Marston’s stands out on tenant satisfaction

Overall the survey showed 62% of tenants were happy with the relationship with their pubco, however, Wolverhampton-based Marston’s achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 85%, up 12% on the previous year, while Greene King was up 8% at 75%. Punch also saw an impressive rise in satisfaction levels, with the highest increase of all the pubcos, up 13% to an overall score of 60%.

Meanwhile, Admiral, Star and Stonegate all saw falls, with Admiral falling 5% to 75%, Star also falling 5% to 55% and Stonegate down 9% to 50%.

The survey, which the PCA described as its largest yet, sought the opinions of 1,206 tied pub tenants, gauging their thoughts across a number of key metrics, from overall satisfaction to happiness with their type of tenancy agreement and relations with their business development managers to name a few.

The areas where tenants felt pub companies were performing best included fair and transparent treatment of tenants (with four in five tenants having said their BDM is fair with them in discussions), providing quick response times to concerns and issues raised, and the provision of information.

Research revealed

However, while 62% of respondents were currently satisfied, 19% remain actively unsatisfied on average. Typically, tenants with a tied lease agreement were least satisfied (56%), while tied tenancies, franchises and other similar types of agreements were leaving tenants more satisfied (67%). Tenants at Marston’s had the highest levels of satisfaction with their agreement (79%).

The PCA said a clear majority of new tenants felt they were being set up for success by their pub companies. The data indicated 86% of respondents whose tenancies started in the past two years found the information they received from their pub company to be useful, while 64% of new tenants found the sustainable business plan useful.

In particular, 94% of Marston’s tenants and 92% of Greene King tenants were satisfied with the information and materials provided to them at the start of their tenancies, suggesting the better prepared tenants were from the outset, the higher the likelihood they would be satisfied with their tenancies in the longer term.

Tenants were also asked a series of questions about their business development manager (BDM) and code compliance officer (CCO) and 81% of all surveyed tenants thought their BDM was fair and reasonable (up five percentage points on last year), with Greene King showing the highest increase from 77% satisfaction in 2022, to 88% this year, just below Marston’s at 92%. Star, Punch and Stonegate all performed better in this area than last year, with Star up to 83% from 75% and Punch up to 78% from 72%. Stonegate was at 73% compared to 71% last year.

Furthermore, 55% claimed they provide the requisite level of business planning support (down 1% on last year), with Marston’s (81%), Admiral (67%) and Greene King (67%)  all scoring above average.

Further work

Repair issues remain contentious though, with only 37% of tenants happy with the way their pubco manages repairs and dilapidations (although that was down 2% on last year), but the PCA said tenancy type could be driving this as tenants with a tied lease agreement recorded just 26% satisfaction, followed by tied tenancy (40%), and other types of agreement (51%).

There also remains work to be done when it comes to code compliance officers, with just one in four tenants able to name theirs.

Commenting on the survey findings, PCA Fiona Dickie said: “It’s encouraging to see overall tenant satisfaction is in line with last year’s survey, despite the increasingly challenging and demanding market conditions that continue to plague the industry. There is, of course, some way to go to improving this figure from 62%, with some individual pub companies having more work to do than others, but we’re confident that, with the PCA’s support, they will be able to increase this figure.

“While it’s certainly a positive such a high proportion of tenants are aware of the pubs code, at 84%, it is more concerning only 54% are aware of the PCA and the support we’re able to provide. The fact that only 37% of tenants are happy when it came to repairs and dilapidations at their pub is a core area of concern that needs to be analysed and improved upon, and is an example of something the PCA can help tenants with.

“It’s clear from the survey findings the tenants who are best prepared and made aware of their Pubs Code rights from the outset, are the ones that ultimately experience greater levels of satisfaction throughout their tenancies. At the end of the day, compliance with the code in a meaningful way is good for business, and we exist to ensure that tenants are happy so that they can run the most successful pubs possible for them and their pub company.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with the six largest pub companies, as well as their tenants, to help develop and enhance fair relationships across the board and ensure that all parties have got as much support and the requisite information they need to perform at the peak of their abilities.”