Have a knight to remember

The Publican has teamed up with Charles Wells to raise the profile of St George's Day, which takes place on April 23. The new campaign - the Value of St George - prompts licensees to raise a glass to the patron saint of England and make money in the process.

Even in these uncertain times, one thing is sure to happen next month: St Patrick's Day will be celebrated up and down the UK, boosting profits for pubs that join in with the festivities.

Every year it's the same story. The Irish patron saint gets all the glory while poor old St George is definitely relegated to the sidelines.

But, according to new research, licensees are not just missing out on a good old fashioned knees up, they are losing out on a whopping £14.1m of revenue by ignoring April 23 - the most English of days.

The figures were revealed in a specially commissioned report by Bedford brewer Charles Wells to find out the economic benefits of St George's Day.

The Publican has teamed up with Charles Wells to promote the Value of St George through a campaign to make sure licensees do not miss out on what could provide a great new source of revenue.

Sarah McGhie, public relations manager for the brewer, said: "Each year our campaign surrounding St George's Day grows in awareness.

"When we first started it was difficult to gain coverage, now we are in the position of achieving national and international exposure, with support from many pub groups such as Punch, Enterprise, Unique and Scottish and Newcastle Retail.

"The Value of St George takes us to a new level. "We recognise the sorry state of affairs for the industry in not supporting April 23 in the same way as the trade can support St Patrick's Day on March 17 via extended licensing.

"The potential revenue figure of £14.1m is a figure that needs to be taken seriously by our respective industries, local authorities and government. There is a lot to gain commercially by us all celebrating our patron saint's day."

Letters are due to be sent out to MPs - including ministers - to gauge opinion and ask them to lend support to the campaign.

Charles Wells will be pushing for national recognition through the extra bank holiday.

Publicans and companies are being urged to get behind the Value of St George.

The brewer has provided some handy tips and has put together special packs on how to gain licence extensions and celebrate the day.

And it is urging all British pubs to take advantage, not just those in England.

Email sarah.mcghie@charleswells.co.uk for further information or log on to www.bombardier.co.uk.

What the study found​

On an average day £74m is spent on alcohol outside the home. The Future Foundation, which conducted the report on behalf of Charles Wells, said: "If we assume that pubs are open on average for 12 hours a day and there is an additional two hours opening time on St George's day, then this represents a 17 per cent increase in available drinking time."

The report stated this would result in an additional £14.1m of spending in pubs. Charles Wells spokesperson Sarah McGhie said: "The findings clearly show that there is a massive opportunity being wasted by the industry year in year out..

"These estimates are conservative, and we are confident, particularly after looking at emerging trends in our own retail estate, that a year on year build would be magnificent and offer tremendous returns for our industry as a whole."

The story so far...​

Since the launch of a petition to make St George's Day a bank holiday by Charles Wells back in 1999 many others have jumped on board the campaign, including singer Billy Bragg, Channel Four's Big Breakfast and a host of pub companies.

More than 70,000 members of the public also put their names to a huge online petition to make April 23 a national bank holiday across the UK. However, seeing as the date falls between Easter bank holiday and May Day this year there will be a battle to convince the government of its worth.

Although Charles Wells is keen to continue with this side of the campaign the focus on the bank holiday was swapped for a high profile advertising campaign last year, which featured quintessentially English icons and slogans.

A competition was also held to find a new English national anthem to rival God Save the Queen. The Lamb and Flag pub in London's Covent Garden hosted a party for the winner on St George's Day last year.

This year Punch Pub Company will be getting more involved in the campaign.

"We'll be raising awareness of the potential of St George's Day in all our pubs through our monthly newsletter," said Geoff Brown, head of marketing at the pub company.

"Punch is very supportive of the campaign and thinks more should be done to celebrate this kind of event, even though half the board is Scottish!"

Emma Currin, spokeswoman for Laurel Pub Company, said: "St George's Day is a really important day and it should be just as big as St Patrick's Day and Burns Night - if not bigger.

"We had all sorts of events in our pubs last year such as fancy dress parties and 'English evenings' with a focus on food like fish and chips and roast dinners and drinks promotions.

"This year April 23 falls just after Easter Monday so we will be prolonging our Easter activities to give a real boost to St George's Day.

"Laurel got behind the campaign last year and will definitely support it again this year."

Pictured: The Lamb and Flag in Covent Garden held a St George's Day party last year.​

What licensees can do​

• Extend your hours. Apply to your local licensing authority for an extension on April 23
• Send a letter to your MP. Highlight your support for the Value of St George and ask them to back it too
• Put on events to show your feeling for the campaign and make the public more aware of the issue
• Speak to customers and pub companies to see what else you can do
• Let us know your plans email news editor Nicola Collenette at nicolac@thepublican.com or phone 020 8565 4458
• Do you feel a national campaign would enable you to drive more business into your pub? Click here to register your vote in our latest poll.
• Go to www.bombardier.co.uk where you can find a special St George's Day section. Here a number of helpful forms can easily be downloaded, such as letters to go out to the editor of your local paper and station manager of the local radio station asking for their support and attendance on the day, a petition for customers to sign which you can then send to your local MP and a letter to the local magistrate asking for a two hour licence extension on April 23.

Tips on maximising St George's Day​

• Produce a special English menu for the day with traditional English fayre on offer - roast beef, jellied eels, steak and real ale pies etc.
• Hold an English Karaoke night - where contestants can only sing songs from England (The Beatles, The Kinks, Oasis etc.)
• Make sure you deck out your pub with bunting, St George Crosses and so on.
• Hold a special pub quiz on England and English history
• Earn some pre-publicity by inviting your local papers to come and report on your preparations for St George's Day
• Hold an English fancy dress party
• Be imaginative and different - why not hold a Yorkshire pudding throwing competition!
• Put posters up in your pub at least a week in advance to make sure customers know what is planned.

Case Studies: The George, Hammersmith, the Irby Mill, Wirral, a​