Pub disasters: the will to survive

With natural disasters dominating the news, we look at licensees who have survived their own catastrophes. How do you recover from a fire or flood? Not to mention discovering asbestos, or deathwatch beetles eating your floors? Noli Dinkovski finds out.

If Andy Ward hadn't been awake at 2am on that fateful night in March, he and five others would almost certainly have died. Ward knows just how lucky he, his wife Maria and their guests were after a youth mindlessly set fire to a car outside the Talbot Inn last year, causing flames to engulf the Jacobean building in Ledbury, Herefordshire, in a matter of seconds.

"Thankfully I was up late, smelt the smoke and was able to get everyone out in the nick of time," reflects Ward. "We lost everything in the fire — all our personal possessions, our business and our home."

From such a dire situation, however, the Wards managed to turn their fortunes around and the Talbot was back up and running in just four months. "The insurance company made us jump through hoops to get what we were entitled to," says Ward. "But the brewery — we're a Wadworth-managed house — was superb, even renting a cottage for us in the town."

The Wards' story, of course, is far from unique — it's one of many where courageous licensees have worked tirelessly to bring life back to pubs devastated by disasters such as fires and floods. But that's not forgetting those who have saved pubs from dereliction, or who have been brave enough to take on outlets tarnished with terrible reputations. If these stories prove anything, it's that there are still plenty of devoted people in this much-maligned industry.

Amongst the most dramatic events to hit the trade in recent times were the floods of 2007. Few will forget the drama, which changed the lives of so many, in areas including Tewkesbury, Sheffield and Hull. Sadly, the ordeal was repeated in Cumbria last November, when the Rivers Cocker and Derwent rose and flooded much of central Cockermouth.

According to Joe Fagan, licensee at the Bush in the town centre, the flood came completely out of the blue. "Even when water started coming through the door at 2.45pm, we didn't think it would get much worse," says Fagan. "By 5pm we were thigh-deep in it, and by 6pm we just had to get out."

Everything on the ground floor was destroyed, leaving the Jennings lessee "completely numb" for the following three months. Thankfully, help was on hand from the brewery.

"Jennings threw its full corporate weight into moving things along quickly, from the insurance company to the designers," says Fagan. "It was a situation where all parties worked exceptionally well together and talked things through on a daily basis."

One of the biggest hurdles came when the local council opposed the idea of replacing the original wooden floor with a concrete one. "Because we are in a conservation area, the council weren't keen on the change," explains Fagan. "Mercifully, the contractors did a great job of convincing them a concrete floor was a necessary measure should the place ever flood again."

Fagan is, of course, hoping such an event will not happen again. Despite having reopened in time for the May Day weekend, he says life in Cockermouth is far from back to normal.

"There are still around 30 commercial properties and 100 homes in need of refurbishment," he says. "It's very much a tourist-oriented town, and visitor numbers have been down. We still have to work extremely hard just to keep the business ticking along."

But many pubs haven't been quite so successful at surviving adversity. The pub trade's well-documented problems in recent years have led to a record number of closures, with many pubs having fallen into a state of disrepair. To some eagle-eyed opportunists, however, these derelict outlets have great potential for investment.

Turn around​

When Richard and Loren Pope took on the Punch-owned Bulls Head in Repton, Derbyshire in 2007, it was in a terrible state. Three and a half years on, they were crowned BII Licensees of the Year.

"Regardless of the condition of the building, we knew the site was the right size and the area had the right demographics — they were the deal-breakers," explains Richard Pope. "It's easier to impose your own vision on a pub that's nothing more than a shell than on one that's still trading."

Still, the renovation work presented a huge challenge. "We were faced with almost every building problem you could think of — our drains had collapsed, rewiring was needed, and deathwatch beetles had eaten through all the floors, so you could see right through to the ceiling," says Pope. "Such things are very difficult to budget against."

Pope's best piece of advice to anyone considering taking on a premises in a similar condition is to plan ahead as much as you can before building work begins. "Start by thinking about what you want the offer to be. Break it literally down to what should be on the menu, and then build the business plan around that," he says.

"Then work out your margins, negotiate with your suppliers, sort out your website — basically do as many things as possible, as early as possible. Once you get on site, you'll find yourself dealing with so many day-to-day issues, you won't have time for these other things."

Urban & Country Leisure (U&C) founder Ross Sanders also advocates the plan-ahead approach. U&C specialises in resurrecting run-down and derelict sites, and has acquired 14 sites in its two-year existence.

Its biggest job so far has been the Greyhound in Finchampstead, Berkshire. "With the Greyhound we saw a massive opportunity," says Sanders. "With the right capital investment, the sky's the limit."

Sanders, who has worked in the pub trade since he was 16, says the most uncertain time with any renovation comes in the first three to four weeks. The largest, most unexpected costs can arise at this time, so it's vital to have enough funds in place.

"We realised how important it was to have the key utilities in place from day one," he says. "For example, many old pubs rely on 100-amp or 200-amp single-phase electrics, but most modern equipment needs a three-phase power supply. It will take the electricity board at least 16 weeks to upgrade this, and they will charge you anything from £15,000 to £40,000 for the privilege."

At U&C's latest renovation project, the Globe Hotel — soon to be renamed the Lazy Cow — in Warwick, large amounts of asbestos have been found. "Asbestos is terrible to deal with," says Sanders. "Legally you have to get a specialist team to remove it. That comes at a huge cost, and takes two to four weeks."

Budgeting​

Given the minefield of hidden costs and time delays, Sanders believes your contingency pot should be as big as possible. "Without wanting to be a prophet of doom and gloom, you need to learn to plan for the worst-case scenarios," he says.

Major renovations require major investment — the Greyhound cost £850,000 to fit out, and the Globe is a £1.1m project — but Sanders says those with smaller pots of cash to play with shouldn't be deterred. "Not all pubs are in such a bad state of disrepair. You can easily take a closed pub, refurbish it and turn it into a roaring success — all for just £150,000," he says.

And for anyone wishing to take the tenanted or leasehold route, Sanders believes there's no harm in asking the property owner for help. "Many people don't realise just how willing pub owners are these days," he says. "Go and knock on their doors and see what opportunities are there — they don't want their pub closed any more than you do."

Tenants Michael and Dawn Dormer managed to secure a "very favourable" rent agreement with brewer Elgood when they took on the Reindeer in Norwich earlier this year. Given the Reindeer had a poor reputation and a long line of previous licensees — the last tenant stuck it out a mere 18 days — the Dormers had a lot of bargaining power.

Their first move was to plainly tell a few of the more undesirable clientele they weren't welcome any more. "The pub ha