OV9

Didn’t realise chain pubs were run like that. That said I haven’t been in a chain pub in years as they’re all pretty crap compared to the proper independent ones round here.

A pub owned by a brewery with a good landlord can be far from a 'chain pub'. In fact, you'll probably find some of the pubs you think are independent are owned by a pub company or brewery.

In other words, you don't know what you're taking about.

Mito Man wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:47 pm Didn’t realise chain pubs were run like that. That said I haven’t been in a chain pub in years as they’re all pretty crap compared to the proper independent ones round here.

its not isolated to what you’d probably call “chain pubs”, pub co’s bought up huge amounts of “normal” pubs and basically found every dodgy practice they could To extract every penny out of them. they lure new tenants in with offers of tied partnerships and support then ramp up the costs (beer at triple the market rate etc). Then if they do fail they have a whole host of charges in the contracts to ensure they are completely bled dry.

No wonder so many pubs have given up.

Even free hold pubs can be renting off a private landlord who just ramps up the rent if they think you’ve got increasing amounts of trade, ours is like that.

If you’re going to be in the pub game you often need to own your own premises to avoid a complete shafting.

The pub in my mum's village is a lovely thatched 17th century example. It had been independently owned for a long time. The problem with that is that it had really fallen into a poor state of repair, I guess as private landlords they were doing everything they can to avoid a big outlay on sorting it out. A brewery bought it and spent a lot of cash on it, so that's the flipside.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's repeated around the country.

That one is now closed and up for sale, so with a bit of luck it falls into the right hands and someone makes a go of it.

There are times when being owned by a brewery is really good, my old local pub only existed because Marstons went through all the hoops to get a pub put into the development (all other locals were a bit rough). They put in a landlord who works directly for Marstons and moves all over the country fixing under performing pubs and setting up new ones. They did really well, people travelled from a relatively long way to visit.

Just after we moved the landlord was posted elsewhere and Marstons put a new landlord in. The new guy stopped all the offers, revamped the entire menu and renamed the pub which just drove all the customers away, the pub is now a bit of a shit hole and was in need of Marstons investment again. I don’t see getting rid of that particular landlord a bad thing. Either way because it’s brewery owned there will always be a local in a new development where there otherwise wouldn’t have been one.

We have a community owned pub a few miles away in the next village which we’ve yet to try out and it seems to be a great success.

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:01 am
We have a community owned pub a few miles away in the next village which we’ve yet to try out and it seems to be a great success.

We've got a community owned one nearby too, it's great. That's what they're trying to do with the one in my mum's village now that the brewery want to shift it, but it's a lot of money to raise. Might be a bit less thanks to COVID...

duncs500 wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:21 am

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:01 am
We have a community owned pub a few miles away in the next village which we’ve yet to try out and it seems to be a great success.

We've got a community owned one nearby too, it's great. That's what they're trying to do with the one in my mum's village now that the brewery want to shift it, but it's a lot of money to raise. Might be a bit less thanks to COVID...

I’ve always thought I’d be tempted by such a scheme but it feels like it could easily turn into a fighting committee. I admit I haven’t read into it to see how the structure works but the negative side in me thinks it’s a great way of producing a lot of conflict from people wanting to go in different directions or simply how much money one person put into it compared to another. It can all get a bit name calling when someone has had a few drinks and the formal processes in place haven’t gone their way

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:40 am

duncs500 wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:21 am

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:01 am
We have a community owned pub a few miles away in the next village which we’ve yet to try out and it seems to be a great success.

We've got a community owned one nearby too, it's great. That's what they're trying to do with the one in my mum's village now that the brewery want to shift it, but it's a lot of money to raise. Might be a bit less thanks to COVID...

I’ve always thought I’d be tempted by such a scheme but it feels like it could easily turn into a fighting committee. I admit I haven’t read into it to see how the structure works but the negative side in me thinks it’s a great way of producing a lot of conflict from people wanting to go in different directions or simply how much money one person put into it compared to another. It can all get a bit name calling when someone has had a few drinks and the formal processes in place haven’t gone their way

I guess it's a risk, although in my mum's case their plan is to bring in an independently renting landlord who I guess will be able to take it in their direction (within limits) without interference. The benefit being that it'll be a free house so the profits on booze will be better and the rent probably cheaper due to the community not looking for profits.

duncs500 wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:09 pm

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:40 am

duncs500 wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:21 am

We've got a community owned one nearby too, it's great. That's what they're trying to do with the one in my mum's village now that the brewery want to shift it, but it's a lot of money to raise. Might be a bit less thanks to COVID...

