With the election now just round the corner, many licensees will be considering how they’re going to vote.

If you’re a landlord who’s struggling to decipher the barrage of policies, then help is at hand - The Morning Advertiser has put together an easy to understand guide containing a detailed break down of the three main political parties plans for the pub trade.

There’s also information from four smaller parties — Greens, Plaid Cymru, Scottish National Party and UKIP.

The outcome of the election will affect us all, of course, so we advise of landlords to cast their votes wisely.

The article appears in this week’s edition of the Morning Advertiser, and you can also download an online version

Landlords need to get moving if they want to stay in the money, because the old style £20 are due to expire very soon.

Notes featuring composer Sir Edward Elgar (see picture below) are being withdrawn on 30 June, to be replaced with a new note featuring Adam Smith and boasting several enhanced security measures to prevent counterfeiting.

We’re urging all our landlords to make sure they check their AWP machines, note acceptors and till points are emptied of the old style notes before the end of June.

But all is not lost if you find a spare old style note lying around; for several months after, most banks, building societies and post offices will be accepting the old style for customer transactions.

Channel Four is asking licensees who run Bed & Breakfasts to get in touch if they’d like to be part of a new TV programme.

‘Three in a Bed’ will showcase three B&Bs each week, with owners visiting each others' premises to see if they can learn any new tips.

Several of our landlords run successful B&Bs from their premises, including Barry and Roberta Smith at The Boot in Kimpton who have converted a barn into rentable rooms; we’re encouraging any Admiral landlords who would like to get involved to contact Channel 4.

Any licensees who are interested in getting involved should contact Emily Hudson at Studio Lambert at threeinabed@studiolambert.com or call on 0207 534 2030, and provide a brief summary of why they are so proud of your business.

With the election fast approaching, it’s good to know that politicians are recognising the important role of community pubs.

In a poll commissioned by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), 97 per cent of political candidates quizzed said they believed that the pub is an important part of British life, and 95 per cent agreed that pubs make a valuable contribution to the economy.

Most also said that they believe the pub is more important to communities than post offices, parish churches, village halls and community centres.

Admiral Tavern’s landlords work hard to establish their pubs at the heart of their community. If you’d like to find out about available pubs in your area, have a look at our pubs to let section.

A new survey has revealed that pubs are proving more and more popular with the fairer sex - one in three women now visit a pub at least once a fortnight, with three quarters of those choosing to visit their local.

However, a quarter of the 2,000 women questioned in the survey by BitterSweet Partnership, which aims to promote women’s love of beer, said they were sometimes put off visiting their local pub by “an unfriendly and often unwelcoming environment”.

We’re reminding our landlords that catering for all your customer’s needs can really boost sales. The survey discovered that the top attractions for females were good value prices and entertainment, while they could be put off by the lack of seating, bad cleanliness and poor music choice.

For tips on improving your pub, see our Licensee Support section.

We’re encouraging landlords who offer food that packs more of a punch, as recent research by Schwartz has revealed that consumers are looking for more flavour in their food.

The 2010 Schwartz Flavour Forecast revealed that customers are moving away from meat based dishes and opting for healthier, cheaper and more unusually flavoured food.

The forecast predicts that herbes de Provence and chorizo; mint and courgette; dill and beetroot; bay leaves and preserved lemons; chilli and edamame; and roasted cumin and chickpea are the top flavour combos for the year ahead.

Want support on creating a new menu? Visit our mypubfood website.

We’re advising our landlord not to underestimate the benefits of offering a wide selection of soft drinks in their pub.

According to Britvic’s annual Soft Drinks Report, soft drinks have overtaken spirits for the first time to become the second largest drinks category in the on-trade, making them second only to beer.

Murray Harris, sales director at Britvic, said: “Soft drink sales are a welcome return to form… We are seeing evidence that outlets that have refocused their offer to target families and women are reaping the benefits.”

Landlords should take a look at our monthly magazine AGENDA to find out details of all our current promotions and to discover the wide range of soft drinks that Admiral offer.

Anyone who’d like the chance to run their own pub should visit the pubs to let section of the website.

Landlords across the country should be keeping their fingers crossed that England come up trumps during the World Cup, and not just because of good old patriotic pride…

According to the British Beer and Pub Association, a good performance from the England football team could be worth more than £124 million to the pub industry.

Separate research by Walkabout has revealed that 25% of British men plan to watch at least three World Cup Matches in a pub and 11% said they will watch every England match in their local.

With a predicted spend per head each match of £21, this is further confirmation that the World Cup could be extremely profitable for landlords. See our previous blog on preparing your pub for the summer of sport for tips on how to make the most of it.

The latest recipients of an Admiral Taverns Achievement Award are a group of Churton landlords with an innovative approach to running their pub.

Stewart Ellams and Jamie and Jackie Williams of The White Horse have turned a disused building at the back of the pub into a rentable unit that is currently being used by a local cake maker.

As Jamie previous worked as a head chef in a number of restaurants, the team build many of the pub’s events around food offerings, hosting parties and barbeques at the pub in the summer and catering for events in the local village hall.

The White Horse is extremely popular with its customers and Stewart, Jamie and Jackie have come up with a variety of great ways to make some extra income and also support the local community.

If you’d like to find out more about running a pub, contact our recruitment team.