Merger creates new pubco giant
A pub company set up to acquire more than 300 pubs from Mitchells & Butlers has merged with the firm behind Yates’s to form what’s said to be the biggest privately-owned managed pub group in the UK. Stonegate Pub Company, formed by private equity firm TDR Capital to buy 333 wet-led pubs from M&Bs last November in a £373 million deal, has joined forces with Town & City Pub Company, whose brands include Yates’s and Slug & Lettuce.
Operator drops anchor in Largs
Buzzworks aims to repeat Scotts’ success in seaside town
AS the rain lashes against the large picture windows framing the view of the Isle of...
Italian operators take plunge by the river
Glasgow-based restaurant and bar group expands into retail with the opening of a new specialist wine shop on the banks of the River Kelvin. The Giovanazzi group of companies has been a force in Glasgow for decades and is the name behind the Paperino’s and La Parmigiana restaurants, as well as The Big Blue bar at Kelvinbridge.
Smoke ban stubs out city pubs
Licensed premises close in all but one Scottish constituency. Scotland’s traditional inner-city pubs have suffered most in the wake of the smoking ban, a new study has found. Glasgow central was hardest hit, with 56 pub closures recorded between the start of the ban in 2006 and 2010, according to research by CR Consulting for the Save Our Pubs & Clubs Campaign.
It’s Whiski galore as bar diversifies
Gary and Anne Still combine shop, bar and bistro in new capital business. The owners of an award-winning Edinburgh whisky pub have taken their first steps into retailing Scotland’s national drink. Anne and Gary Still, the couple behind Whiski on the Royal Mile, created the Whiski Rooms by acquiring and knocking together three commercial premises on The Mound.
Jessie’s silver celebration
GLASGOW bar the Hielan Jessie celebrated 25 years in business last week – by treating a select band of customers, family and friends to...
Wholesaler goes with the Flow
Hospitality training provider forms new alliance with Matthew Clark
EDINBURGH-based hospitality training provider Flow aims to extend its reach across the UK through a new...
Celebrating city’s service with style
THE achievements of an initiative designed to raise service standards across Glasgow’s tourism industry were celebrated last week
Amanda Hyndman, former general manager of Glasgow’s...
Hamilton chef cooks up a storm
A HAMILTON chef has picked up a top gong at this year’s Scottish Curry Awards.
Ajmal Mushtaq, of Mushtaqs restaurant, overcame competition from chefs across...
Bar spirits into the off-trade
Bon Vivant operator moves into the retail business
THE team behind Edinburgh’s Bon Vivant bar is set to branch into retail with the opening of...
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Luke Richardson
William Woodburn
