I leave you with 10 industry plus points
1. Food
The quality and variety of pub-food offers gets better year by year. Pubs, especially managed pubs, have had a pretty good recession as consumers have often traded down from pricier restaurants.
2. The smoking ban
Some pubs were at risk of finding themselves in a demographic cul de sac, reliant on a declining customer base of smokers. The introduction of a ban was painful — and has been a final nail for some venues — but the industry had to swallow this painful medicine to move its offer on.
3. The tenanted pubcos’ focus on operations
The recession and the pressure on the tenanted model, both political and commercial, has produced more innovation and flexibility among the pubcos. At long last, there is flexing of the tie, companies applying managed expertise to their tenanted pubs and the real stirrings of lease innovation. This has much further to go, but a start has been made.
4. The growth of the freehouse market
After many years of decline, this market is adding pubs as sites drop out of the major pubcos. In many cases, it has meant the first real investment in a decade or more at sites where the pubcos could not justify capital investment.
5. A voice for pub operators
For too long, there has been a vacuum around proper representation of the trade. The two natural trade organisations for representing the voice of licensees are becoming more ambitious. The BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) has stepped forward to place itself more at the centre of the issues affecting individual licensees. And the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers is now picking up some momentum.
6. The expansion of multi-site expertise
A dynamic, innovative group of 250 multi-site companies applying a high standard of retail expertise to more and more sites has emerged. And let’s not forget, very many of them got their start thanks to the cheap entry made possible through the tenanted model.
7. The microbrewers running pubs
The stimulus to microbrewing achieved through progressive beer duty has had a beneficial overspill in the pub sector. We’ve counted more than 200 microbrewers now running pubs.
8. Managed pubs
This part of the sector is in growth. It means that there’s research and development, and thousands of staff getting rigorous training and development.
9. Training
More generally, training in the sector has improved and is getting better.
10. Service
More and more, I come across better engagement from staff in pubs. Hospitality, by which I mean warmth and proper service, is our ace-up-the-sleeve and has improved dramatically in 10 years.
It’s been an honour and privilege editing this magazine. My successor, Rob Willock, arrives with a wealth of experience — and I’m sure you are in safe hands.
