Heineken-owned pubs group faces probe over eviction threat Hospitality One of the UK’s biggest pub chains is facing a potential probe by the UK’s pubs watchdog after it threatened to evict one of its London tenants. Star Pubs, which operates more than 2,000 sites across Britain and is owned by Dutch brewing titan Heineken, has been told it will be referred to the Pubs [...]
‘Ever-widening gap’: Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin urges Burnham to cut more pub taxes Hospitality JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has called on the Prime Minister to go further to reduce the soaring tax burden faced by pubs. The chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain said Burnham’s decision to slash business rates for pubs is an “implicit recognition that the hospitality sector is over taxed”. The Prime Minister announced [...]
Burnham to cut pub business rates by 20 per cent Hospitality Andy Burnham has unveiled a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues. The £100m commitment will be funded by cracking down on businesses, like vape shops and tax-avoidant online sellers, which “do not make a positive contribution to local communities,” the government said. The measure comes as part of [...]
Wetherspoon shares dive as pub chain warns on profit again July 22, 2026 JD Wetherspoon shares slumped after it issued its fourth profit warning this year, as the pub chain grapples with surging food and energy costs and a rising business rates bill. Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain, said: “Profits for the year are likely to be below market expectations, with marginally [...]
James Watt eyes entire Brewdog UK business in comeback swoop July 17, 2026 James Watt’s shock comeback bid for Brewdog would see him take control of the craft beer firm’s entire UK and Australian operations, Morning Wire has learned. The Scottish entrepreneur, who co-founded Brewdog, has proposed to buy back the company’s entire operations excluding its US arm. Watt’s bid marked a new twist in the dramatic Brewdog [...]
Young’s pubs score World Cup trading boost July 7, 2026 Young’s has seen a surge in trading as a result of England’s success so far in the World Cup, the pub operator said. The FTSE-listed hospitality firm said its nine per cent jump in revenue in the last 14 weeks was in part driven by the initial stages of the World Cup, where England has [...]
Brewdog chief executive quits after only one year July 1, 2026 The boss of Brewdog has stepped down barely more than a year after taking up the role in the latest twist in the long-running saga over the management of the beleaguered beer business. James Taylor, who took up the role of chief executive at the beginning of last year and who oversaw the takeover of [...]
‘Not all sunlit uplands’: Pub bosses weigh in on whether Brexit leaves a bitter taste June 23, 2026 A decade on from the referendum, has Brexit left a bitter taste? The bosses of the UK’s biggest pub firms have their say Notoriously outspoken, the bosses of the UK’s leading pub brands are usually shouting about the same thing: the tax and regulatory burden threatening watering holes across the country. But, on the anniversary [...]
‘Reason to be optimistic’: Hospitality bosses say World Cup a lifeline for pubs June 9, 2026 Pub bosses are hoping for a much-needed boost from the World Cup this summer, as the hospitality industry warns of a crushing tax and cost burden. Leading pub chains Greene King and JD Wetherspoon have told Morning Wire they are hoping for a “useful boost” to counteract the “layering of costs” they have faced in [...]
How Young’s is shrugging off hospitality gloom June 3, 2026 Like many of his Square Mile customers, Young’s boss Simon Dodd knows how to schmooze with booze. Three years ago, the listed pub chain exec invited rival Clive Watson, the founder of City Pub Group, for lunch at Smiths, the top-notch bar and grill atop Smithfield market, for a steak and a glass of wine. [...]