Tenants urged to use pubco resources more

Huge numbers of tenants and lessees are failing to make the most of the resources they have available to them through their pub companies.

That was a key theme to emerge from the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers' first ever Ops Academy for pubco operations managers.

Area managers and business development managers from companies ranging from Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns to 27-pub managed operator Thorley Taverns attended the event, at Brandon Hall near Coventry.

And they were agreed that their challenge for them was to ensure that licensees took up the options available to them - ranging from point of sale to major refurbishment work.

"The big pub companies can spend anything as long as there's a strong business plan for it," said one delegate. "But not enough licensees want to make the most of that."

Pubcos in England and Wales are particularly keen to develop pubs in the months leading up to the smoking ban. "We were asked a long time ago to survey every site and come up with a proposed solution for the smoking ban," said another manager.

Another delegate bemoaned the fact that only 30 per cent of his licensees used the company's point-of-sale catalogue - yet others thought this was a remarkably good take-up.

The managers agreed that their pubcos were only as good as the service they gave their licensees - and that if they gave them good customer service, they could expect to see it in their licensees.

But many said they would give tenants and lessees better service if their areas included 30 pubs rather than the average of around 50.

"The vast majority of licensees are trying to do the right thing - my role is to help them do it," said one delegate. "But that's difficult with 50 pubs."