The decline of British pubs

[Chewit]

Community pubs seem to be popping up all over the place now. Not having to provide profits to the pub companies (or land hoarders) will surely be of benefit in the long run

Great if they have the capital to buy and invest in the pub.... your talking serious money. That’s what the landlords provide

I like to frequent my local pubs as much as possible surprisingly.. however we have incidents like today: walked to the bar just before 12, nobody behind said bar. A barman came through from the restaurant after a few minutes. No big problem. I then went for a second pint only to find the bar 6 deep in women all greeting each other with 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!' and encouraging each new arrival to 'come and get served with us'. Blokes buy in rounds, but each one of these once a year pub regulars was paying individually by card. 1 in 3 were ordering cappucinos etc. which adds time to the process, and those ordering food had no idea what their table number was or whether they wanted chips or curly fries, baguette or bap and so on until I gave up and left.
The upshot of my rant is that bar managers should stop being tight and put loads of bar staff on during busy times. Not fair to expect one or two bar staff to keep a seething crowd of 30 folk with no idea of bar etiquette happy, which leads to regulars staying away.

Easier said than done. Wages are biggest overhead and you can blow any profit very easy if you over estimate your sales forecasts. That bar might have been busy for only half an hour ... it may ordinarily not be busy at all. Staff if you can get them are not interested in two hour shifts

 

[JC22]

I must admit, I tend not to go out much anymore to drink. Me and my friends just tend to go to each other’s houses now. Can easily spend a good fifty quid now just in my local for a decent night.

 

[Chewit]

I've never been a smoker, but smoking was always a fundamental part of pubs.

I think they should change the smoking ban to give pub and other property owners the right to enforce a smoking ban on their premises (I.e. keep it so that you can be fined for smoking in non-smoking premises), but not REQUIRE them to have a smoking ban.

Then you would have smoking and non-smoking pubs and people would have the choice.

One of the best decisions society ever made. Sits there alongside mandatory wearing of seat belts.

 

[DavyC]

It's a very hard game to make a go of. The culture of drinking is different now, as people have said young people don't do what I did as a kid out every night to pubs then a club. That was normal, then people used to go for a lunch time pint or after work as well. I don't know any totally wet pub that could be said to be booming... surviving maybe. You need food these days...

 

[mcq10]

One of the best decisions society ever made. Sits there alongside mandatory wearing of seat belts.

Never understand anyone who says they would want smoking back in pubs tbh.

The problem is the cost of alcohol is ridiculous now.

Out for the boys Christmas night out last week. Out from 7 till 1-1.30.

Spent £130 quid including taxis.

Miss going on the lash every week with my mates but I’m 38 now and spending that every week isn’t justifiable tbh

 

[Mike J]

As somebody who owns and runs a pub, a proper boozer, it’s really tough, the government in one way or another get nearly 50% of everything I take, based on VAT, Business Rates, P32 (employers contributions from Payroll) MGD (machine game duty) PPL & PRS, MPLC & corporation tax.

I’m lucky, mines a free house and so I can shop about, but the margins are not great at all. I sell John Smiths at £2.80 so I give the government let’s say £1.30 leaving me £1.50 to pay for the beer, staff, rent, gas, electricity and plenty more.

 

[mcq10]

As somebody who owns and runs a pub, a proper boozer, it’s really tough, the government in one way or another get nearly 50% of everything I take, based on VAT, Business Rates, P32 (employers contributions from Payroll) MGD (machine game duty) PPL & PRS, MPLC & corporation tax.

I’m lucky, mines a free house and so I can shop about, but the margins are not great at all. I sell John Smiths at £2.80 so I give the government let’s say £1.30 leaving me £1.50 to pay for the beer, staff, rent, gas, electrify and plenty more.

John smiths though........

Understand what you’re saying but I assume you’re a local boozer?

 

[Mike J]

John smiths though........

Understand what you’re saying but I assume you’re a local boozer?

Yes a little local community boozer, I have 13 draught lines, including two craft products, some premium lager etc, I choose Smiths deliberately as it’s one of our cheapest products. My most expensive is Wylam Jakehead (6.3%) at £4.30 or main stream, Estrella £3.70 a pint.

 

[zinedine]

Indeed,with reference to why people stop in i think the easily available cheap beer we know so well now has probably created a drinker who didn't exist in the days of Pubs or nothing.No one sat in the house and drank all night in front of their kids etc .From what i remember younguns hit the pubs then at a certain age they stopped or did it less often and abstained the rest of the time .You had the diehards who kept up pub life into their later years .Clearly the pubs are less used but i think there are drinkers today who have no interest in a pub rather than not being able to afford to go

The price of a pint today has as much to do with it as cheap supermarket beer. A pint has gone up by about 2,000% since the seventies and has had a very big impact on pub trade.

 

[cornish mackem]

Not sure about that. Pretty sure there was as report a few months ago which said it's gone down particularly amongst the young.

Can only see this leading to even lower pub visits in the future.

