City Diary: 15 January

Wetherspoon's publicity bonanza

The JD Wetherspoon decision to sell Greene King IPA for 99p was perfectly judged in public relations terms, wasn't it? There were front-page mentions in The Times and The Sun, plus coverage in the BBC One news bulletins. The story has appeared in 120 regional newspapers and public relations supremo Eddie Gershon, below, who has been handling Wetherspoon's public relations for 18 years, was interviewed on 35 radio stations. Not surprisingly, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin is understood to have been delighted by the coverage.

He's alright is that Giles Thorley​

Last week, City Diary reported how Punch boss Giles Thorley, left, told MPs that Punch licensee Denis Griffiths, of the Miner's Rest, Barnsley, right, would attest to fairness of the rent-review process. So it's over to Denis. "There have been several cases where situations have been resolved to both sides' satisfaction after he got involved," he says. "If he can help, he will help. I've always found him a very fair man to deal with. In his Unique days, I took information on rents to a licensee forum — and a few days afterwards rents were softened across the company."

Always look on the bright side​

Geronimo Inns boss Rupert Clevely has an effective answer to the problems linked to the shaky economy — all mention of them is verboten. "We've banned use of the words 'credit' and 'crunch' among staff," says Clevely. "My office is now known as the 'happy house'. Staff can only come in if they have something positive to say. I'm fed up with all the doom and gloom."

Opportunity knocks​

Tony Brookes, boss of five-strong Head of Steam, has fought a heroic battle against supermarket beer prices with all manner of discounts and promotions. The energetic Brookes seems to be enjoying the success his efforts deserve. Sales at his pubs increased by 4% over the last four months of 2008 compared to the same period the year before. "A lot of people may choose to look at the pub market as a cause for doom and gloom, but I see it as a time of opportunity," Brookes said. "Don't get me wrong — 2009 will be a terrible time for those pubs that were already experiencing problems before the credit crunch. However, for businesses such as ours that are in good financial shape, the new year should be a time for expansion with a number of properties coming to the market."

Go, Tony.

Cheap and cheerful​

Nexum boss Paul Kinsey adopted supermarket-style loss-leader tactics to get punters in to Escapade in Newport. Kinsey said his £5 all-inclusive deal ran at a loss for five weeks to "create some noise" about the venue. The price has now jumped to £7 or customers can pay £10 for access to a premium range of drinks. The £5 deal is only available by booking and paying online in advance. Nexum starts to make money around £7.50. "Most people upgrade to £10," said Kinsey. "I don't think it's irresponsible. You could hire a caravan with a group of friends for a holiday and get drunk on cheap supermarket booze every night for a week for less than £60. We don't create the market — we just respond."

Signs of the times​

Admiral Taverns maximises its chances of selling pubs by not giving specific instructions to any single agent. The practice has caused eyebrows to rise at one Derbyshire pub, the Coach & Horses in Loscoe. It has four different estate agents' signs outside, plus an Admiral Taverns' "To Let" sign. Julian Tubbs, Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) regional co-ordinator, said: "This is the first time I've heard of five signs." It's yours for £170,000, plus VAT.

Supermarket sweeps up pub​

Greene King's had a very good offer from Tesco to buy the Windsor Castle in Carlton, Nottingham, so it can expand its nearby supermarket — again. The current Windsor Castle is a new building after the first phase of the Tesco store led to the original's demolition. The deal means that Greene King can carry on running the pub until April 2010. One local Camra member sees an irony. Spyke Golding, chairman of Nottingham Camra, says: "I don't feel it needs expanding. A bigger Tesco will only affect more pubs by selling more cheap beer."

Liverpool pubs buck the trend​

Talk of pub closures can get over-heated. Twelve Liverpool venues closed in 2008, but another 15 opened, meaning there are currently 948 pubs and bars in the city, according to CGA figures.

An orchid by any other name​

Now Orchid Pub Company has gone into administration, is the new company that bounded out of administration still called, er, Orchid? A source says: "The Companies House registered name is Orchid(15)II. For all intents and purposes it's still called Orchid." It's definitely catchier than Orchid(15)11, isn't it?

Dragonfly boss breathes fire​

One Orchid pub left in administration that didn't bounce back to Punch Taverns was the Dragonfly, in Cheltenham — a rather lovely pub with a Thai food offer. The reason? City Diary speaks to "Roger", the owner of the building who bought the fixtures and fittings tout de suite from Orchid(15)II. "There's been a seamless transition — we have saved a listed building from being closed even though Orchid wanted far too much for the fixtures and fittings," he says.

The downside of top dollar​

Final word on Orchid Pub Co administration goes to a senior industry figure. Orchid owner GI Partners paid £571m to buy most of the company estate from Punch Taverns — it was a full £50m higher than the next bid. "The pubs were sold for such a huge sum, some were almost bound to come back at some stage," says the source. "But how could Punch tell its shareholders that it was going to accept a bid £50m lower?"

Coffee is the new beer​

Good to see Pub People Company, which runs 65 managed sites, climbing aboard the coffee train. It's partnered up with Coffee Republic to turn part of the Gatehouse on Upper Parliament Street into a branded area serving cappucinos and lattes rather than cask ales and lagers. Andrew Crawford, The Pub People Company operations director, said: "Coffee in pubs works reasonably well, but with the proliferation of branded coffee shops it hasn't met customer expectations. The Gatehouse is in an area of high footfall, not far from branches of Starbucks and Costa Coffee."