15 years ago: 2011
In the month that the Government confirmed plans to allow pubs to sell beer in two-third pints measures, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson marked his 20th anniversary with the group, and Mitchells & Butlers introduced its pub finder app, notably before Google Maps had been launched on the iPhone!
While the Government deliberated extending licensing hours for the impending Royal Wedding, it was revealed that wholesale drinks prices from major suppliers would grow up to 7p per pint, with many blaming rising production costs, VAT hikes and duty increases.
The cold weather of December 2010 impacted sales across the pub sector, with analysis of the sales patterns across 17 major chains including Mitchells & Butlers and Whitbread finding that trading was down 4.2% in December, compared with the same month in 2009.
Enterprise Inns (which was acquired by Stonegate in March 2020) predicted that frosty weather had cost the business around £2m over the 16 weeks to 15 January. The same month, Enterprise sold the freeholds of 29 London pubs to Max Property Group for £42.56m, and a week later announced it would be auctioning off 11 of its pubs in Wales.
Stonegate and Town & City Pub Company announced that merger talks were ‘progressing well’ - this was later approved in June 2011 creating a 550-strong managed company.
Finally, primary school pupils were taught to act drunk in a bid to highlight the dangers of consuming alcohol. A drama initiative saw 10-year-olds act out scenarios where drinking got out of hand at weddings, nightclubs and among teens in parks. At the time, the project’s organisers said it showed the children that getting drunk was not “cool” and warned youngsters not to bow to peer pressure.
10 years ago: 2016
In January 2016, one fifth of beer drinkers said they would not be willing to pay more than £2.99 per pint, amid struggling lager sales owing to increasing competition from ales and bitters.
The month saw contactless spending almost double in pubs and bars after the limit rose from £20 to £30 in the September prior.
The same month, the world’s largest brewer, AB InBev, announced plans to provide full nutritional information on its beers. The group began changes in 2016, with the aim of providing the information on at least 80% of its European beer volumes by the end of 2017.
The change came after a survey conducted by IPSOS Mori for AB InBev revealed that UK consumers have limited knowledge of calorie levels in beer with less than one in five claiming to be aware of them.
Business rates were also on the agenda, with proposed changes to the appeals system criticised as “unhelpful” and a “missed opportunity for meaningful reform”.
Star Pubs announced that Lawson Mountstevens would take on the role of MD – where he remains today –, with Chris Jowsey (now Admiral Taverns’ CEO) appointed as director of on-trade.
The same month, it was announced that plastic £5 and £10 notes would be introduced, with pubs across the UK advised by the BBPA on recognising the new notes and their security features.
Finally, Nottingham’s Castle Rock Brewery created what it claimed to be the first beer and wine hybrid to be produced in cask, and Icelandic company Stedji microbrewery revealed how to make its beer using whale testicles and sheep dung.
5 years ago: 2021
In the month after the rollout of the first Covid vaccine, prime minister Boris Johnson announced a third national lockdown. A number of hospitality operators put their venues forward as vaccination hubs, including BrewDog’s then chief executive James Watt and Loungers boss Alex Reilley.
The Government announced one-off grants of up to £9k for pubs during lockdown 3.0, which were welcomed by the trade alongside calls for further support. However, it was later reported that half of the grants promised to pub companies in November 2020 had still not been paid.
During the same month, the Government said pubs should not serve takeaway drinks during the lockdown. Trade bodies including UKHospitality and the Campaign for Real Ale pressed for a reversal of the decision, arguing it would allow pubs to generate some income from alcohol sales.
Due to Covid restrictions, pub operators reported thousands of pounds worth of wasted stock, which went out of date or had to be thrown away.
Calls to overturn the takeaway alcohol ban were echoed by MPs, with Flick Drummond writing to the business secretary to describe the restriction as “unfair”, highlighting that pubs and breweries were unable to trade effectively while supermarkets could continue selling alcohol.
January 2021 also saw JD Wetherspoon make 378 employees redundant, with chairman Tim Martin stating that the Covid-19 outbreak had had “a severe impact on the UK pub sector”.
Data from CGA and AlixPartners showed that around 6,000 licensed premises closed in 2020, almost three times the number recorded in 2019.
In more positive news, the month saw Gerry Carroll and Mark McGinty, co-founders of Hawthorn, alongside James Croft, former group strategy and retail director at Ei Group, launch new pubco Valiant Pub Company, which today operates more than 90 pubs.
