A quarter of a century ago, when the ALMR was formed in 1992, the landscape of the UK’s licensed hospitality industry was very different. The average price of a pint was £1.40, the inaugural Premier League football season had yet to kick off and Nottingham dance act KWS were riding high in the charts with Please Don’t Go.
The ALMR was founded primarily to represent the interests of the wet-led pubs that dominated the sector and had been the mainstay of licensed hospitality for decades. For many customers, a visit to the pub meant an afternoon or evening drinking, with little or no focus on food. Dining out meant something else entirely, usually reserved for special occasions, involving something more elaborate and possibly expensive. The boom in high street coffee shops was yet to happen and non-alcoholic options were far fewer and less varied.
During the past 25 years, the UK’s eating and drinking-out market has changed enormously and the ALMR has evolved to keep pace with the rapid rate of change. The association is now bigger than ever and boasts a diverse and innovative membership, spanning traditional pubs, bars, casual dining, fast casual, student unions and nightclubs.
In just the past five years, all the major managed pub companies have joined the ALMR, including Greene King and, most recently, Marston’s. We merged with the Bar, Entertainment & Dance Association to consolidate our representation as the voice of the evening and night-time economy and, in the past two years, we have established ourselves as the largest representative voice for restaurants.
We are now recognised by Government as the de facto voice for eating and drinking out on the issues that matter most.
There have been plenty of milestones and achievements during that 25-year journey, but I’d like to highlight just a few:
- Playing an integral role in licensing reform, which has been a powerful catalyst for innovation across the licensed hospitality sector and resulted in diversification and investment in venues and high streets
- Founding members of Best Bar None and Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS)
- The launch of the Operations Managers Awards, which recognise brightest and best area and business development managers (and are still going strong to this day)
- Launching successful industry campaigns including Stick to the Limit to reduce drink-driving and I’ve Changed My Outlook to raise the profile of industry voices with politicians
- Significant campaign wins on business rates, cutting red tape for operators, challenging late-night levies across the country and keeping wage rate increases affordable
- Establishing the always memorable and hugely enjoyable ALMR Christmas lunch in the industry calendar
So, as we reflect on a dramatic quarter of a century for the eating and drinking-out market, and a successful first 25 years for the ALMR, we are in great shape to represent the myriad of exciting and innovative businesses that make up our membership.
We are determined to put that powerful voice to good effect – acting as an effective fourth pillar in vital Brexit negotiations alongside farmers, supermarkets and manufacturers to get a fair deal on migration; negotiating on the obesity strategy as the voice of out of home; representing hospitality in the Tourism Alliance both in the UK and the EU; and, working with allied trade associations, leading the campaign on reducing the burden of employment and property costs and business rates.
We calculate that, last year alone, our vital and influential campaigning work helped save the sector more than £1.5bn in additional costs. But there is much more to do.
Businesses in the sector need stability and certainty to continue to innovate, invest and sustain the dynamism to reinvent themselves as they have continually done over the past 25 years.
At our Spring Conference, we unveiled new research, carried out in conjunction with the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) and accountants Ernst & Young, which clarified the size, scale and importance of the eating and drinking-out market, establishing it as a strategic growth champion; a golden thread in the Government’s new industrial strategy.
The research shows it is the UK’s third largest private sector employer, contributing 5% of UK GDP, supporting 3m jobs. Of that, pubs and restaurants generate £60bn in turnover, invest £4bn a year in capital expenditure and provide £18bn in tax receipts.
We have also launched a new website that translates these headline stats to a local level and quantifies the investment – a key tool in making sure our concerns are front and centre in the forthcoming general election and in helping businesses communicate directly with their local MP – something that was vital in the recent business rates campaign.
As we look ahead to our next quarter of a century and what will no doubt be another eventful period for our dynamic sector, the ALMR is determined to continue to be that strong, robust and effective voice.
We will continue to grow, uniting and representing the broadest range of businesses, so our sector gets the credit and recognition it deserves alongside the supportive regulatory regime to thrive and deliver.