Quote:
Originally Posted by tito
Bravo Mark.
The fact of the matter is that nobody has any right to be in a pub full stop. If I was a landlord I'd be half tempted to kick out those who agreed with the smoking ban.
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The sad truth is that with the smokers staying at home, if I kicked out those who agreed with the smoking ban, who would I sell beer to?
Its a pretty tough time in the industry - don't take my word for it, Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns and Mitchell & Butlers, the big 3 pubcos, are all issuing profits warnings which, if anything, understate the problem that operators such as myself are facing. My rent has gone up by 6%, rates by 7%, electricity & gas by 5%, beer by 11%, all since January. The only things that have gone down are my margins and general footfall.
Look at yesterday's reports on rising food costs: £15 a week increase over recent months. Factor in the increased cost of fuel: another £10 a week. Higher council tax: another £5. What have you got? One night out a week less. And then look at the response to the budget by pubs and supermarkets: I had no choice but to put 10p on the pint, and even that was less than the brewery put on my costs. Sainsbury's, on the other hand, responded by cutting the price of beer.
And here's a thought for you. The pubs worst hit are the old style community locals, which rely upon a relatively small number of regulars from a limited catchment area. And these are located in residential areas. How much would it help the government to meet its housebuilding targets if these sites were redeveloped as brownfield sites to provide housing? And with a significant number of these pubs occupying relatively large plots, large enough for, say, 2 small blocks of flats with 10 flats in each, how much beer would the brewery have to sell to make the freehold value?
Rgds
M