Murder on the dancefloor

If you think your pub's having it tough at the moment, and many are, at least you're not running a nightclub.

If you were, you'd probably be wringing your hands and thinking of

throwing in the towel and taking a pub instead.

As the song goes, it's murder on the dancefloor these days. And nightclub owners are laying the blame fairly and squarely at the feet of the new Licensing Act.

The longer opening hours for pubs, and the fact that most clubs still charge for entry, are having a dramatic impact on the late-night

market. Customers are choosing to stay in the pub, rather than wander off to the clubs come 11pm. And as a result, clubs like Entrepreneurial Leisure and Po Na Na have run into serious financial problems (see City and business news, this week).

It's something the club scene knew was inevitable when the new Act was first proposed. Operators realised that much of their appeal rested on the fact there was nowhere else to go at that time of night.

Now pubs are eating into that market, particularly community pubs, as drinkers save themselves the hassle of the trips into town and the expense of the taxis

back later.

Nightclubs' traditional weaponry in a fight with the pubs - deep drinks discounting - is no longer a serious option when the police are hunting for licence reviews. So heavy investment in funky eye-catching refurbs is required to lure back the punters, and this will take money and time. While they're trying to get their act back together, pubs have a real opportunity to impress their own late-night crowds and hang on to them by a little investment of their own - whether it's a new sound system, decent late-night pizzas or even some interesting cocktails.

But what pubs must not do is compromise on responsible retailing,

especially with under-age drinkers. Here, the signs are very encouraging. One large circuit bar group has knocked back 100,000 young drinkers in the past five months just because they had no ID. They clearly lost money by doing so, but far more importantly they've still got their licences.

That's the kind of attitude all pubs need if they're to make the most of their opportunities under the new Act.