Publican Conference: 'Individual pubs are best'

Large managed estates are unlikely to make for good individual pubs, according to a panel of industry experts speaking at The Publican Conference.

Speakers including Young's retail director Patrick Dardis and pub business consultant Ali Carter attempted to define what makes a good pub - and concluded that the best sites are likely to be freehouses or those in small pub companies.

The event, chaired by BBC Breakfast's Declan Curry, brought together delegates from across the pub industry to debate a range of issues and listen to speakers including leading economist Mark Berrisford-Smith.

It also highlighted exclusive consumer research conducted by The Publican in association with Sky, which pointed the way forward for pubs and examined some of the impact of the smoking ban and the Licensing Act.

Speaking during the afternoon session, Dardis said the best operators in the business were always individuals.

Dardis said: "Who are the best operators? There's absolutely no doubt it's not Young's or our competitors, they are the individual operators or the small companies.

"Whether that can be replicated on a bigger scale is doubtful. The more you expand your business, the less likely you are to be able to guarantee their quality."

Responding to research conducted by The Publican and Sky that found 12 per cent of customers see staff as the most important reason for choosing a pub, the panel pointed to the importance of licensees and managers 'with personality'.

Ali Carter, a former BII Licensee of the Year, said, when recruiting staff, she used to ask them in interviews to tell her a joke or to name the person they most admire as a means of testing their personality. "I could train the skill, I could not train the personality," she said.

The research found 48 per cent of consumers think quality food and drink is the most important reason for choosing a pub, and 30 per cent think value for money is.

See the next issue of The Publican for more from the conference, and a full rundown of the consumer research​