Pubs across the UK have gone through many extreme changes over the past two decades.

They have become trendier, lots have rebranded and there has been a shift towards serving more food.  This has attracted younger customers who meet regularly in large groups and spend lots of money on their nights out.  The elderly men who meet for a pint and a quiet chat are now very rarely seen.

We have also seen the rise of gastropubs.  These are pubs which serve high quality food, and which can be found in most towns, cities and villages.  As a country, we like to eat out and this has grown in popularity due to TV programmes like Master Chef.   

Many pubs have also focused on serving coffee.  The coffee market has exploded worldwide, especially in the UK and pubs have capitalized on this.  People who are shocked by the prices the coffee chains charge are happy to get the same beverage from a pub.  Some also choose to meet for a coffee to discuss business in a pub instead of a more formal setting.

The smoking ban which came into effect in 2007 was the catalyst for pubs to change.  Due to this, pubs lost a lot of business and in an attempt to claw this back, started using their gardens.  Further changes took place due to healthier lifestyles and changing social habits.  People started to drink less and eat healthier food.  Between 2004 and 2016, alcohol consumption dropped by 16% (click here to view source of data).  People also wanted more live entertainment and a place to enjoy major sporting events which most pubs now offer.

In nutshell, pubs have responded extremely well to changes in people’s social habits.  They have survived because they have adapted and this is to their credit.

However, the one thing which pubs have found it difficult to cater for is changes in the economy.  A lot of pubs have shut down over the years.  This has mainly been due to supermarkets selling cheap alcohol and developers buying and turning pubs into flats.  The most recent challenge for pubs is soaring inflation and rising interest rates.  As people struggle to pay their bills, they have less money to spend on entertainment.

Pubs used to be extremely popular amongst commercial property investors.  However, about 10 years ago, they fell out of favour.  Some pubs could no longer compete with restaurants and supermarkets whilst others decided to sell to housebuilders.  The ones which couldn’t compete and couldn’t sell had to close.  Landlords then found it hard to find replacement pub tenants so were stuck with vacant properties and no income.  The value of these properties fell significantly and quickly and some haven’t recovered many years on. A few years ago, we started to notice that we were getting offered lots of pubs.  Owners were desperate to sell and were willing to accept low offers.  We also noticed that a large percentage of these pubs were in Wales.  We have bought many pubs, and are still looking to buy more, as long as they are in good locations.