I’ve always thought I’d be tempted by such a scheme but it feels like it could easily turn into a fighting committee. I admit I haven’t read into it to see how the structure works but the negative side in me thinks it’s a great way of producing a lot of conflict from people wanting to go in different directions or simply how much money one person put into it compared to another. It can all get a bit name calling when someone has had a few drinks and the formal processes in place haven’t gone their way

I guess it's a risk, although in my mum's case their plan is to bring in an independently renting landlord who I guess will be able to take it in their direction (within limits) without interference. The benefit being that it'll be a free house so the profits on booze will be better and the rent probably cheaper due to the community not looking for profits.

I guess if the community don’t want to charge rent, or a lot of rent, the profits could be reinvested, the landlord kept happy and decent prices. I just don’t believe people would see that vision. I’m probably totally wrong because they seem really successful. I hope it comes off for your mums village

Orange Cola wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:55 pm Even free hold pubs can be renting off a private landlord who just ramps up the rent if they think you’ve got increasing amounts of trade, ours is like that.

If you’re going to be in the pub game you often need to own your own premises to avoid a complete shafting.

Very much this. My mate owns his pub outright so lock down has been ok for him. He had £10k paid into his account 3 days after asking and same with UC payments of £100ish per week. He could sit this out for months but he is in the minority in this trade. He's using the time to do the pub up and get the outdoor spaces ready for the 4th.

McSwede wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:03 pm

Orange Cola wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:55 pm Even free hold pubs can be renting off a private landlord who just ramps up the rent if they think you’ve got increasing amounts of trade, ours is like that.

If you’re going to be in the pub game you often need to own your own premises to avoid a complete shafting.

Very much this. My mate owns his pub outright so lock down has been ok for him. He had £10k paid into his account 3 days after asking and same with UC payments of £100ish per week. He could sit this out for months but he is in the minority in this trade. He's using the time to do the pub up and get the outdoor spaces ready for the 4th.

That’s a great position to be in. Is he in a small community or a larger town setting?

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:12 pm

McSwede wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:03 pm

Orange Cola wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:55 pm Even free hold pubs can be renting off a private landlord who just ramps up the rent if they think you’ve got increasing amounts of trade, ours is like that.

If you’re going to be in the pub game you often need to own your own premises to avoid a complete shafting.

Very much this. My mate owns his pub outright so lock down has been ok for him. He had £10k paid into his account 3 days after asking and same with UC payments of £100ish per week. He could sit this out for months but he is in the minority in this trade. He's using the time to do the pub up and get the outdoor spaces ready for the 4th.

That’s a great position to be in. Is he in a small community or a larger town setting?

An affluent rural village.

McSwede wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:42 pm

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:12 pm

McSwede wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:03 pm

Very much this. My mate owns his pub outright so lock down has been ok for him. He had £10k paid into his account 3 days after asking and same with UC payments of £100ish per week. He could sit this out for months but he is in the minority in this trade. He's using the time to do the pub up and get the outdoor spaces ready for the 4th.

That’s a great position to be in. Is he in a small community or a larger town setting?

An affluent rural village.

Good community spirit

I think the pubs which rely heavily on passing trade or don’t have a permanent community such as in town centres will suffer a lot. They can open but doesn’t mean anyone will go there and cover their costs

Support pub bubbles sound great

Broccers wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:15 pm Support pub bubbles sound great

You’ll enjoy getting knocked off your feet when you’re in the way of a copper wanting to get to the bar after a long shift with all that’s going on

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:37 pm

Broccers wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:15 pm Support pub bubbles sound great

You’ll enjoy getting knocked off your feet when you’re in the way of a copper wanting to get to the bar after a long shift with all that’s going on

Doubt it.

Broccers wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:43 pm

Orange Cola wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:37 pm

Broccers wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:15 pm Support pub bubbles sound great

You’ll enjoy getting knocked off your feet when you’re in the way of a copper wanting to get to the bar after a long shift with all that’s going on

Doubt it.

Well you’ll only have yourself to blame by being in the way.

Ascender wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:14 am We just finished the second series of What We Do In The Shadows. Absolutely brilliant.

Watched the first 2 last night, it's the bloke who owns the voice from the Money Super Market ad on Radio X.
Enjoyed them but thought it was missing the Kiwi accents, we'll keep going.

unzippy wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 7:09 am

Ascender wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:14 am We just finished the second series of What We Do In The Shadows. Absolutely brilliant.

Watched the first 2 last night, it's the bloke who owns the voice from the Money Super Market ad on Radio X.
Enjoyed them but thought it was missing the Kiwi accents, we'll keep going.

That's possibly Matt Berry's best known role.