Press Release Summary = Public houses went into 2006 anticipating more major changes in their trading, with bans on smoking adding to the disruption caused by the new Licensing Act in 2005.
Press Release Body = Public Houses Market Report Plus 2006
Public houses went into 2006 anticipating more major changes in their trading, with bans on smoking adding to the disruption caused by the new Licensing Act in 2005. Devolution means that Scottish pubs were entirely non-smoking from 27th March 2006, while the debate in England continues over whether to ban smoking selectively (e.g. only in pubs serving meals). Legislation is being formulated in 2006 which will ban smoking in pubs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland during 2007.
In the UK, turnover for public houses grew only modestly (by 14.6%) in the 5 years to 2005, reaching an estimated £16.33bn at retail selling prices (rsp). Competition from cheap take-home drinks is fierce and the pub\'s strongest element has been their foodservice. As a share of typical pub turnover, food has been rising for many years, accounting for a forecast 23% in 2006 -double the share it held in the early 1990s. However, the number of pubs has started to decline gradually, falling just below the peak of 60,000 in 2005.
Although this gradual decline is likely to continue in the later years of the decade, research commissioned exclusively for Key Note in 2006 confirmed the enduring nature of the pub as a social institution. In January 2006, two-thirds of adults said that they meet friends and eat meals in pubs, and nearly as many agreed that they use pubs for family occasions or celebrations.
The well-publicised right for pubs to stay open for 24 hours a day became reality in England in November 2005, but very few took up this option and the media exaggerated the negative impact on town-centre disorder. Of more significance was the continuing change of ultimate ownership for thousands of pubs. The biggest takeover of the year saw Punch Taverns buying Spirit Group to overtake Enterprise Inns in the pub league table. The two leaders now have more than 18,000 pubs between them, or nearly a third of the national total.
If the smoking ban experience in the Republic of Ireland is replicated in the UK, publicans will lose some trade in the aftermath of the ban. However, the impact of a `clean air\' policy is likely to be offset by other factors that affect the pub trade: consumer confidence, the growth of eating out and entertainment in pubs, the weather during the year and even sports events, such as the World Cup 2006.
2025
