Last orders for pubs

The worst summer in more than two decades has left pub bosses reeling from a triple whammy of bad weather, the smoking ban and a spending slowdown.

Many are now predicting the death of the traditional "beer and fags" boozer, with only bigger bars with the space for dining rooms and outside smoking areas able to survive.

Big pub companies like Wolverhampton-based Marston's had already seen which way the wind was blowing more than two years ago, pumping cash into restaurant areas at its outlers, and just this year sold off 300 pubs it felt were not "viable".

At the same time Punch Taverns announced plans to sell 1,000 of its pubs because of fears of falling trade with the smoking ban.

Earlier this year CAMRA, the real ale campaigners, warned that up to 1,300 pubs nationwide had closed and were unlikely to open. At that stage more than 50 pubs a month were closing their doors for good.

Many of those were street corner "locals" that are now struggling even more after the worst summer the pub industry has seen in nearly 30 years. Rising mortgage rates have already made homeowners more careful with their pennies while this summer's combination of the heavy rain and the ban on smoking has left some pubs and bars almost empty.

Drinks industry research is indicating big numbers of pub tenants are quitting the trade with reports that some pub companies are seeing one in five of their tenants depart – twice the normal rate.

The British Institute of Innkeeping has said its free legal helpline has received more than 4,000 calls over the summer, while industry surveys say the weather was almost solely to blame for a slump in pub sales figures.

Licensed trade research consultancy CGA Strategy, which monitors 14,000 venues, saw pub sales falling seven per cent in June and July, while monitoring specialist Nuclear Data, which studies sales in 3,000 pubs, said sales were down 6.7 per cent in July compared to a year ago.

Many of the big pub companies say they have not seen any rise in the number of tenants leaving, and Wolverhampton-based Marston's Pub Company – with 1,750 tenants pubs nationwide – said it was "business as usual".

But Pub Company managing director Stephen Oliver said many smaller pub companies had been finding it tough to support outlets hit by the floods and rain. "At one stage we had 100 pubs affected, but we were able to put packages of support in to help them," said Mr Oliver.

"We still have five pubs shut for 'drying out' and repairs and the tenants are on a rent-free deal until they can trade again. It has been an awful summer and trading has been very tough, although it has started to improve in the last few weeks. But the fall in beer sales is just a continuation of a long-standing trend. That is why we have been investing £17 million in our pubs, improving their food service.

"The British pub is unique, but it is changing."

* More reports and case studies in Thursday's Express & Star.