UK: Beer firm spends �4 mil on smokers

London Pride brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner has said it is spending �4m to cater for customers forced out of its pubs by England's smoking ban, BBC announced June 8.

Money will be spent on improving the outside areas of its premises - and on erecting canopies, large umbrellas, and "more permanent structures".

The ban on smoking in enclosed public places, which already applies in the rest of the UK, begins on 1 July.

Fuller's announced a pre-tax profit up 23% to �22.1m in the year to March 31.

This did not include the contribution of its rival beer and pub company, Gales, bought in 2005, which took the profit up to �42.3m before tax.

At the end of March, Fuller's had 201 tenancies, 156 managed pubs and six hotels.