Is it last orders for Britain's pubs?

Some may believe that the pattern of this government during the wretched coronavirus pandemic has been to announce measures with impressive vim and vigour only for their intentions to be let down by a failure of having done the vital legwork and consultation beforehand.

It’s not for me to make any judgement, but it is clear that the pub industry urgently needs a statement providing clarity and direction unless the entire sector is to be irredeemably damaged.

July 4 – the earliest date the government has said the hospitality sector could reopen – is just 16 days away yet operators are entirely in the dark as to whether they will be able to do so.

Pub operator Oakman Inns has today unilaterally decided it will reopen on this date as owner Peter Borg-Neal has clearly been driven to distraction by the complete failure of this administration to give him information.

If he is to open by this date, he knows he needs to make it Covid secure and that requires time and work.

The British Beer and Pub Association, alongside several pub operators, has pleaded with the government for a decision on reopening dates and the 2-metre rule by today – Friday June 18.

We know a person is more likely to catch the virus when closer than 2-metres yet most other countries have reduced this measure and are opening up. The number of cases in this country remains stubbornly high but is falling and deaths – especially in London and a couple of other areas – are very slight. There is obviously a balance of risk – this is well known; the lack of a decision, though, baffles many.

This evening, I’ve received a set of demands from the Campaign for Pubs - an organisation run by former Liberal Democrat MP, Greg Mulholland who has worked over many years fighting to keep pubs going.

Here are the demands - will the government help at all? One can only hope.

The full list of the 10 Points to Save Pubs is: 

1. A definite date for opening NOW! (by Friday 19^th June)

2. Social distancing of 1 metre - not 2 metres (or most pubs simply cannot open)

3. Clear full guidance for pubs and insurance companies to be issued by Friday 26^th June – pubs need real clarity about any physical infrastructure requirements, and also about specific responsibilities and liability issues, so that they can be properly insured under fair policies which will be honoured 

4. Relaxation of licensing restrictions where extra spaces would help smaller pubs operate more viably and safely 

5. A strong mandatory Covid-19 rent code of conduct including a statutory right to a rent review for all pub tenants 

6. A rent-free period for all pubs, and an extended period of protection from landlords if rent cannot be paid

7. Continued financial support for staff – extended fully-paid furlough where pubs are unable to viably/safely trade due to continued Government restrictions  

8. VAT to 5% for at least 12 months - the only sensible way to help with reduced margins, as any price increases would reduce trade even further

9. Business rates reform - announced now and implemented in April 2021 – and rates relief for all pubs until a reformed system comes in

10. A 12 month ban on all change of use for pubs – pubs need protection in the planning system now even more than ever

I don't want to be a 'Soberhero'

Mine's a Daiquiri

It seems that barely a month goes by these days without it being hijacked by a charity eager to encourage us all to stop drinking.

Once upon a time, January was the month when people - normally of their own volition and not for charity – would lock up the drinks cabinet and forswear the public house to give their body a break after the excesses of the Christmas season. A very worthy and sensible ambition (though I remember lunching with an elderly politician and his nephew at The Gay Hussar one rainy January day and a cascade of abuse was directed at the nephew for having the temerity to emerge for lunch and not drink). Dry January has, of course, been adopted by charity and last year more than two million people took part, raising money for Alcohol Concern.

We are now, however, in the middle of a Dryathlon, promoted by Cancer Research, which urges us ‘to give up alcohol this September and become a Dryathlete’ after a ‘summer of overindulgence’. And after labouring through an abstemious month, one would be forgiven for desiring a snifter, but then we are being encouraged to become a ‘Soberhero’ for Macmillan Cancer Support, and remain booze free for the 31 long days of October. Australia has a Dry July campaign; I wouldn’t be surprised to see that emerge here too soon.

Now, this isn’t a criticism of these individual charities who all do tremendous and valuable work but rather a concern about the unintended consequences. Figures released by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) in August showed that 21 pubs were closing across the country every week. Supermarkets, which still continue to sell alcohol at prices so absurdly cheap it is impossible for a pub to compete, taxes on pubs and the role of pubcos are all cited as major reasons behind these closures. But these charity events do have an impact on the pub trade. The loss of two million customers for a month will inevitably hit the bottom line. One publican admitted to me it was ‘hard to quantify’ how much of a direct hit pubs took but said its impact was ‘significant’.

It is easy to forget how much of an important role the pub plays in British society. It is a home away from home, a meeting place, a community hub. An IPPR report in 2012 said:

‘One of the most important contributions pubs make to local community life is that they act as hubs for the development of social networks between local people. Our national opinion poll found that outside the home the pub scored the highest of any location as a place where people “meet and get together with others in their neighbourhood”’.

And a study by University Hospital in Basel found, unsurprisingly, in a report published this week, that a single glass of beer can make people more sociable.

