Trouble brewing in Kent

The pub trade seems to be getting hot under the collar over government policies. Shepherd Neame, the family-controlled Kent brewer and pub operator, recently provided a neat summation of the Government's attitude: “It sees the industry as a tax collection point on one hand and a social problem on the other.”

It's the real deal

Is this a sign of the times? The Real Hotel Company, the quoted operator of the purplehotel brand, has revived the all-inclusive deal. Mike Prager, chief executive, said: “When you're watching expenses, you need to know how much that business trip is going to cost.” Its deal is accommodation, dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee and breakfast for £59.95 single in countryside locations and £74.95 in city centres. “This should appeal to finance directors,” Mr Prager said.

Those boys love their beers

What is it about celebs and breweries? Neil Morrissey, the Men Behaving Badly actor, recently launched his own beer, Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale. Now I hear that Tony Hadley, the former Spandau Ballet frontman, is backing the expansion of Red Rat Craft Brewery, a Suffolk microbrewer known for its special regimental beers for the Army, which raises thousands for charity.

Falcon prepared for crash landing

The speed of the meltdown in Iceland's economy has caught economists and executives around the world by surprise. Not least Jon Asgeir Johannesson, the Baugur founder who faces the prospect of losing his British high street assets. Perhaps he knew what was coming: aviation sources say that he had his $35million Dassault Falcon corporate jet independently valued this summer.

Top hitter caught out

An article on the Bank of Scotland's website about the hotel sector's “top hitters” includes Johnny Sandelson, chief executive of GuestInvest, the buy-to-let hotel operator backed by Bank of Scotland. “Our ambition is to go worldwide, but first we have a lot more to do in London,” he said. The article gushes: “GuestInvest's concept is one of those ideas so startlingly simple, you wonder why nobody else had thought of it before.” So simple that the company is now in the hands of administrators, although Sandelson is in pole position to buy it back.

businessfeatures@thetimes.co.uk

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive