We’re kicking off 2025 with a visit to York on Wednesday 19 March - a city steeped in history with plenty of iconic landmarks alongside a blend of traditional pubs and lively bars.
Built on 2000 years of history, the city has more attractions per square mile than anywhere else in the UK, according to Visit York.
We’ll be hearing from local operators and experts about the York market. Andrew Pern, who runs a number of venues including the Star Inn at Harome and the Star Inn the City; Pivovar’s Jamie Hawksworth and Sarah Loftus of Visit York will highlight the challenges and opportunities of the historic city.
Operator views
Are you in the club?
The MA Leaders Club is open to multi-site pub operators and meets three times a year around the country for a day of business-focused presentations from top experts and operators/owners. The day is following by an evening study tour of new and exciting venues. If you're interested in joining and attending this top event, sign up here.
Fellow operators Martin Wolstencroft of Arc Inspirations and Tokyo Industries' Aaron Mellor will be giving their view on how they see the current pub and bar sector.
Various business changes and increased costs are set to hit the trade from April and we’ll be finding out what the Government has in store for us and if they’re actually listening to the industry from UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls.
With those rising costs including employment, top HR directors will be giving their thoughts on how to manage the situation.
Furthermore, there’s a growing movement for cutting back on the working week and the employee benefit that offers.
Expert insight
Richard Gordon of the Greedy Gordon Group and Jen Thompson of Crate Brewery have trialled the scheme and they’ll be joined by Sam Hunt from the 4 Day Week Foundation about how it works.
Elsewhere, OMNE’s Anna Massey will be discussing how operators can unlock Generation Z while outgoing Everards boss Stephen Gould will share his thoughts and insights from the top of the trade and where he sees the market moving.
We’ll also be hearing from beer experts Edd Simpson from SALT, Martin Entwistle from Laine and Signature Brewing’s Tom Botts about how to recharge and engage the category with younger consumers.
