A £4m project to develop 200 beer gardens and patios in the Wolverhampton & Dudley managed estate has produced a significant sales lift.
The project, which involved an average investment of £20,000 at each of the pubs, has led to 5% higher sales growth than in the rest of the estate. A total of 98 pubs had patio and beer-garden improvements between January and June 2004. A further 100 pubs underwent similar improvements in the first four months of this year.
The initiative follows a decision to 'maximise assets in the Pathfinder estate, where aver-age weekly turnover is about £12,000. Derek Andrew, managing director of Pathfinder, said: 'Fundamentally, we've got smaller pubs than some other operators in terms of square footage. The challenge was: how do you turn smaller pubs into bigger pubs without massive planning issues? The biggest potential trading area is outside, so the idea was to extend the summer artificially.
The average £20,000 budget covers installation of seating, lighting and giant umbrellas, which can be curtain-sided to create semi-enclosed areas. Table service has also been introduced.
'The point is to provide Continental-style table service where you wouldn't expect to get such a high level of comfort, said Andrew.
Pathfinder is also experimenting with plasma screens placed inside the pub but visible from the beer gardens.
'We are looking carefully at the potential of our patios in the event of a complete smoking ban, Andrew added.
It is expected that a further 30 to 40 pubs will undergo patio improvements next year.
Profile page 14