Mark Kenyon: Will this Christmas see much goodwill between pub operators and their banks?

The last few weeks in banking have been historic and when my grandchildren study economics at school (my daughters are aged 14 & 11), I will be able to say "yes, granddad remembers the Credit Crunch of 2008".

Overlay that with all of my time focusing on looking after my licensed trade customers, varied in terms of size, geographical location and offerings, and it has been a remarkable couple of months.

The licensed trade has had issues of its own and much has been written about the smoking ban, red tape, and competition from supermarkets to name but a few - all of which were in evidence prior to the economic conditions.

We are in unparalleled times but the motto 'cash is king' remains so important. With fluctuating stock markets, reduced investment, increased costs, falling property values and reduced sales - companies need to do what they can to improve cashflow.

Traditionally Christmas is a time when the on-trade operators have seen their biggest injection of cash thanks to the festive peak in drinks sales and Christmas parties; however will this year prove to be the usual boom?

Consumer spending and confidence remains down; people are suggesting that Christmas is cancelled in London and so there will be a smaller cake to be cut up, among all operators. In addition supermarkets are running aggressive marketing and promotions which may well lead to them taking a larger slice of said cake.

The drinks business has reported that major suppliers are in turmoil after being given what some are calling an ultimatum by one of Britain's biggest retailers.

They say they have been given new "take it or leave it" terms that include an immediate 20 per cent cut in the price they will be charged, a doubling of promotional activity to be funded by suppliers and a ban on any price increase to them for the next year, no matter what the reason.

So what does this mean for licensed trade operators and how are banks helping them through?

Some suggest that the recent developments in the banking world will lead to a step change in customer/banker relations; however in reality we won't see a huge sea change.

Viable businesses are still going to attract banks' support, the banks' success is intrinsically linked to their success. Barclays' lending polices to licensed trade business have always been about sustainable cash generation, proven ability to service debt and having a management team who will drive the business forward

and execute strategy in difficult times.

Fundamentals remain and yes the viability of a business will be scrutinised, assumptions tested and sensitised, with terms and conditions realigned to the current market conditions.

Barclays Commercial Bank has dedicated industry specialists for just this reason, to ensure they understand customer needs and can develop tailored solutions that work for the industry.

Focusing on the customer is so important, and solutions helping the licensed trade at the moment are around slowing repayments, allowing capital injection for refurbishments and hedging around the LIBOR/ base rate divergence.

It is a tough market place with challenging trading conditions - August and September were hard; the Christmas cash cow won't be the same as seen in recent years and the drop in business in the New Year could well be greater than seen previously.

However, the first three months of 2009 will be the real test, pub companies need to focus now on ensuring they are well positioned

to manage this and should be having open and honest conversations with their bankers so we can work together to get through this period.

Mark Kenyon is head of licensed trade, Barclays Commercial Bank ​