Punch acquires 30 pubs from McMullen’s: Punch Pubs & Co, the Fortress-backed operator of circa 1,300 community pubs, has completed the acquisition of a 30-strong package of pubs from family-owned brewer and pub operator McMullen's, for an undisclosed sum. The company said the pubs, which are predominantly leased and tenanted, are located across Hertfordshire and Essex and boast “strong trading histories, distinctive heritage and established positions at the heart of their local communities”. Punch said the acquisition represents a “small but strategically important addition” to its estate. Pubs include the Millstream (Hertford), Great Eastern Tavern (Hertford) and the George IV (Sawbridgeworth). James Croft, group strategy and commercial director at Punch Pubs & Co, said: “We’re delighted to have completed the acquisition of these pubs from McMullen’s. This is a fantastic collection of pubs with real heritage, strong community roots and proven operators running them day to day, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Punch family. Our focus remains on long-term partnerships, investing in our pubs and supporting our publicans and management partners to help their businesses succeed as we work towards being the five-star pub company.” So far this financial year, Punch has purchased 35 pubs. McMullen’s said the future stewardship of the pubs and their publicans was central to its decision-making. Tom McMullen, joint managing director of McMullen’s, added: “There are some phenomenal independent operators in these businesses, and it was important to us that they transferred to an owner who possesses both the scale and strategic direction necessary to offer improved support, and is willing and able to provide the financial commitment that these pubs deserve. We are also grateful to our tenanted operations team who have continued to grow this part of the business and are supporting through the transition.” Before the deal, McMullen’s operated 40 tenanted sites and 90 managed pubs.

Premium Club subscribers to receive all 49 videos from Restaurant Marketer and Innovator on Friday, 13 February: Premium Club subscribers are to receive all 49 videos from Restaurant Marketer and Innovator on Friday, 13 February, at 9am. The videos include: Romy Miller, chief marketing officer at Knoops, sharing how the brand carved out a new category in the crowded drinks space, cutting through noise to create a cult following; Russell Danks, managing director at Laine Pub Co, exploring how the group built a brand strategy designed around Generation Z; and Olivia Fitzgerald, managing director at 125 Data & Insights, speaking with Tom James, managing director at Bill’s, about how it became the first hospitality brand to invite its customers quite literally “into the boardroom”. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Farage promises to cut beer duty and business rates as part of five-point plan for hospitality: Reform has pledged to cut beer duty and business rates for pubs as part of its five-point plan for hospitality. Nigel Farage has set out a plan that includes cutting beer duty by 10%, and if landlords pass on the duty cut to customers, it would see prices fall by 5p per pint, reports The Telegraph. The Reform leader will also commit to the staggered abolition of business rates for all pubs over the course of four years if his party wins the next election. The cost of the overall package – rising from £2.29bn in the first year to £2.9bn in the fourth year – would be fully funded by reinstating the two-child benefits cap. The move comes less than a week after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced her about-turn over Budget rises in business rates on pubs with a temporary package of 15% discounts. Lee Anderson, the Reform MP, his party could “end the pubs crisis”. He said: “The loss of one pub is not just the loss of livelihood for a landlord, or the loss of a local employment hub. The loss of one pub is a loss to all of us as inheritors of a tradition dating back to Roman rule. Yet the Conservatives, and now Labour, have facilitated the closure of thousands of pubs over the last decade. Any contrition they show is false.” Under the five-point plan, Reform would reduce beer duty by 10% from its current 49p and cut the current 20% rate of VAT in half across the whole hospitality sector. The party said this would move towards “tax equality” for the hospitality industry compared with supermarkets where food, though not alcohol, is exempt from VAT unlike pubs. Reform said it would progressively abolish business rates for all pubs over the course of four years, prioritising high street venues. Relief would be expanded annually, covering all pubs by 2029-30. Hospitality businesses would also be exempted from Rachel Reeves’ hike in employers’ national insurance (NI) increase from 13.8% to 15% in April last year. In a fifth and final measure, Reform pledged to liberalise the current “outdated” regulations which favour ownership by large pub companies, as part of an overhaul of the law to create more locally owned pubs. They said the current ownership structure – where half of the 47,000 pubs in the UK are owned by big companies – trapped landlords in restrictive and inflexible contracts. It meant, for example, that tied publicans paid up to 80 per cent more for a standard 11-gallon keg of beer than those buying on the open market. “Reform will liberalise this outdated legislation to enable publicans to earn a sustainable living, free of tied contracts,” it said. By the end of the decade, Reform claimed that the VAT cut would cost £1.9bn, the NI reduction £100m and the beer duty reduction £400m. The business rate taper to zero would cost a further £580m by 2029/30.