What the weekend papers say

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

Smoking ban may boost restaurant business
Restaurants would increase custom by a third if smoking was banned outright, the founders of a leading American restaurant guide said yesterday. Of the 4,000 diners questioned for the 2005 Zagat Survey of London Restaurants, published this week, more than a third of respondents claim they would eat out more often if there was an outright ban on lighting up, a statistic that backs the campaign to outlaw smoking in public places. – The Times, 18 September

Smoke ban hits Irish pub business by 9%
Drink sales in Ireland plunged in July and are 9% lower than when the smoking ban was introduced last March, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. Excluding price rises, the volume of sales in bars fell by 6.4% during July, the figures for retail sales show. This is 8% less than sales in July last year, and the decline has been concentrated in the last six months. – Irish Independent, 18 September

Spirit Group to sell 300 pubs
Spirit Group, the pub operator that acquired Scottish & Newcastle Retail a year ago for £2.5b, is preparing to put an estimated 300 pubs up for sale as a prelude to a stock market flotation some time next year. The company, which operates more than 2,400 pubs, is understood to have appointed Deutsche Bank as adviser to the sale process, although no final decision has yet been taken on how many pubs will be sold. – The Times, 18 September

Pub operator announces extra dividend
Ofex-listed WH Brakspear & Sons, the pub company, announced a special dividend of 30p per share after receiving £4.2m from the sale of its brewery in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, soon to be reborn as part of the Hotel du Vin chain. – The Times, 18 September

School dinners to be bought with the swipe of a finger
Scottish primary schools are set to pilot a new device that will allow children to buy their lunches with the swipe of a finger. The system was trialled in one Scottish primary school over the last two weeks in June and a second trial at another school within the same local authority is planned for this autumn. Eight other local authorities are waiting in the wings to see if the trials are successful. – Sunday Herald (Scotland), 19 September

Wentworth finally sold
Richard Caring, the textile tycoon has had his £110m offer for Wentworth Golf Club accepted by Chelsfield, which owns 60% of the course. Caring is poised to sign an exclusivity agreement that says that any rival bidder will have to pay more than £120m to beat his offer. – The Observer, 19 September

Public breastfeeding to be made legal in Scotland
Legislation that would make it a criminal offence to stop women breastfeeding in public in Scotland is almost certain to become law after it emerged that the Scottish Executive will not oppose the measure. The bill proposes to fine businesses that prevent breastfeeding on their premises up to £25,000. – Sunday Herald (Scotland), 19 September

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