Focus Midlands: Middle kingdom
I don't know anyone who calls themselves a Midlander - the region, as a whole, doesn't have that emotive identity. Yet everyone who lives here is fiercely proud of their own city, town, village or community.
The Midlands is a barometer of opinion across the country. Stand in any Midlands pub and listen to the chatter around you and you'll have a fair idea where the country is heading.
The Midlands is the backbone of the country. It lives up to its history and reputation for leading the way as we continue to improve, innovate and develop. The West Midlands was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, after all.
The wider area has provided such diverse products as dictionaries, cotton wool, sparkplugs, stamps and the jet engine, and it is the capital of UK motorsport. It's also raised visionaries, achievers and authors including John Bunyan, Isaac Newton, John Wesley and Paula Radcliffe. The Midlands is even responsible for Robin Hood and Margaret Thatcher!
Development in the area continues apace and excellent transport links draw significant investment, particularly from major supply chain companies. And while consumer confidence reflects the mood of the rest of the country, there is, perhaps, more hope in the Midlands than elsewhere. According to a leading mortgage provider, while average house prices in the UK dropped by 2.5 per cent in March 2008, the East Midlands recorded a rise of 2.2 per cent - the highest in the country.
Little wonder that, despite the usual batch of takeovers and mergers, we can still boast an abundance of national, family and microbreweries together with a clutch of pub companies and a diverse range of pubs.
According to the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, eight new breweries opened in the region last year and 101 Midlands pubs appeared in the guide for the first time.
Trade conditions are no easier here than in the rest of the country, but there's a spirit of tenacity and perseverance here that makes us determined to succeed.
Since monks first discovered that Burton well water was ideal for brewing ales back in 1002AD, we've known that we have a responsibility to maintain the tradition and expertise of brewing and selling beers.
And it's a responsibility we take very seriously. For instance, Wells & Young's uses its own accredited natural mineral water in the brewing process, Everards has developed the Cyclops tasting notes and here at Charles Wells Pub Company we are even educating the French palate to the superior taste of English beer through our growing estate in France.
To cater for the range of tastes, preferences and trends encountered across the Midlands you need to plan ahead but be prepared to think on your feet. We can't afford to stand still, nor do we want to. And we stand by the time-honoured basics of good business whatever community we operate in - identify your customers and what they want, work hard and concentrate on providing excellent quality and service.
- Anthony Wallis is managing director of Bedford-based Charles Wells Pub Company
