Police now slower to respond says Kinsey
Paul Kinsey, the former First Leisure chief executive who runs nightclub company Nexum, claims police are taking longer to respond to calls than under the old licensing regime.
Kinsey says that more pubs opening later in satellite town and suburbs mean police are having to cover wider geographic areas late at night. He said: "These areas are having to be policed later, which has delayed response times.
"We have to deploy staff around the premises so it means employing more doorstaff for more hours." The nightclub boss added that staff had also noticed an increase in the use of fake ID.
Licensing reform had also led to more customers, especially girls, arriving at clubs in a more drunken state, according to Kinsey. He thinks there has been a definite increase in drinking cheap supermarket alcohol at home at the start of the evening.
Overall, Nexum was "beating the market" with the first increase in spend-per-head at its nightclubs in five years. The later arrival at clubs - between 11.30pm and 12.15am rather than between 11pm and 11.30pm - meant many missed out on discounted entry.
Nexum clubs were placing a greater emphasis on entertainment to ensure customers would pay the full door charge. "Operators are having to up their game in terms of entertainment to make themselves a must-visit attraction rather than a might-visit attraction," Kinsey said.
"And when a nightclub is offering better entertainment it doesn't need to discount its drinks."
Kinsey confirmed a general trend towards a reduction in Friday-night custom. "Friday nights are a wet-led occasion and there's more chance that customers will stay local now on a night where most people aren't planning a 4am finish."
l Gatecrasher, the nightclub company where Paul Kinsey serves as chairman, has opened two new sites. In Nottingham, it has opened Media, a 1,400-capacity leasehold site formerly operated by Mean Fiddler. In Watford, it has acquired a 1,700-capacity venue. Both sites will eventually be rebranded as Gatecrasher.
