The UK Pub Scene

After living in London for a year I can tell you that the British Pub is still the center of after-work activity, and in many parts, during work activity. But the Pubs are under siege from low-priced super-market beer, taxes and the living room.

According to a market research report by Marketresearch.com partner IBISWorld, the Pub and Bar industry got caught between legislative changes that bumped up the operating costs and the “crippling economic recession" that started in late 2008.


Add into that a ban on smoking in public places, alcohol taxes, a rising minimum wage and boom, the UK has seen “unprecedented levels of pub closures.” The Pubs are fighting back, diversifying their menus. The entire hospitality industry in the UK is looking for a boost from all the world attention on the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, among other marquee events.

Consolidation is expected to continue as the industry leaders try to improve their position and expand their presence. But the Pub owners are a clever lot and they are expected to continue diversifying their offerings and diversifying their customer bases by adding amenities from conferences to business facilities and extended morning hours.

Whether midday or happy hour I have still never been to an empty Pub. I remember one rainy Saturday morning in Sheffield. At 11:00 AM the restaurants were not yet open for lunch and so my 12 year-old daughter and I, in a hurry to get back to her swim meet, settled for fish and chips amidst the pub drinkers before noon.

These weren't derelicts and drunks, they included a couple in their seventies, young women in their 20's with babies in high chairs. Families, football fans, cricket fans, all of them head to the pub to meet with friends and argue about sport and life.

Long Live the Pub

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