Exclusive research: Tenants' satisfaction with pubcos improves again

Results from the annual Tenant Track survey conducted by M&C Allegra, sister brand to the Publican’s ​Morning Advertiser​ (PMA), found tenant satisfaction levels had risen for the third consecutive year.

The average rating of pubcos “taking everything into consideration” rose to 7.0 out of 10, up from 6.8 last year, driven by particularly strong improvements from Star Pubs & Bars, Marston’s and Admiral. Regional brewers scored higher ratings among tenants than their national pub company counterparts.

The results come as the Government fine-tunes a statutory code of practice to govern the pubco-tenant relationship with the large pub companies, and reveals the identity of the new pubs code adjudicator (see box below).

Responses ranged from 7.9 out of 10 for the best-performing pubco to 6.2 for the worst. Some 23% of respondents said their relationship had improved — in line with last year — during the past 12 months, with 10% saying it had worsened.

The latest Tenant Track survey was conducted between November 2015 and January 2016 among a nationally representative sample of about 1,500 pub tenants from 11 pubcos, including the six largest.

In general, the survey showed positive scores in a number of areas, specifically tenant awareness of, and pubco compliance with, codes of practice, growing satisfaction with the quality of business development managers and pub companies’ understanding of tenants’ business.

Some 84% of tenants think their pub company complies with the code, unchanged from a year ago, with the same number rating it as ‘fair’. National pubcos scored lower on this metric than regional brewers.

BDMs are generally well rated and respected, with 82% believing their BDM understands their business. The same percentage rated their BDM as either very or somewhat useful. Tenants’ average rating of the overall quality of their BDM was 7.53.

However, the survey did identify room for improvement in certain areas. Average ratings for pubco support on food and drink choice in terms of pricing and range was comparatively low across the board, with food support scoring particularly poorly. Satisfaction with marketing support rose slightly, but scores on how best to utilise social media remained unchanged at 5.4.

PMA editor Ed Bedington said: “It’s hugely positive to see the results of this survey that shows pub companies are making efforts to improve relationships and services to their tenants. There’s a lot of challenges in this sector, and it’s easy to focus on the negatives and allow that to drown out some of the good things that are going on. This research shows that there is good work being done, and I’m looking forward to seeing that good work continue and grow into the future.”

Kevin Georgel, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, the top performing national pubco in the survey, said: “We see our mission as supporting our licensees in the ways they need it most, empowering them to run their pub to the best of their ability. These results acknowledge the progress we are making through this distinctive approach.”

For further details on the survey, email steve.gotham@mca-insight.com.