Trade levels are static in the wake of new hours

Seldom has a piece of new legislation been greeted with so much anticipation and the promise of such dramatic change.

But the radical overhaul of the nation's drinking laws has had a low-profile beginning, defying the expectations and dire warnings of both the Act's supporters and its many critics.

Pubs and clubs alike say that increased drinking opportunities have so far failed to have much impact on trading levels. But the many who predicted a virtual orgy of drunken disorder on the streets have also been forced to eat their words.

In short, the Licensing Act 2003 has not had anything like the impact the trade wanted or some parts of the media feared.

Many premises report that they are currently only using their new hours at weekends and, although they are trading well on Fridays and Saturdays, the signs are that customers are coming out later and total spending per head has not increased. In general, the level of trade is static.

Licensees and operators believe that the arrival of Christmas halfway through the new hours' "induction period" has muddied the waters. The majority are waiting for a clean period of trading through February and March before making their first considered assessment of the new regime.

Others believe it will take until the summer, or even longer, before the trade can make any considered judgement that allows them to set out a long-term trading strategy.

Nevertheless, interesting movements of people and trading nuances are beginning to emerge and it has become clear that the new laws are set to witness an intensified battle between pub and nightclub operators in their efforts to capture customers.

Both sectors are reviewing their marketing and retail strategies to entice business through their doors, with nightclubs acutely conscious that rival pubs can offer real competition now many are permitted to remain open into the small hours.

The clubs know they have to devise ways of persuading punters into their premises much earlier in the evening and are using enticements such as free entrance and discounted offers.

For their part, pubs realise they are charged with the task of holding their early-evening visitors with an attractive retail package that dissuades them from finishing off their night out in a club.

New hours let shift-workers enjoy pub hospitality

Barrow-in-Furness licensee Mike Fallon is one of the few hosts to cash in on new pub trading hours.

Fallon, who runs the Wheatsheaf in the centre of the Cumbrian town, says his weekday takings are 25% up thanks to shift workers from the nearby BAe Systems factory.

Nightshift-workers down tools at midnight, with many heading for Fallon's pub.

"I have a 3am licence and did not really intend to use it this late, [that is] until the factory shift-times changed.

"Workers approached me and asked whether I would be open when they knocked off at midnight. I agreed to serve them until 2am and they all jumped at the chance," Fallon says.

"I think this situation was always something the new laws were designed to address, as before the hours changed, these people would have been forced to go into the town centre to a fun pub with music and a late-hours permit.

"It's made a tremendous difference to my trade," he says.High-spenders reject clubs in favour of pubs

One nightclub boss has already detected a distinct change in the patterns displayed by customers in response to the new hours.

Jason Bennett, who runs three clubs in Lincolnshire - Cactus Jacks and After Dark at Boston, and the Havana Club at Sleaford - revealed many older customers were electing to remain in pubs, while some were arriving at clubs much later in the evening.

Bennett says younger customers were still coming in the same numbers but had less disposable income than their 30-year-old and older counterparts.

"I would say our trade from the younger end has gone up by about 3% but we are more than 10% down in sales to older customers.

"I think we have got to devise ways of getting people into our premises earlier in the evening and that means reduced or free entry, together with drinks' price promotions," he says.