Swindon pub targets 40-plus customers

Swindon licensee Lorna Sumbler is determined that younger drinkers won't have the town centre market all to themselves, by ensuring a warm welcome for customers aged 40 and over.

With research suggesting that around 80 per cent of disposable income is in the pockets of the older generation, Lorna believes that OFLADS - Over Forty Likes A Drink - are the way forward.

Having just become licensee of the Arkells-owned Flag pub in Swindon, she said: "We're the only traditional pub in Swindon town centre, and during the day we get a lot of the more mature people who drop in for a drink and lunch, so now we're nailing our colours to the mast and flying the flag for the older generation."

Lorna, who took over the pub earlier this month after working behind the bar for almost a year, admits to having just passed the 40 milestone herself.

She said: "The bars and venues that surround us which aim for the younger drinker. We provide a different type of environment. No TV, but live music, jam sessions and karaoke - and much of our music is from the 70s, 80s and 90s, especially The Beatles because I'm a real fan."

Which is not to say that younger drinkers don't have a good time too, with the marketing mix appealing to a wide range of customers.

Brewery managing director, James Arkell, a bit of an OFLAD himself, said: "Lorna's a terrific character and we love what she's doing with the Flag. Swindon is a much more interesting place when it can offer a whole range of different pubs and bars to suit everyone and she's got the energy to really keep the Flag flying."