Call to arms for Admiral Taverns tenants

The newly-appointed head of Admiral Taverns' new division of bottom-end pubs said he wants underperforming tenants to "grasp the opportunities" that become available.

Former InDeeD Group boss Peter Brook was last week named as managing director of the 400-strong pub division created by Admiral, which has effectively ring-fenced the privately-owned pubco's worst performing sites.

Describing the pubs as a "mixed bag", Brook said less than 10 per cent of the 400 sites were currently closed for business. Some tenants were doing "a superb job in tough conditions", he said, though he believed there were some who were not making the most of opportunities where they existed, such as opening over the lunchtime period.

"Gone is the time when tenants could simply open their doors and expect people to come into the pub," he said. "We all know the pub market is tough at the moment, but there are a lot of opportunities. Some pubs just need a bit of cash to support the customer offer."

Capital expenditure would be "driven by need rather than budget", Brook said, with spending on sites ranging between £20,000 and £70,000, with a view to increasing pub profits by a third.

"That'll be tough to achieve but good quality tenants and some investment in the pubs will help. There's still scope to get a good return," he added.

Brook admitted Admiral may have to recruit new tenants to replace underperforming ones, and for the "small percentage" of closed pubs within the new division that the group would be looking to relaunch.