The agent Neil Morgan, Head of pubs, Christie+Co

The news that Laurel Pub Company, owned by Robert Tchenguiz, has called in insolvency specialist Kroll to handle a "pre-packaged" administration is a wake-up call for the first wave of operators who entered the high-street pub market at the start of the decade.

The Yates's, Slug & Lettuce and Litten Tree brands, subsequently acquired by Laurel, were at the forefront of the frenetic activity surrounding the "boy meets girl" market in the early 2000s.

Willingness of operators to pay hefty pound-per-sq-ft rents with upward rent review patterns for wet-led sites at that time has come back to haunt them, leaving them exposed to the double impact of increasing rents and the smoking ban.

The predicament faced by these companies has been amplified by a more eclectic mix of operators entering town and city centres, and a growing move to a more Continental approach, with the balance moving from wet-led sites to food-led venues. However, the approach taken by these original entrants has not been repeated by the next wave of companies moving into the same market.

The Barracuda Group entered the market concentrating on securing lower rents and, in contrast to Laurel's problems, recently published yearly results, showing a 12% rise in underlying profits and 16% growth in sales.

Inventive Leisure, which operates more than 50 sites under its vodka-bar brand Revolution, is also proving to be a high-street success story. It expects to open between six and 10 Revolutions a year, and has already secured sites to open this year in Edinburgh and Wigan.

However, deals are taking place — Young's has recently acquired three city-centre sites from Mitchells & Butlers for a reported sum of about £7.5m, while Barracuda plans to open 25 new pubs this year.

Successful operators will be those whose approach is flexible and who are able to mould and develop their offers and concept in line with the ever-changing high-street mix.