Licensing reforms could be devastating
Right now, I bet that I sit in the same place as most licensees and operators. I know the Licensing Act is being amended.
I know that trade bodies are lobbying politicians, I know that the trade press is putting out snappy headlines and I know that there is much comment on below-cost off-trade selling.
Just another day in our industry. However, I sat for four hours last week in a room full of bright, luminary operators from our field, and left the room feeling hollow.
The effect of possible changes only dawned on me when explained in stark detail. To summarise those which caught my attention:
1. A group in Edinburgh will have the ability to object to licences in Brighton. Or anywhere else. Worse still, pubs everywhere could be threatened by dedicated anti-pub groups. Think "Health Lobby".
2. You have no right to appeal licensing decisions. If the council says that blue ceilings are a licence requirement, that is it.
3. Councils will have the ability to impose blanket conditions. They can make all ceilings in the area blue! You cannot object.
4. There will be fees for late-night operations. No problem for the little local — until "late night" is suddenly defined as anything after 10pm!
This is nuts. Every trade body and law firm is screaming, but they are struggling to be heard over the below-cost selling debate, which, if we are honest, does not address off-trade pricing meaningfully for us, and would be simple for any supermarket chain to step around by changing their discount into promotion support funds.
However, a darker side to the impact of the proposals has emerged. The effect on investment could be nuclear. If this goes through, your next bank-funded acquisition or development could reopen when Chernobyl becomes a tourist resort — time measured in half lives.
The effect on property values would be devastating, as no institution will invest in a business with an ability to trade that can be impaired at will. Following the difficulties of the last two years, the sector could implode.
Make no mistake. That table was primarily made up of wet-led interests, with most of the businesses concerned seeing this issue as far more devastating than the smoking ban. It certainly woke me up!
Write to your MP. Get behind your trade body. Scream and shout from the rooftops. Tell the customers that some weird religious group at the other end of the country can dictate what they do in their leisure time. We have to protest, however we can.
Paul Wigham is chief executive of Orange Sun Bars