I’m trying my best to buck the trend but the drink that’s sold by the supermarket is more than ever. I work and don’t think I’m badly off but I can’t afford to drink in pubs anymore

 

[Deleted member 34491]

As somebody who owns and runs a pub, a proper boozer, it’s really tough, the government in one way or another get nearly 50% of everything I take, based on VAT, Business Rates, P32 (employers contributions from Payroll) MGD (machine game duty) PPL & PRS, MPLC & corporation tax.

I’m lucky, mines a free house and so I can shop about, but the margins are not great at all. I sell John Smiths at £2.80 so I give the government let’s say £1.30 leaving me £1.50 to pay for the beer, staff, rent, gas, electricity and plenty more.

So your profit on a pint is what? 40p? Or £30 a 72 pint barrel

 

[Mike J]

So your profit on a pint is what? 40p?

It depends by product mate, but less than that on Smiths, Boddingtons & Gusiness more on cask and premium lager. It’s a balancing act. I have a really good loyal customer base, so do OK, but it’s not easy to say the least.

 

[cornish mackem]

As somebody who owns and runs a pub, a proper boozer, it’s really tough, the government in one way or another get nearly 50% of everything I take, based on VAT, Business Rates, P32 (employers contributions from Payroll) MGD (machine game duty) PPL & PRS, MPLC & corporation tax.

I’m lucky, mines a free house and so I can shop about, but the margins are not great at all. I sell John Smiths at £2.80 so I give the government let’s say £1.30 leaving me £1.50 to pay for the beer, staff, rent, gas, electricity and plenty more.

Put £1 on that pint down here

 

[Mike J]

Put £1 on that pint down here

As I say I’m a free house, if I was tied I’d being paying at least 60% more for my beer in some cases 100% more.

I honestly believe some consumer have no idea what the costs are involved in running a pub. I buy most of my spirit stock, bottle stock & wine stock from super markets, wholesalers can’t compete.

I pay on average £16 for a litre of Smirnoff, my wholesalers want £19 for it. I sell a double with gun mixer (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or lemonade) for £3.20 that £3 a bottle difference is huge. The cost of soft drink syrup has gone through the roof, then add sugar tax on.

You really can’t compare drinking in the house to drinking in the pub.

 

[cornish mackem]

As I say I’m a free house, if I was tied I’d being paying at least 60% more for my beer in some cases 100% more.

I honestly believe some consumer have no idea what the costs are involved in running a pub. I buy most of my spirit stock, bottle stock & wine stock from super markets, wholesalers can’t compete.

I pay on average £16 for a litre of Smirnoff, my wholesalers want £19 for it. I sell a double with gun mixer (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or lemonade) for £3.20 that £3 a bottle difference is huge. The cost of soft drink syrup has gone through the roof, then add sugar tax on.

You really can’t compare drinking in the house to drinking in the pub.

£3.60 for a pint of the cheapest in my local. £4.60 for Guiness.
Went out with ower lass the other week, pint of carlsberg and Bacardi and orange was £10 exactly. It’s a St Austell pub and with those prices we have been in twice in 12 months

 

[Mike J]

£3.60 for a pint of the cheapest in my local. £4.60 for Guiness.
Went out with ower lass the other week, pint of carlsberg and Bacardi and orange was £10 exactly. It’s a St Austell pub and with those prices we have been in twice in 12 months

If the place is a ‘tied house’, they seem decent prices, if it’s a free house they are a bit ‘toppy’ Having said that I have no idea what the rent & rates are so could be doing them a dis-service.

I charge £3.50 Gusiness, for a double Bacardi & fresh orange it be £4.70 a single £3.70 if it was with a gun mixer would be £1.20 cheaper.

Mind Carlsberg is dreadful!

 

[Chewit]

Never understand anyone who says they would want smoking back in pubs tbh.

The problem is the cost of alcohol is ridiculous now.

Out for the boys Christmas night out last week. Out from 7 till 1-1.30.

Spent £130 quid including taxis.

Miss going on the lash every week with my mates but I’m 38 now and spending that every week isn’t justifiable tbh

See the post below yours. Governments for 50 years have fleeced the drinker at the same time as reducing demand effectively making licenses premises marginal businesses on the whole.

 

[Mike J]

So your profit on a pint is what? 40p? Or £30 a 72 pint barrel

Sorry just re-read that if your talking net profit nothing like 40p on any pint much much less!

 

[riffraff]

Interesting viewpoint that marra , and one I could agree with. Out of interest when do you think that was?. I would say mid 90s, which coincidently was around the time Wetherspoons started to open up all ower the place , lasses started going out en masse, mobile phones and credit cards appeared and Tony Bliar became PM, not saying there connected but …...

Lasses started going out en masses in the mid 90s!? Wtf?

Smoking ban finished pubs as an every night thing for me and I nivver smoked ever. You’d be in conversation at the bar and the smokers would go outside for a fag. Ten mins later they’d come back and the conversation had moved on to summit else. Neet out consisted of a bunch of half conversations.

 

[Deleted member 634]

Pre drinks
Pre f***ing drinks
Whatever the fuck that is has killed off pubs

Soft cock young uns not picking up the baton of going out to see their mates and would rather buy two litres of vodka and have a 'sesh' in their house, on their own while playing f***ing computer games