Independent pubs can help lead the recovery

Fun for the kids, but TLC Inns saw a £25,000 drop in expected sales after a strong previous week buoyed by the Christmas hangover fading and many being paid for the first time since December.

I guess if we are realistic it had to come, but the pub gods played their hand and, like the summer that never was, delivered it on the worst possible day of the week.

Onwards and upwards, I’m off to Portugal for golf winter training. Sounds great — alas I’m not the secret Tiger.

Holly, my 11-year-old daughter and Oliver, my seven-year-old son, will be honing their already amazing talents.

I digress, but Tiger and talent leads me into my current train of thought. This industry is full of hard-working, Tiger-like, talented people running independent pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and I think it’s time to shout about it.

Many towns and villages have lost their local shops, butchers, bakers and post offices. One report I saw put empty shops in some high streets at 20%, so it’s high time the fightback began.

With youth joblessness at record highs, it’s actually the independent pub that could make a massive contribution to the future growth of our country.

If we can improve our sales we may be able to create a feel-good factor and it could be a win-win. There are thousands of great independent British pubs and it’s time to join together to become the force of the recovery.

We could almost be the guiding light, the largest independent force, and frontrunners in producing the first green shoots. Let’s throw down the gauntlet to see if there are any PLCs out there who would get behind it.

If sponsors could be found and every independent pub displayed a banner saying ‘Support your independent pub and help create a job’, it will be a start, drawing attention not only to the business but pubs’ support for getting people back into work.

Maybe an iPhone app or poster campaign could be launched, and just think how cool a TV ad might be. Bringing together the talents of the industry may just have the desired effect — boosting business, boosting job creation and boosting the profile of the independent pub.

And for the companies that have supported this campaign, what a great PR opportunity, not just to get behind the core people that make the industry what it is today, but getting behind the country on its road to recovery.