Punch

Francis Patton

Customer services director

How many pubs do you operate?

Approximately 8,400 in England, Wales and Scotland. These are a combination of leased, tenanted and managed outlets.

How many of those outlets are already smoke-free?

Obviously this is difficult to track in a predominantly leasehold estate. We do have a number of examples of smoke-free pubs where retailers have made a decision to change their policy early and we wholeheartedly support them, particularly in cases where money has been invested in advance to improve retail standards.

With our Spirit Group managed pubs, any food-led sites that have reopened recently after refurbishment work have done so with a smoke-free policy in place. The remaining managed pubs will go smoke-free once the law changes.

How much have you invested in preparing your outlets for the ban?

We spend tens of millions of pounds every year on refurbishing and improving our pubs (£65m during the last financial year, 2006/07). For the last two years all these schemes have given consideration to the smoking ban and appropriate solutions, but the overriding aim has been to improve retail standards and make pubs more pleasant places to be.

Once start dates for the bans (England and Wales) were finalised we confirmed the availability of additional funds to assist retailers and managers in their preparations. Ten million pounds went towards supporting our leased estate (on top of our regular investment programme), while £8m will ensure every managed house (Spirit Group) pub has an external smoking solution.

Effective preparation for the smoking ban isn't just about putting up smoking shelters or opening up beer gardens. It involves making tangible improvements to every part of a pub business - its look, feel, ambience, product range, food and customer service. The case studies below support this approach.

In your view, which single outlet in the estate has made the most impressive changes? Please give details and how much the work has cost?

Brierfields in Bolton, which had a £340,000 scheme to transform the pub into a bar and tapas restaurant. It went smoke-free when it reopened, has external facilities, and the retailer kicked a 60-a-day habit at the same time.

Carpenters Arms in Swansea. A £20,000 investment to create an outdoor area with a heated pagoda. It was decorated with flowers and had a new coffee machine installed to broaden its customer offer; its restaurant and lounge went smoke-free years ago to kick start the process of change. The licensees held a smoking party before the Welsh ban started, where the pub was painted and cleaned to mask odours.

Willow Tree in Bourn, Cambridgeshire, and the Poacher in Elsworth, Cambridgeshire, where we spent £250,000 across both pubs on refurbishments with external facilities. Both pubs went smoke-free in 2006 and have since enjoyed tremendous success.

What impact do you think the smoke ban will have on trade?

In the long term we believe the ban's impact will be positive as non-smokers and families return to pubs as part of their leisure activities. The onus is on the licensees and pub companies to make their businesses welcoming, with a wide selection of products available, impeccable retail standards and first class customer service.

If the industry can deliver on this and make pubs memorable places to be, the benefits are ours for the taking.

As with all things, good pub operators will continue to do well regardless of the change in law - those that want or need any extra help will be able to access that through Punch.

Did you set up a special team to manage the transition to go smoke-free? Yes.

If so, when was the group established? Early 2005.

Have you produced any material explaining the changes and circulated it around your estate? Yes.

If yes, please give a few brief details.

We produced a no-smoking pack called "Dealing with the Ban", which was adapted for both the leased and tenanted estates. It contained techniques for dealing with the ban, legislative guidelines, staff training methods and tips for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.

Also regular newsletters, mail shots, a DVD, one-to-one planning sessions with business relationship/development managers, product buying guides and promotional items.

There was a series of smoking-ban seminars for retailers in the leased estate and training sessions for team players in the managed estate.

Did you have a team of advisers visiting pubs to advise on the legislation and help them find a suitable solution?

Yes. Activity was driven by our business relationship and business development managers.