Light at the end of the licensees' tunnel?

By Graham Timmins
of Miller Commercial, Truro

August 17, 2007: At the time of writing, with the summer season nearly having been and gone like a flash, and broadly equating to a hot June and the odd sporadic day, licensees, and indeed other businesses across Cornwall, must be feeling a little down-hearted.

Early indicators suggest that the poor weather in the county and recent interest rate rises will undoubtedly have an effect on trade. This is, of course, on the back of two years of reform in the pub industry, with the introduction of the new Licensing Act and, most latterly, the smoking ban, which came into force in England on July 1.

It seems that the past few years and recent weather conditions have taken their toll, and, as a result, there are an ever-increasing number of leasehold properties and businesses coming to the market.

Licensees, however, can take heart, as there would appear to be a very strong flow of new entrants to the industry who, with some assistance, can do a lot of the groundwork to ensure that when they find the right pub, they are in a position to act quickly.

This initial work includes obtaining their personal licence, engaging with a specialist commercial broker, and identifying a solicitor who specialises in pub tenancy agreements. Other important considerations include the actual practicalities of running a pub, the day-to-day working relationship with pub company / brewery and, finally, the local marketplace in which they propose to operate.

Miller Commercial, at Truro, have successfully been involved in a high number of leasehold transactions in Cornwall in recent times. It is our agency's belief that while other parts of the UK are experiencing a slowdown in pub sales, such is the favoured nature of where we live and work that the market shows local buyers intending to stay within their community and indeed out-of-county buyers keen to acquire licensed premises within our beautiful county.