What’s 2019 got in store for pubs?

Peering at next year’s calendar, it is hard not to be ­fixated on Friday 29 March, the date the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union.

As British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Brigid Simmonds says, while it will signify change, we currently don’t know what will happen, which makes it a tough job for pubs, or any business for that matter, to plan ahead.

“We do not make political statements about Brexit one way or another, but obviously uncertainty is neither good for the industry nor the consumer,” she says, highlighting food and people shortages as potential problem areas for the industry post-Brexit.

Fresh food stuck in lorries around Dover due to the implementation of Operation Brock could pose problems for food-led pubs in particular, says Simmonds, who also asserts that although it may take two years or so for the full impact of changes around migrant workers to kick in, it is next year when details will need to be ironed out.

“We’ve got these discussions, which we absolutely need to have, about migration and immigration: where the Tier 2 (work visa) will end up, our concerns about the £30,000 salary cap – which doesn’t work for pub chefs – and how they are going to extend the youth mobility scheme,” she says.

“It’s di­fficult to know what the impact will be, but sta­ffing will undoubtedly be a considerable challenge for our members,” echoes British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) CEO Mike Clist, who believes success lies in ‘training, investment in great people and shouting about the fantastic career pathways that exist in our industry’.

Beer sales are certain

While Brexit presents uncertainty, where there is certainty in 2019 is with beer sales, enthuses Simmonds. This is down to the fact the UK brews most of the beer the nation drinks and with the Chancellor freezing beer duty for another year, taps will not run dry and costs will stay down.

“For beer we are pretty self-sufficient in this country,” she says. “We’re an exporter of malted barley, 82% of the beer we drink here is produced here, and the issues (in this regard) are more to do with price of raw materials as we go forward.”

Thankfully, before Brexit beckons there are some dates worth celebrating. January marks the launch of the BII’s Licensee of the Year Award (LOYA) competition. The LOYA looks at every aspect of a licensee’s pub, from marketing to financial planning, with finalists invited to attend a judging day in June before the winner is revealed at the BII Summer Event the following day.

“It’s a fabulous celebration of the talent in our industry, as are the NITAs (National Innovation in Training Awards) which we will host in November,” says Clist. “Every year the standard of entrants gets better and better and proves our industry is world leading in terms of progression, training and people development.”

Other industry awards include the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs on 28 January, The Publican Awards at Battersea Evolution on 12 March and the Great British Pub Awards in September.

Celebrating the MA

On 11 February this very magazine will also mark its 225th anniversary.

First published in 1794 by the London Society of Licensed Victuallers, The Morning Advertiser is the UK’s oldest continuously produced paper and counted famous author Charles Dickens as an early contributor and former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell as a reporter.

Morning Advertiser editor Ed Bedington says: “Two hundred and twenty five years is a major milestone for any publication and we’re going to celebrate in style this year with a bumper special issue looking at the history of the pub trade, as well as the people and brands that have helped make our sector what it is today.”

Host of sporting events

Other highlights to mark on the calendar for the first half of the year include St Patrick’s Day which falls on a Sunday and a host of sporting events which will help pull punters into pubs showing them.

“With 2.5m people watching sport in pubs and bars every week, there are plenty of money-making opportunities for venues,” says Sky Sports’ marketing controller David Vaira, who claims that the Premier League is the number-one footfall driver for pubs and bars showing Sky Sports.

“Even more games have been added to the Sky Sports schedule in the 2019/20 season,” he adds.

“This, coupled with extra games in the EFL, action from the Carabao Cup and SPFL, plus the exclusively live semi-finals and final from the UEFA Nations League, means Sky Sports’ breadth and quality of football coverage will continue to attract sports fans into pubs and bars.”

Outside football, the 2019 Women’s Six Nations begins on 1 February with a match between Ireland and England, with the tournament set to conclude on 17 March which, as well as being St Patrick’s Day, is also the date the Formula 1 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix.

Big year for Formuia 1

Next year is a big one for Formula 1 as it celebrates the 1,000th Grand Prix since its inception in 1950. Pubs looking for a speedy way to success should note that the Chinese Grand Prix on 14 April is when this milestone race will be held.

As we move into the summer, popular sports tournaments to mark on the calendar are the Cricket World Cup, which starts on 30 May and ends on 14 July, the Women’s Football World Cup in France from 7 June to 7 July, and The Ashes on 1 August.

Towards the end of the year is the Rugby World Cup ( from September 20). Despite being held in Japan, which could make live match screenings tricky, it is likely to be a trade-driver for pubs supporting it. As Simmonds says, sport is always good for pubs and, according to Sky’s Vaira, 99% of sports fans would return to the same venue having watched live sport there.

While sport is a positive trade-driver for pubs, the final key date in 2019’s calendar is one that marks an event that changed the trading landscape completely.

Reflecting on Beer Orders

December 1989 saw the introduction of the Beer Orders, a statutory instrument which restricted the number of tied pubs that could be owned by large breweries in the UK to 2,000, and led to the creation of the pubcos.

December 2019 will be the 30^th anniversary of the Government’s biggest intervention into the industry and although no one will be celebrating it, there is no denying it is a date we should reflect on.

Simmonds says a more ‘pertinent’ fact arising from the Beer Orders is that a review of the statutory code for pubs is due by 31 March 2019 after pressure from tenants to rethink the code.

“It will be an issue for everybody next year and we’re going to be working with the six pub companies that are covered by the statutory code to work through it,” she says.

‘Positive about the future’

Major events will happen next year, both positive and negative, but as industry leaders point out, it is the fact that pubs provide an environment for people to spend time in, whatever the date, that make them special.

“We feel incredibly positive about the future of our industry, which has always been a resilient one,” says the BII’s Clist. “The unique opportunity for our pubs lies in the way in which theycan provide the much-needed ‘third space’ for people, away from their homes and workplaces.

“For many, isolation and loneliness is a daily reality and, for some, the only human contact they have is with the friendly face behind the bar. It may be just small talk with another customer about the weather, or a bit of lively discussion about last night’s match, but those small moments of connection with another person are what put pubs at the heart of their communities and are what will ensure their survival.”