Analyst – Spirit shareholders should sit tight after C&C Group entered the fray: Peel Hunt leisure analyst Nick Batram has argued that Spirit shareholders should sit tight after the bid process livened up with C&C Group entering the fray. He said: He said: “The leftfield approach from C & C has been quickly dismissed by the Board of Spirit. Press speculation has been around an 115p offer of which around a third would be cash. Whilst this suggests a higher cash component, overall an offer at this level is not materially above the current value (113p) of the Greene King approach. The synergies also look clearer and easier to deliver and therefore we can see why the Spirit Board has rejected the approach. C&C’s bid logic is very different from that of Greene King and with a market cap of circa £1.1bn, Spirit would be a transforming deal for the drinks group in terms of financial as well as operational. It is no doubt an ambitious approach and strategy for C&C and it could be this that drives them to raise their bid. It is difficult to quantify at this stage the scale of upside that Spirit can deliver to C&C. For Spirit shareholders, the odds (which already looked pretty long) of no successful bid at the end of this process have lengthened, therefore the right strategy looks to sit tight and let the situation play out. Our interpretation of events is that Greene King’s offer is reasonable but clearly no knock-out. C&C’s leftfield approach has made what was looking a rather routine bid process a little bit more exciting. Some might dismiss C&C’s gate crashing as opportunistic but it is such a differentiated strategy that we wouldn’t rule out a higher offer. Whatever, happens the likelihood of a successful bid (whoever that may be) has increased and therefore Spirit shareholders should sit tight and wait for the process to play out.”

Cozy Pubs set to secure Marco Pierre White’s site in Lavenham: Cozy Pubs, run by Lee Cash’s sister Leanne Langman and former Orchid Pub Company executive Timothy Doyle, is set to buy the lease on the Angel in Lavenham, Suffolk. The chef has not proved entirely popular with Lavenham’s locals since he arrived in the village in 2011. Almost immediately after taking over the 15th Century market square pub he withdrew several popular draught drinks including lager and cider, claiming they attracted the “wrong kind of clientele”. A spokesman for Cozy Pubs, which runs The Eight Bells in Saffron Walden, The Cricketers Arms in Rickling Green and The Saracens Head Hotel, told local media the sale was coming “fairly close to completion” but said it would be unfair on the current owners to comment further. However, he added: “We are in negotiations and hope to complete the transaction in the next two weeks. But obviously until the paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered, nothing is definite.” The spokesman said that all staff currently employed at The Angel would be kept on and more would be recruited.

Jamie Oliver to open pub, restaurant and creative centre in King’s Cross: A row of early Victorian offices at King’s Cross left derelict for more than 30 years is to be converted into a new Jamie Oliver dining complex, the London Evening Standard has reported. The 17,500 sq ft scheme for the Fish & Coal buildings and Wharf Road Arches on the banks of the Regent’s Canal was given planning permission by Camden council last night. The chef will open a pub and restaurant in 2016 and will also move his company’s “creative centre” offices and test kitchens into the buildings. The Fish & Coal offices were built in the early 1850s to accommodate the army of clerical staff needed to handle the paperwork generated by the coal traffic and later fish freight coming into King’s Cross from Scotland and the North Sea ports. They had fallen into disuse by the 1980s and were gutted by fire in 1983. An application to have the unlisted brick buildings demolished in 1985 was overturned after a public campaign to save them.

SA Brain hires new head of pub operations: Welsh brewer and hospitality retailer SA Brain & Co has hired Kris Dungey as its group head of pub operations from Monday 27 October. He joins the Brains business from SSP Limited, where he held the role of operations director and previously held senior level positions at JD Wetherspoon and the Spirit Group. Dungey said: “I am delighted to be joining Brains at such an exciting time. Their rich heritage, driven people and enviable portfolio of brands and property make them well placed for continued growth. I am looking forward to meeting the full operations team over the coming weeks, and I am relishing the opportunity to work with the Brains team on exciting plans to deliver a successful future for the business.” Chief executive Scott Waddington said: “The combination of Kris’s proven track record of team leadership, operational experience, industry insight and cultural fit made him the outstanding candidate for the position. I am delighted to be welcoming Kris to the senior management team and have every confidence that he is the right operator to drive the delivery of our plans in our pub estate.” Dungey’s appointment follows a senior management restructure at Brains in early 2014, which saw the appointments of Bruce Newman as group head of marketing and Jon Bridge as group head of people.