Licensees get organised

Does the industry really need another trade body? That was inevitably the initial reaction of some to new trade body the Society of Licensees. But dig deeper into the group and a genuine germ of a good idea becomes apparent.

Fed up with negative media portrayals of alcohol and pubs in general, and other trade bodies claiming to speak for individual licensees, the folks behind the society set about doing something about it. Their aim is to challenge the mainstream media's idea of the industry - and shout about all the positive things pubs do.

But how did this all come about? The group' main organiser, Ed Davies, licensee of Kilvert's Inn, a freehouse in Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, explains it was a series of events that triggered the idea.

"I read a blog on The Publican's website by Chris Maclean and then another one by Caroline Nodder about the trade needing an independent voice. Then I spoke to some other licensees about it - Mark Daniels and Mitch Adams - and we decided we should do something."

Ed says he feels frustrated when he sees groups like the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) speaking for the entire industry in the media. "I've never been surveyed by the BBPA, so they don't know what I think," he says.

Ed set about teaching himself how to build a basic website and three weeks later, the Society of Licensees site was born. So far, the group is in its infancy, with only 30 members signed up, but Ed said that figure would hopefully hit around 500, then the group can start to make progress. "With 30 members nobody will take much notice, but what I'm hoping is that people will get a feel for what we're doing and sign up," he says.

Balancing act​

Though the group wants to take a positive approach to the industry, Ed said he wanted to address what he regards as the imbalance of reporting on pub and alcohol issues in the national media. "There's never any balance in these articles, when they are quoting people like Professor Nutt," said Ed. "The health bodies get a lot of headlines and people don't bother to check the details, like overall alcohol consumption levels are falling. It's lazy journalism.

"We are not saying that binge-drinking is a good thing, but there should be a voice from the other side - and at least a distinction between the on-trade and the off-trade."

Once the group gets going properly, Ed hopes to start collecting a bit of money from members for PR activity. This might include taking an advert out in a national newspaper showing what great pubs are all about. "We need to show that pubs are clean, welcoming places where people can have a great time and celebrate things like Mother's Day - and are not the smoky boozer of old," he said. But he added: "This depends on the attitude of licensees. If we can get a large group of licensees to sign up, we can then use this to add weight to press releases. When we are large enough though and start asking for contributions, there will be complete transparency in our accounts."

However, the group will be run very much on democratic principles, says Ed. And if this means members want to fight for the smoking ban to be overturned, so be it.

The group will run regular surveys on its website to get a bellwether of licensee opinion. "If everyone says let's fight on the smoking ban, we are open to that," said Ed.

"But at the moment members seem most keen on changing the negative media image of pubs. It's about focusing on the positives. For me the smoking ban was not the death of pubs and we're about looking at the next stage of evolution."

Doing it for themselves​

Ed is still a little sketchy on how the group will run, but hopes that it will operate in a co-operative type way. "The idea is to tap into members' skills," he said. "For example, Mark Daniels has skills in IT and we hope we can get someone with PR skills. Publicans have a very diverse set of skills, so hopefully we can do a lot of stuff in-house."

Mark, Publican blogger and licensee at the Tharp Arms in Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, who is helping promote the group, stresses it is not setting up as a rival to other trade bodies. "The Society of Licensees doesn't aim to compete with other trade groups, but rather work with them to ensure that the true thoughts of the pub trade are understood," he said.

Reaction from other trade bodies has already been positive (see box). And respected industry observer and Publican columnist Pete Brown has also given his backing to the group, despite initial misgivings. "Originally I was alarmed at the idea of yet another trade body - as if we don't have enough already," he said. "But having read through the idea in a bit more detail it does seem like a good one."

So lots of positive vibes thus far - let's just hope that feeling lasts. It's a brave move, but a refreshing, open-minded and level-headed approach will certainly help the group achieve its aims. As Pete puts it: "Maybe sometimes people do just need the right environment to encourage them to be a little more positive."