Bianca Dexter-Burnell: What have we learned from the recession - and can we prevent it happening again?

It has been a serious time for the licensed trade. The sector is battle-weary from the recession and the fight towards a recovery.

However, it is worth pausing for a moment to examine a few of the lessons that we have learned going through the recession alongside our clients.

The primary lesson that has been reinforced by the downturn is the need to plan for the unexpected. There needs to be a plan B, and a plan C.

In the period leading up to recession, many licensed trade business models were founded on the assumption that the property market would keep on rising ­ coming undone when that assumption proved false. Worryingly, this assumption is creeping back into certain business plans.

While a rapid drop in property values similar to that seen in 2008/09 is unlikely in the near future, business plans should be based on the ethos of 'what goes up must come down'. Planning for realistic fluctuations in value creates much greater confidence amongst banking and business partners that a company will be able to achieve a 'best case' outcome and survive the cycle.

Secondly, acquisitions are the fastest route to growth, but they are also one of the most difficult processes a business can undertake. In the run-up to the recession, we saw some groups snapping up everything they could, looking for scale to provide competitive advantage. Some of this empire-building paid off.

However, for many it did not and they were left to turn around ailing and ill-fitting acquisitions. As companies spin off non-core assets, often at bargain prices, acquisitive businesses taking advantage of such opportunities should not lose sight of the pain such deals can bring.

Then there is a real temptation for hospitality businesses to follow the market blindly, simply to keep pace with the latest industry trends. But change for the sake of change is never advisable, as witnessed in the gastro-pub explosion. Being counter-cyclical in business management and offering points of difference is often the best of all competitive advantages.

Also, while leverage levels and debt appetite remain somewhat constrained this will not always be the case; at some point in the cycle we will see appetite for leverage climb.

While accepting there was simply too much leverage in the economy, the temptation can arise for a business to load up with debt in the short term to invest, acquire or grow.

But lending should be based on rock solid business plans. Both lender and borrower must agree on the level of financing appropriate for a business, and factors such as a rapid rise in interest rates or a significant short-term drop-off in demand would severely undermine a glut of cheap lending which isn¹t put wisely, and promptly, to work.

Lastly, it is inevitable that government cuts will hit consumer spending, and with VAT a likely target for tax rises, core business operations need to be vigilant over margin-management.

The good news is those businesses which have come through the recession in reasonably good shape have had to become very good at cash management. It is vital this disciplined approach continues.

While the global economy is not out of the woods yet, learning the lessons of the past decade will go at least some way to keeping the taps flowing in British pubs through this new age of austerity.

Bianca Dexter-Burnell is head of licensed trade at Barclays Commercial Bank​