The continuing loss of pubs damages the fabric of society. But, this seems to be the ambition of some anti-alcohol campaigns. One representative, from the World Cancer Research Fund, has repeatedly claimed: ‘About 24,000 cancer cases could be avoided every year in the UK if everyone stopped drinking alcohol’. Any, albeit inadvertent, damage this could cause to social cohesion - which, in itself, contributes to the health of individuals - is, it seems, ignored.

And then there is the Institute for Alcohol Studies, which claims to be an ‘independent voice on alcohol policy’, but is in fact mainly funded by the Alliance House Foundation, once known as the Temperance Federation. Four people linked to the IAS were recently among the ‘experts’ advising the government to recommend the reduction of safe weekly drinking limits for men from 21 units to 14.

Roger Protz, the editor of the Good Beer Guide, at the launch of the 2017 edition just this week, warned:

‘the restrictions urged by the medical officers are taking us on the road to Prohibition…. All the real scientific evidence shows that moderate beer drinking can contribute to a health lifestyle. We should listen to the experts – not the kill-joys of the Temperance movement.’

There can be few people who are not aware of the risks posed by the excessive consumption of alcohol, and charities should be congratulated for finding ever more innovative funding techniques in a competitive world, funding vital work. And yes, we should probably all drink less alcohol. But, I hope we have reached saturation point when it comes to month-long dry-outs; it's enough to make one turn to drink.

Pulling their last pint?

One night the barman at the pub at the bottom of my road was still pulling pints; the next morning he had gone.

Steel shutters were stapled securely to windows and doors, each pinned with notices warning any would-be trespassers to stay clear. A few weeks later the site has been sold, to whom no one knows. and what will happen to this once thriving community pub remains a mystery. Read more

Time for a Fair Deal for your local

For those who love pubs, it has been described as a ‘last call to arms’.

Today publicans from across the country, with their loyal supporters and locals behind them, will descend on parliament to demand a Fair Deal for Your Local, an impassioned plea for the government to act to help save them.

For pubcos – combined with a series of poor short-sighted measures introduced by a series of governments, the smoking ban and the bargain-basement prices supermarkets charge for cheap, nasty lager –  threaten to make the sight of your familiar, welcoming local a thing of the past.

The all-too-frequently exploitative relationship between large pub companies – organisations like Enterprise Inns, Punch Taverns and Green King – and their tenants is something which has been allowed to fester for far too long.

About 20,000 pub tenants across the country have to purchase their beers, wines and spirits exclusively from their pubcos, and in exchange, they are supposed to benefit from lower rents.

Instead, far too frequently tenants are hit with above market-level rents, making their costs crippling forcing them out of business. A good recent example is the Chequers Inn in Whitney, the Prime Minister’s constituency. After twelve years landlord Simon Moore called it a day in May. While his annual turnover averaged around £230,000 a year, his rent to Enterprise Inns amounted to almost 40 per cent of this.

The reasons for these sky-high rents are various but a key factor is pubcos realised the inherent value of their property stock during the boom years and leveraged absurdly to expand their portfolios. When the credit crunch hit they were left with huge debts to manage.

But it is not just high rents which has heaped pressure on pubs. Selling pubs is frequently seen as a way out by pubcos. Tales of pubs being allowed to decay, driving away punters, until they are no longer financially viable, are legion. And the sector keenest to take advantage of this fire sale have been supermarkets.

It is not the fault of the likes of Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s. Why wouldn’t they be keen to get hold of prominent landmark buildings, well known locally and crowbar in a convenience store?

An edition of the London Drinker last year, the CAMRA magazine which can be found in many of the capital’s good pubs, highlighted this problem. The piece, by Roger Warhurst, began by saying: ‘Fifty London pubs have been converted or redeveloped for supermarket convenience stores since 2010, generally without the need for owners to seek planning permission for change of use.’

A pub’s licences are the real beauty for supermarkets. Large pubs frequently have all that is required – especially alcohol licences.

A recent victim of this loophole is the beautiful George IV pub in Brixton which Lambeth Council’s planning committee narrowly voted in favour of allowing to be turned into a Tesco Metro in May.

The only aspect of the application councillors could really object to was the installation of a disabled ramp – described by one as ‘zigzagging across the front of the building like a mark of Zorro' – and whether it was in keeping with a fine Victorian building. Of course it wasn’t, but as a pub is currently not viewed as viable the committee was left with the choice of an empty building or a shop. That the pub had been registered as a community asset as part of the government’s risible ‘localism’ agenda was of little import.

Today CAMRA have published research providing more evidence how pubcos are squeezing the life out of publicans. As many as 60 per cent of licensees tied to the big pub companies earn less than £10,000 a year, compared to only 25 per cent of the free of tie lessees. And at the other end of the scale, only one in a hundred tied pub licensees earn a salary of more than £45,000 a year, compared with one in five who run free of tie pubs.

So today, the pub trade gather. The government proposes reforms which could ensure tied lessees would be no worse off than those not tied, applying to all pub firms that have more than 500 pubs. It could be the start of a revival. With their parliamentary champions, like Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland and indefatigable campaigners like @Lifelandlady , we should stand beside them and make sure the coalition delivers on its promises.