What the weekend papers say

A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry…

Edinburgh-based budget hotel chain City Inn is hoping to secure sites in Manchester and Leeds in the near future to add to the hotels it already has in Glasgow and Bristol. Construction of a 462-bedroom City Inn in Westminster begins next January. - Sunday Herald, Glasgow, 8 October

Several venture capitalist firms are considering making a bid for City Centre Restaurants (CCR), the troubled London-based restaurant group. CCR's chief executive James Naylor resigned last week. - Sunday Business, 8 October

Hotels and pubs group Bass has put one-third of its pubs up for sale with a £700m price tag. The disposal will involve more than 900 unbranded managed houses. - Sunday Telegraph, 8 October

Midlands-based brewer and pub operator Wolverhampton & Dudley has opened talks with entrepreneur Robert Breare, which could lead to a £470m bid being made for the company. - Sunday Telegraph, 8 October

Starbucks Coffee Co is planning to target Scottish city neighbourhoods as part of its UK expansion. It is looking for sites in Perth, Ayr, Stirling and East Kilbride. - Scotland on Sunday, 8 October

Bass is thought to be secretly looking at the acquisition of the Le Méridien hotel chain owned by Granada Compass, using the £2.3b raised from the sale of its brewing interests and a hoped-for £500m from the impending sale of 800 pubs. - Sunday Times, 8 October

Pub operator Punch will this week issue a £250m bond marking the completion of a series of complex refinancings since its acquisition of Allied Domecq’s pub estate last year. Punch is to spend an additional £20m this year on revamping some of the less profitable outlets. - Sunday Times, 8 October

Food and drink giant Diageo has set aside £55m to cover potential losses from a law suit against its Burger King division in the USA. It is being sued by franchisee La-Van Hawkins who is accusing Burger King of racism after it allegedly reneged on a deal to let him open 225 outlets across the US. - Independent on Sunday, 8 October

British holidaymakers narrowly escaped death when a block of 15 bedrooms at the three-storey Hotel Picafort Park in Majorca collapsed. - Daily Telegraph, 7 October