15 years ago: 2011
October 2011 began with a milestone for pub food, as Tom Kerridge’s Hand & Flowers became the first British pub to win two Michelin stars. Three other pubs gained their first stars, taking the total number of Michelin starred pubs in 2011, to 13.
A raft of new rules also came into force, including a ban on cigarette vending machines, the introduction of two thirds pint “schooners” and a 50% duty cut for beers at or below 2.8% ABV. The minimum wage also rose to £6.08 an hour for over 21s.
Cost pressures remained intense, with InBev announcing a 7.8% wholesale price increase for brands including Stella Artois, Budweiser and Beck’s. Shepherd Neame also attacked rising beer duty after revealing its annual duty bill had climbed from £19.5m to £28.5m in four years.
Pub dealmaking continued, with Stonegate revealing its £370m acquisition of 333 Mitchells & Butlers pubs had been entirely funded by private equity backer TDR Capital after banks proved reluctant to lend.
Fuller’s also strengthened its London estate, paying £16m for five Marston’s pubs, including the Wellington at Waterloo and the Hand & Flower in Kensington, taking its estate to 365 sites.
Elsewhere, hospitality bodies united against proposals to increase some music royalty fees by as much as 4,000%, warning the changes could have a devastating impact on pubs, clubs and other venues.
10 years ago: 2016
October 2016 saw BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie change their names to Elvis by deed poll after Elvis Presley’s estate launched legal action over the brewer’s Elvis Juice IPA. The pair also offered a free half pint to anyone named Elvis.
Cost pressures were mounting, with licensees warning forthcoming business rates changes could force pubs out of business. Around a quarter of pubs were expected to see their rates increase following the 2017 revaluation.
Enterprise Inns, meanwhile, reached a milestone with the opening of its 100th managed pub, as it continued its shift beyond its traditional leased and tenanted model.
Major consolidation was also reshaping brewing. Asahi completed its acquisition of Miller Brands UK, bringing Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime into the newly created Asahi UK as part of a deal worth around £2bn.
The craft beer boom continued, with 181 new beer brands registered in the UK during 2015, taking the total to a record 1,666, up 43% in five years.
Elsewhere, a historic Gravesend pub was unexpectedly bulldozed before its demolition application had been determined, prompting anger from residents and an investigation by the council.
There was more positive news in Suffolk, where villagers raised £300,000 and had an offer accepted to buy the closed Duke of Marlborough after a 22 month campaign to bring their local into community ownership.
And in Staffordshire, a restaurant was fined almost £5,500 after repeatedly pouring cooking fat down its drains, blocking the sewer so badly that neighbouring businesses could no longer flush their toilets.
5 years ago: 2021
October 2021 saw one Cambridge wine merchant attempt the ultimate pub crawl, visiting 51 pubs in just under nine hours in a bid to break the Guinness World Record. Matt Ellis covered 15km and had a 125ml drink in each venue.
The wider picture was less positive. Almost 1,000 licensed venues closed between July and September, equivalent to around 16 a day, while the cultural night time sector had lost 86,000 jobs since 2019.
Costs were also rising, with the average price of a pint of draught lager reaching £3.88, up 9p in a year and 78p over the previous decade.
Pressure consequently mounted on the Government for further support. More than 200 hospitality bosses called for VAT to remain permanently at 12.5%, after the reduced rate increased from 5% at the start of October.
The month also brought new allergen rules under Natasha’s Law, requiring businesses to provide full ingredient labelling on food prepacked for direct sale.
There was some lasting change from the pandemic, with Westminster allowing pubs to apply for alcohol and food deliveries alongside their main business and retaining alfresco dining in parts of the borough.
The Autumn Budget delivered significant support for pubs, including a 50% business rates discount for a year, a freeze on alcohol duty and plans for a new 5% lower duty rate on draught beer and cider from 2023.
And in an environmental shift, Heineken removed PET beer and cider bottles from its on trade network, a move expected to eliminate almost six million plastic bottles a year.
