The next MA500 conference is set to take place on Thursday 13 May and we can now reveal the topics we will cover at the online event.
We’re starting to see a few chinks of light at the end of the tunnel, with the Government roadmap to reopening having remained in place for the Monday 12 April allowing those pubs lucky enough to have a garden able to undertake some limited trading as we move towards indoor opening in May and fingers crossed a full re-start in June.
How to attend
The MA500 May event will be taking a look at some of the challenges facing businesses as things begin to return to normal for pubs, and will be speaking to some top operators that have innovative solutions in store in order to hit the ground running in the next few months.
Executive team: (l-r) Peter Borg-Neal, Dermot King and Joycelyn Neve Hertfordshire-based multiple operator The Oakman Group has acquired six pubs from the administrators of Seafood Pub Company.
Furthermore, former managing director and founder of Seafood, Joycelyn Neve will also be joining Oakman to head up the new Seafood Pub division, which will initially be based in the north.
The new sites restore 150 jobs and mean Oakman is on track to have 40 venues in its estate by the end of this year.
Oakman Group CE Dermot King said: “I am delighted we have acquired these sites, which will be the foundation stone for the third brand within our group – with the Seafood Pub Joining the Oakman Inns and Beech House brands within our portfolio.
JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is set to start developing on a Leeds pub, spending £1.8m and creating about 60 jobs in the process.
The Stick or Twist in Merrion Way first opened in 1997 but was demolished to create a new unit with student accommodation above.
The pub group will start building work on 5 April with the site expected to reopen in the summer (6 July).
As part of the refurbishment, the open kitchen will be double its original size and the overall site will be 25% bigger than the original and offer 4,000sq ft of customer space on one level.
It will also have outside terraces to the front and side of the building with bifold doors opening onto it from the pub.
Using lateral flow testing as a workable way of reopening parts of the trade where social distancing is not possible could have some benefits to 46% of operators, research has found.