Before the massive mergers that took place only a few years later, there were still quite a number of breweries that owned rather a lot of pubs. Many of these pubs were tenanted, in that they had a person who ran the business and whose business was tied to the brewery for all products sold. He or she paid a rent to the brewery and otherwise ran the pub more or less as they saw fit. The other common operating model was of course, management of the pub directly by the brewery itself. This is a model favoured by some, indeed many, now. Usually then there was a mixed estate of tenanted and managed pubs.
Now we are assured by a certain beer writer that everyone loves a table, so I thought, why not jump on this bandwagon. Don't worry, I'll likely be jumping off it again very soon indeed. Here's how it all looked in 1960:
I suppose two things strike me. The very large variation in numbers of those managed directly and secondly, not one of the breweries mentioned is still a going concern today.
Source as previous blog post about Area Managers two days ago
I know John Smith is still a brewery, but it is not an independent company. As for managed houses, increasingly those with the most earning potential are put under management as you might expect. It would be interesting to see such a table now.
Managed or tenanted in those days. A bit more complicated now, with long-term leaseholders and self-employed managers to add to the mix. Marstons are fond of the latter, but it is a business model that I struggle to get my head around.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the high concentration of managed pubs in the Midlands (see Ansells and M&B)this may have been a result of the substantial investment in larger than normal pubs in that area over the last 50 years where there would have been a desire on the part of the brewery to maximise return on investment by employing managers
ReplyDeleteGood point Size matters.
ReplyDeletepubs used to be public outlet for brewers
ReplyDeletenow the pub themed leisure retail spaces are owned by real estate companies
REIT. Real Estate Investment Trust. Most pubs are owned by by them now, even if not directly. They're not in the least bit interested in beer sales, just the rent, property value as a whole and the cumulative return on the block investment, which is simply a traded commodity for them. All a direct consequence of the beer orders.
ReplyDelete