The Writers' Circle

WHO'S TO BLAME FOR THE LOSS OF THE BRITISH TRADITIONAL PUB
 

After spending twenty five years in the pub industry, I am dismayed at the decimation by financial greed and bureaucratic lunacy, 
 

Another of our great British traditions lost forever; through lack of fight by the general public, who once again have watched the decline happening.

Just like the corner shop, and many industries that have disappeared; 

The great "British Pub" will be gone within the next five years, all that will be left will be food outlets that resemble nothing like our traditional pub.
 

Envied by the world the "British Traditional Pub" was unique; the centre of community life, each town had a Brewery with its own distinctive tasting beer, many towns had two Breweries; pubs were on every street corner. "The local," a place to enjoy, relax, play cards, darts, listen to artists, or simply chat to your neighbours.

 

 BREWERY POWER  

 

Breweries started the decline?  Amalgamating, creating "National Breweries" with "National Brands."

Courage, Tetley's, Scottish & Newcastle, Whitbread's,  buying up small breweries and closing them down killing the local beer, taking over the pubs from those small breweries building their portfolios. 

In the late 1980's, the 'Monopolies Commission,' made National Breweries sell off pubs; anything over 2,000 had to be sold.

This was the first of the corner street pubs to close, the little corner street pubs weren't making enough money for the National breweries, not able to get the entrepreneurs to buy them, shut them down, selling off as change of use; many went to offices, solicitors, and some even became Mosque's.
 

PUB COMPANIES
 

A new type of business started. 'The small pub company:'  ex- directors of Breweries, who had been redundant along with entrepreneurs; took on pubs the Nationals had to sell in batches of up to five hundred pubs, many borrowed money from the National Breweries, who retained the barrelage.   

The National Breweries also set up pub concepts on a National scale, "Chef and Brewer," and "Spirit Group" just two of the massive eating concepts designed to cover the country.

One man became a thorn in their side Tim Martin who converted Ex -bank's, cinemas into open plan pubs, with no music, competing in the very areas the Nationals had their flag ships, and beating them on price and comfort. Tim Martin is also a villain of the British pubs industry.
 

Tim Martin sold so much barrelage with his cheap beer, he demanded massive discounts, and he became so strong that the National Breweries were clamouring for his business, so much so, they were cutting their own throats giving discounts that made it harder for them to make money.

They needed to amalgamate even more; having to brew bigger capacities in super vats.

Not only did Tim Martin crucify the National Breweries with his demands but was also responsible for new "Super Pub Companies" starting up; the financial institutions wanted some of Tim Martins success. 

 

 SUPER PUB COMPANIES 

Big financial institutions started to buy up the smaller pub companies at silly prices, today we have two massive Pub Companies; "Punch Taverns" and "Enterprise Inns," who own 7500 pubs each. 

Now doesn't that seem strange when "National Breweries" were forced to sell anything over and above 2000?:  Super Pub Companies demanded massive discounts just like Tim Martin; but not passing them on to all their pubs. 

It was also another nail in the coffin of the corner street pub. These super pub companies having acquired many corner street pubs in the buy ups, were a thorn in their side; constant changes of landlords, little barrelage and in poor state of repair, some so bad; they put up shutters, never to open again.

  

The "National Breweries" under extreme pressure to maintain the discounts that, Tim Martin and the Super Pub Companies demanded; starting another set of take-overs, this time by "Foreign Breweries"; Whitbread's the first to succumb to a 'Belgium Brewery,' "Interbrew", who also took our biggest brewery Bass, this sale was halted, until they allowed Coors an American company to buy half of the Bass products.  In 2008 Scottish & Newcastle sold out to Hienikin , three of our National Breweries are now owned by foreign companies. Another set back to the "British Pub" with little or no interest in small outlets; these Foreign owners wanting only the Tim Martins, Super Pub Companies and of course the Super Markets for the big barrelage needed for there super vats. 

 

 FINAL NAIL DRIVEN IN BY BUREAUCRATIC INTERFERANCE AND MEDIA MADNESS

 

It was a very clever Government ploy to emphasise on "24 hour" opening as the main component in the license changes, when in fact it has no bearing on the real changes. Ask the man in the street he immediately jumps on the '24 hours' why? Because the media fell into the Governments hands; Headlines across every paper, and on every television news program, about the '24 hour' effect on the booze problems of the British public.

 

The real change in the license and the control of pubs was from 'Magistrates Courts' to 'Council Offices' a major disaster to the British pub. Taking the license away from the Magistrate to Council was extremely costly and has proved to cause many more closures. 

Its three years on and we can now see just what effect the Council control has had on the small corner street pub closing down by their hundreds a week. 

 

 Each Council has set out its own rules on how a pub can run its business, this varies from Town to Town and City to City; unlike the old magistrates license which was stable throughout the country. Also the costs, the Magistrates license was held for three years, and cost £30. Now the new premises licence is every twelve months, works on a similar scale as the rates, and we all know about rates don't we! Some premises license are now costing hundreds of pounds others in the thousands; couple that up with certificates needed yearly for electric, gas, fire, e.g. costing hundreds of pounds, overheads have escalated into orbit. The small corner street pub just can't survive these costs.

 

SMOKING BAN

 

Again another clever Government ploy, the smoking ban was being discussed whilst the very complex changes in the license was taking place. The whole of the pub business was fully occupied making the license changes. 

The early discussions with pubs on smoking ban, was that only food pubs would have a total ban, pubs selling just alcohol  would chose by placing a sign in the window smoking allowed, or this is a none smoking pub. This suddenly changed without any consultation. 

A total ban in all license premises was applied with no variations.

 

We are still in the throws of the devastation that this had had on the British pub, and arguments will rage on; but as a landlord of 25 years who has owned three free house pubs that were highly successful; "good old fashioned boozers". 

I believe if I was still in, would be on the verge of bankruptcy, why? Because 90% of my customers were drinkers and smokers, they go hand in hand.

I didn't smoke and solved my own problems, having good extractors to get rid of the smoke, and they worked.

I saw no problems with the original legislation; Total ban on food pubs and a choice for none food pubs. 

Believe me the smoking ban is the final nail of the British pub! Enjoy them while you can they are disappearing fast and my reasons are ---- 

 

1/ Foreign Breweries controlling our major Breweries wanting to deal only in large capacities

 

2/ Greed of Super Pub Companies monopolising the pubs 

 

3/ Government changes to license and implementing smoking ban    

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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