Inventive Leisure reports successful re-finance: Inventive Leisure, the Revolution vodka bar operator, has reported the successful re-financing of its bank facilities, following continued strong trading in December and the roll-out of its Evolution programme for the Revolution brand in 2013. The business is now looking to further extend its estate by securing new bars for its Revolucion De Cuba and Revolution brands in London and regional cities. The announcement follows the news in November that Inventive Leisure had extended its investment in its Revolution bars from £7m to £10m until May 2014, as part of its Evolution programme. Following the high-end transformation at the evolved sites, sales are currently up by around 20%. Mark McQuater, chief executive of Inventive Leisure, said: “We are delighted to have successfully re-financed our bank facilities following continued growth across the Revolucion De Cuba and Revolution brands. We enter 2014 in a very strong trading position and look forward to continued innovation and growth.”

Robin Young quits Mitchells & Butlers: Robin Young has resigned as operations director at Mitchells & Butlers with effect from close of business on Friday 31 January. His resignation will be viewed as another surprising high-level departure since Christmas when the company suffered four unexpected senior resignations, with two of the four joining the burgeoning foodservice division at Tesco. Young joined the company in 2011 prior to which he worked for the government as chief operating officer at the nationalised arm of Bradford & Bingley. He has also worked at Ford, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, GlaxoSmithKline, HBOS and Citigroup in a variety of functions. Young also spent time assigned to the charity HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) where he worked on projects in Bosnia, Africa and Russia.

BrewDog launches ‘protest beer’ against Russian anti-gay laws: The Scottish brewer BrewDog has launched a beer called Hello My Name Is Vladimir, which carries a picture of the Russian president on the front, as a protest against legislation introduced by Putin outlawing “homosexual propaganda”. James Watt, BrewDog’s co-founder, said: “We sincerely hope that when Vladimir Putin is tired from a busy day riding horses with his top off, grappling with burly men on the judo mat or fishing in his Speedos, he reclines on a velvet chaise longue and has one of his handsome helpers wet his whistle with a glass of Hello My Name is Vladimir. As Hello My Name is Vladimir is clearly marked ‘not for gays’, we should bypass the legislation introduced by Putin outlawing supposed ‘homosexual propaganda’, so Vlad shouldn’t have an issue with it. He might even invite us to ride bareback with him in the Siberian mountains.” BrewDog has sent the president a case of the limited edition beer, which is available for £2.89 a bottle in all BrewDog bars. Half the profits from the beer’s sale will be donated directly to charities that represent the oppressed around the world, the company said.

Marston’s to re-open flagship Pitcher & Piano after £400,000 investment: Marston’s is to re-open its iconic Pitcher & Piano in Nottingham’s Lace Market on Thursday after a £400,000 refurbishment. The venue, located in a former church, has seen its bar re-located to a central island position. The Nottingham investment is the third major investment in the Pitcher & Piano estate following Tunbridge Wells and the opening of a new site, a former Que Pasa, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire last August. Colin Sadler, who oversees Marston’s premium segment Revere Pub Company and Pitcher & Piano, said: “Nottingham is a flagship site that has traded very well for many years. It now looks amazing.” Design at the refurbished Pitcher & Piano, Nottingham is by Concorde BGW. Sadler reported that Marston’s is now looking at new Pitcher & Piano sites and there is a review underway of the existing Marston’s estate for sites that would suit conversion to the Revere model.