MG
The Classic Marque

I did work for one company that traded out of premises owned by a Director's pension fund. The company had way more space available to it than was justified but it was allegedly more tax efficient for him to take money out of the business that way than pay himself a bigger salary.

Les,
"fitted a non-return valve into the line between the tank and the pump."

Have you tried putting the non return valve downstream of the pump? (delivery Pipe to carbs side). It seems to me that if the pump is ticking furiously it is trying to fill the delivery line up to the carbs, implying that the fuel has emptied out. Maybe when the tank level is low, fuel in the pipes is drai...

SO - things have gone backwards. All wheel cylinders refitted ( 2 new, 2 with new innards); brake lines cleared of old fluid with gentle compressed air. The master cylinder when installed with new seal kit, showed once again very slow return home after depressing the brake pedal dozens of times.Think 30 seconds plus, even with tank full.
Extracted the master cylinder again - the piston is cle...

Anam, I did read the article so was aware of the situation. It implies that trade from non hotel guests was down but from my experience most people eating at them are hotel guests. In fact if you are working the meal deal makes sense as you wont get an evening meal, drink and breakfast elsewhere for the same money. Even just breakfast is good value. Having said that the menu isnt what it was and t...

Me neither, but if the opportunities are profit making then surely you can borrow money to fund them without giving up the security of ownership.

I can see that being a leaseholder would have advantages if your business changes its space requirements regularly but if you stay put over the long term then you are transferring cash out of the business as rent and have less control.

I am not an accountant but the logic of selling assets - e.g. buildings - was always explained to me when I asked the question was "to free up cash to invest in good profit making opportunities" In this case the extra thousands of Premier Inn rooms, including new sites.

Part 3 (sell and lease back) only makes sense to accountants. Someone has to own the building and make a return on it, hotels don't move location very often so what is the point of having a landlord vs. being an owner occupier?

You aren't so far from the Antartic Willy.

Hobart as "the gateway" to the Antarctic.

Whales agree, and they're giving clues as they travel there.

"Crossbows and eerie silences – following Antarctic whales for climate change clues"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj770nrx0x9o

I'll bet they get the hump 😉 though, with the bloody human interference.

...

" -- will be interesting to see what they are doing although we dont eat there --"

Perhaps exactly Trev why they are converting catering spaces to rooms.😉

Many people go and 'stay', but don't eat where they stay.

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Whitbread has downsized its operations to pivot into a "pure-play" hotel business, phasing out its underperforming casual dining brands to doubl...

Reading back through this Les, you have mentioned that you have to remove a fuel line at the carbs to get the fuel up after being empty----
Does your car have the little strainers behind the needle valves---maybe they're blocked if you have them