It's a long time since Newton & Ridley was mention in the pub, or the area manager.
"Newton and Ridley put The Rovers Return up for sale. Possible owners were the Duckworths and Jim (Charles Dawson) and Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard). Liz had run The Queens Pub in 1993 for the company. Though they had lived through financial hardship for much of their lives, Jack came into a large inheritance gained from the death of Jack's brother Cliff and sister-in-law Elsie in a car crash. Combined with the money made from selling No. 9, Jack and Vera had the cash ahead of the McDonalds and were allowed to buy The Rovers Return. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovers_Return_Inn