Where there's a will there's a way...despite the hurdles

News that Parliament last week gave its nod of approval to next year's VAT increase will have surprised no-one. The nation's books have to be balanced, argue MPs. We're all going to have to pay for the profligacy of the past.

Quite what the impact will be on pub operators remains to be seen, though one can hazard a close-to-the-mark guess.

Most will have no choice but to pass on the increase to customers already minding the pennies. Some, whose offer is already top notch, will find things tough but do-able. Others, for a variety of reasons, will find things tough and face a titanic struggle to make ends meet. And some - JD Wetherspoon springs gazelle-like to mind - could well embark on a round of downturn-busting promotions to get people through the doors of their pubs.

Meanwhile, holiday-bound executives may be pondering what the Chancellor has up his sleeve in his autumn statement, little more than three months' away. Respite for the trade? Don't bet on it.

But it's not all gloom, doom and despondency. There are those in the trade who see opportunities where others choose to see a dead end.

Incensed by the decline of the local pub stock in his part of the world licensee Simon Griffiths and his colleagues in the Cross Keys in Swansea put their collective talents into action. They formed a pub company and are intent on returning local pubs to local people.

And in North Yorkshire Michael Ibbotson and his team at the Durham Ox have snapped up a number of nearby pubs with the aim of restoring and then advancing their fortunes.

This proactive approach shows that independent operators can make a difference, when the will to do the job properly is very much present and correct.