Punch Taverns rolls out two new formats

Operations director David Wigham said that Mighty Local, a community pub template, is currently in 12 sites and is “performing really well”. He said high street sports bar concept Champs is about to reach five sites, two years after the first pub to take the moniker opened.

The company is also looking at other concepts but Wigham said these were “the most significant”.

He said: “We are not a managed operator but we are seeking to become more involved in the running of some sites.”

He said that although the Mighty Local format was a newer concept, its trial period was further down the line than Champs.

“We have been evaluating the success on certain key value indicators and it has performed really well. What we were really pleased with is that margins weren’t compromised.”

Mighty Local​

The Mighty Local format provides tenants with an operating template and help with setting up the venture. Tenants, who include new arrivals to the company and existing licensees, are given a “rhythm of the week”, which details initiatives and themes to focus on for that week.

Wigham said that while the branding is not external at the moment, this could be an option going forward. “This is about a great community local so the personality of the tenant is always key,” he said.

The first Champs was opened in Sheffield in the summer of 2012 but is now starting to gain interest.

Wigham said: “It has taken longer than Mighty Local to establish itself but we now have the fifth site on the way.”

On options to extend the formats further, Wigham said: “Where we think it’s appropriate, we will look at that. We have a large estate and there are many different  formats that can work for us. But we have built relationships with individual tenants that we could never hope to replicate and that will continue to be key for us.”