Promoting standards and quality

Operations director Tom Dempsey says the whole company ethos is to "serve a fine pint in a good pub". But "catering is obviously a growing part of our retail business and we are seeing sales increase all the time," he reports. "Our food sales are currently running at £1m per year and on top of that we have franchised food operations in a number of houses."

Holt's is investing £4m in its pub estate this year, which will see half the money spent on refurbishments and the other half on more major capital-improvement schemes.

The typical Holt's pub retains all the standards and the quality that have been their hallmark over the years. Solid mahogany wood fittings, ornate designs, mirrors and brass provides the distinctive backdrop that makes their pubs stand out from the rest.

Pub managers still tend to visit the brewery on a Monday, after banking the weekend takings, to sort out problems with management and discuss the general state of trade. "It keeps our head office in touch with the estate in practical terms and retains the personal touch," explains Dempsey.

Tied-trade business accounts for 85% of Holt's brewing volumes, but the 15% of free-trade business is growing, and pubcos are accounting for an increasing volume of business.

But it is beer that still does the company's talking and inevitably the focus returns to the hogsheads. Officially there is no exact record of how many there are on the brewery inventory, but in the words of one late-lamented brewery chairman: "If you've one left in the yard on Christmas Eve you've got enough."