence of the name. \u00a3132 million of the loss was incurred in China, where the beer is also popular, because people were not able to get out to celebrate their New Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last edition (page 40) I reported\nVisitBritain\u2019s predictions for tourism from China\nand the USA.\nAlas, I suspect that these predictions will not now be fulfilled. Hopefully,\nthe resident population, while observing the appropriate precautions, will\nstill continue to visit their local pubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FULLER\u2019S PUBCO <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like-for-like sales in Fuller\u2019s managed pubs and hotels increased by 4.3% over Christmas and New Year. Chief executive Simon Emeny told the Morning Advertiser, \u201cIt\u2019s been a year of change for Fuller\u2019s and this is a good first Christmas as a focused premium pubs and hotels business. We have exciting plans in place for the coming months, including the opening of our new sites the Windjammer at Royal Dock, the White Horse at Wembley Park and the Parcel Office at Liverpool Street Station. We will also be moving to our new offices at Pier House in Chiswick at the end of March.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our congratulations go to Mr Emeny for\nbeing named the Business Leader of the Year at the 2020 Publican Awards. This\nwas the only award won by a London\nbased business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOUNG\u2019S NEWS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spending on their pub estate continues. In addition to the four sites mentioned in the last edition, the Grapes in Wandsworth is being refurbished and is having its garden extended, just in time for CAMRA\u2019s \u2018Summer of Pub\u2019. It may be time to revisit the once famous Wandsworth Crawl. Young\u2019s acquisition of the Constitution in Camden Town is reported on page 18. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young\u2019s are supporting the Laptops for the\nHomeless campaign being run by the charity SocialBox.Biz. The aim is to provide\nhomeless people, the elderly and refugees with reconditioned laptops which will\nhelp them apply for jobs, stay in contact with relatives, and get back on their\nfeet. A Young\u2019s spokesman told the Morning\nAdvertiser, \u201cWe absolutely love what SocialBox.Biz is doing for our community.\nWe want to be part of the conversation and help homeless people find some\nstability in their lives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MARSTON\u2019S SELL MORE PUBS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marston\u2019s continue to sell pubs to help reduce their debts. The latest sale is of 29 pubs to NewRiver\u2019s pubs arm, Hawthorn Leisure. Marston\u2019s intend raising a further \u00a390 million from selling pubs in the current financial year. Curiously, Marston\u2019s received a boost from substantially increased sales in 2019 of the Young\u2019s beer brands, which they acquired when they purchased Charles Wells\u2019 brewing operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAWTHORN LEISURE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawthorn continue to grow. Its parent company, NewRiver, recently acquired Bravo Inns Limited for \u00a317.9 million. They have given 44 wet-led pubs to Hawthorn Leisure to manage as a separate entity. Most of the pubs involved are in North West England. Hawthorn now has an estate of around 700 pubs, which is about a quarter of the pubs that NewRiver owns in total. Income from the Hawthorn pubs for the six months to 30 September rose to \u00a313.6 million, a 27% increase on the previous year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STONEGATE DEAL CONFIRMED <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stonegate\u2019s \u00a31.27 billion acquisition of Ei Group (Enterprise Inns as was) has finally been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority. Stonegate now operate some 4,800 pubs. The CMA did have a concern about creating some local monopolies so 42 of Ei\u2019s pubs, all deemed to be going concerns, are to be sold to third parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DIRTY MONEY <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just to give readers an idea of the penalties involved, an east London pub was recently fined a total of \u00a357,527 (fine, costs and victim surcharge) for allowing a \u2018large and active\u2019 infestation of mice. This was the largest fine ever levied in the borough concerned. In addition, the owners, a large pub owning business, had to cover the cost of cleaning up which involved the pub being closed. The pub has now radically improved so I won\u2019t name it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a similar vein, a publican in\nStaffordshire has had damages totalling almost \u00a330,000 awarded against him for\nbreaching Sky Sport\u2019s copyright by screening their coverage without the\nrequired commercial agreement. According to the Morning\nAdvertiser, Sky\u2019s inspectors visit 700 pubs per week\nchecking on unauthorised use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compiled by Tony Hedger<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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