Punch Taverns licensees attend forum to help drive footfall

Landlords from pubs in Derbyshire and Yorkshire debated the initiatives at Risley Park in Derby last month.

Glenn Allen, who has been running the Red Lion in Bakewell for nine months, said he found the forum very beneficial.

“I was really curious as I have never attended a Punch forum before and it was an ideal opportunity to talk directly to Punch staff as well as other publicans to see what they had to say,” he said.

“It was an extremely positive initiative and I got a lot out of it as there were so many different types of pubs to provide a different angle. I found the discussions around cask ale and Finest Cask particularly interesting and I look forward to see how my ideas and input will be addressed and taken forward."

Andy Slee, external affairs and central operations director at Punch, said the forum was useful to determine the needs of partners and has encouraged the company to plan more events in the upcoming weeks.

He said: “The forums are just one of a number of initiatives to help us build strong working relationship with our pubs and to maximise the value we to them.”

Head of the contact centre Caroline Jackson said the feedback has also helped Punch reconfirm and expand on issues raised at their Buying Club Summit in May, such as their online product range, multi-channel help options and interactive community initiatives.