World’s Strongest Beer – A Cheap Publicity Stunt?

Brewmeister – a small Scottish craft brewery is the love child of two intrepid brewers, Lewis and John, who were bored of watery tasting lagers and boring beers

Their idea to open a brewery, which fused Scottish malts with German yeast, came about on the beautiful west coast of Scotland on a camping trip. Three months later, the guys had signed the lease on an old farm building and bought old dairy tanks to begin brewing. Nearly two years on, they have moved to a custom built brewery in Speyside, they now employ nearly 20 people and export around the world. Their passion is creating beers with a difference, which excites the taste buds and energises the soul; they wish Peace and love to all!

I think you’d have got a lot of peace and love from one of their recent brews - ‘Snake & Venom’ - which claimed an ABV of 67.5%, and which fell foul of the Advertising Standards Agency!! The ASA criticised their 67.5% claim because there was no clarity as to how the 67.5% was achieved – they suspected Ethyl Alcohol may have been added! The ASA have also suggested that future products from Brewmeister shouldn’t place an over-emphasis on the strength of the product! Wonder why?

Of course many have criticised Brewmeister for creating “The world’s strongest beer” simply as a cheap publicity stunt. But a recent counter-comment from Lewis Shand would seem to add credence to these claims – “We’re hoping to win people back with taste, not mad PR stunts like we have done before”.

A quick search of their online shop reveals that this particular brew is currently no longer available to buy, so it would appear that Brewmeister may have seen the error of their ways. Which is a bit of a shame, as I would have liked to have tried just a tooth-full!

At a time when most of the rest of the industry is reducing alcohol strengths to help combat the adverse effect of alcohol (and keep government off their backs) thank the Lord for companies like these who show that we really do live in a great nation where diversity and individuality reigns … if only temporarily!


Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Courses

Training Is Vital For Running A Successful Pub

I guess that most of you know that taking on a pub is the dream of many people, and you’ll certainly know that all of the doom and gloom merchants say “Don’t do it, Stupid”.

What I know is that for some it will work out brilliantly, for some it will be a disappointment - and yes for some it will be a disaster. But surely that mix should not take away the dream?

The one thing I do know without reservation is that ‘going in blind’ is a recipe for the disaster zone.

There are so called ‘industry experts’ who condemn Pub Companies for leading new entrants along a path of taking on ‘no-hope pubs’, and yet I know (there’s a lot I know, I know) that pub companies take enormous care, face high costs and show great commitment to ensuring all new entrants to their pubs have as much information as possible to prepare them for each pub. This preparation is no guarantee of success of course, just as preparing any athlete to run the 100 metres at the Olympics would not guaranteed them a Gold Medal. It would however point out the reality of the contest and the challenge ahead - the rest is frankly ‘down to them’.

Well, I want to put the record straight … new entrants into the tenanted and lease sectors get fantastic support, advice and training prior to taking their pubs - and I want to share with you some recent feed back from delegates on our latest 5 day course run for one of the largest pub co’s in the UK.

Here goes (all verbatim):-

• “The entire course has been relevant and extremely practical, very impressed”
• “I found the course very helpful as I am just starting out”
• “Very good course, the tutors were wonderful”
• “The course has been relevant and extremely informative and has cleared many questions and issues I could see prior to taking my pub. It has shown me issues in the pub that have to be addressed as soon as possible. All sections of the course have been explained in clear concise terms by the tutors. I strongly recommend using the training available so that I can pass all onto my staff”
• “This was a brilliant course, a brilliant week”
• “Good to come on the course before getting into my pub so that I can take what I have learnt into my new business”

Follow your dream say I, create your own future say I. Be aware however that there are no guarantees for success, BUT failing to prepare is preparing to fail!!

Here endeth the lesson.


Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of www.inn-dispensable.com Personal Licence Courses

Sign Up To Scrap the Duty Escalator

Ahead of the forthcoming Budget the battle has been joined by a new campaign to see the end of the hated Alcohol Duty Escalator!

The Chancellor last year decided not to implement the escalator on beer, and what do you know, as a result, the latest figures show that beer sales have grown - showing consecutive growth in two quarters for the first time in ten years. This in turn has raised more revenue for HMG, protected jobs and seen new investment in the sector. And now Wines and Spirits please!

Do you know that some 79% of the cost of a bottle of spirits and some 60% of the cost of a bottle of wine goes directly to HMG in one tax or another! The alcohol industry in general employs some 2 million people, is a glowing example of excellence, helps tourism, raises billions in tax and at pub level is at the centre of community life. So any action to hold prices down must surely be progressive?

Now there is a new campaign; "CALL TIME ON DUTY" and you can see all of the details on their website: www.calltimeonduty.co.uk

You can also contribute to the campaign by sending the following letter to your MP (courtesy of the campaign). The more they receive the better! So if you want to see the price of your pint, glass of claret and glass of gin not grow once again by 2% above inflation, get an envelope, print off the script below, sign it and down to the post office you go (or maybe email it to your local MP?)


Dear xxxx

I am writing as a constituent to ask you to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on my behalf. I would be grateful if you could urge him to call time on his alcohol super tax (the Alcohol Duty Escalator) in the 2014 Budget.

I am supporting the campaign because I cannot believe how unfair the current alcohol tax system is. I find it incredible that if I buy an average priced bottle of spirits, more than three-quarters (79%) of it goes to the Chancellor in tax. The tax on a bottle of wine, nearly 60% of the cost of an average priced bottle, is also ridiculously high, especially if you compare it with France where I would pay 20% or Spain where I would pay 21% in tax.

I just cannot see how it is fair to hit hard-pressed consumers with an alcohol super tax that keeps on rising by 2% above inflation, year on year. Surely the cost of living is already high enough without the Chancellor taking the tax on a bottle of spirits to over 80%, which is what will happen unless he calls time on his unpopular alcohol super tax in the next Budget.

George Osborne talks about creating new jobs and cutting taxes. Calling time on his super tax would do both. Independent research shows that 6000 new jobs could be created and £230 million of additional public finances generated to pay for schools and hospitals if he does the right thing and scraps his super tax.

The fact that my local pub would benefit too is really important. I was pleased when I heard the Chancellor wanted to support pubs, but then I learnt that he increased their tax bill by £34 million in 2013 through his Alcohol Duty Escalator on wines and spirits. This simply does not make sense when 26 million people drink wine in pubs, bars and restaurants, and wine and spirits already account for almost half (42%) of their alcohol sales.

Almost two million people depend on the alcohol industry for their livelihoods, while the industry generates £38 billion for the economy annually and pays £17 billion in tax.

Responsible drinkers deserve a freeze in alcohol duty, not another inflation-busting tax hike. Please could you urge the Chancellor to use his 2014 Budget to do the right thing and scrap this deeply unpopular super tax? I look forward to hearing from you and to receiving a copy of the Chancellor’s response to your letter.

Campaigning To Stop Further UK Pub Closures

The time is coming that "something" really needs to happen!

We have lost around ten thousand pubs in recent years, and if we are not careful we will lose many more in the not too distant future. There is of course lots going on to try and fight off the demise of our treasured pub institution, but frankly all of the effort in the world, other than getting more people to use pubs more often, will come to nought unless 'pub-going' gets back into fashion.

Government is also now realising that if more people stay at home drinking and purchasing alcohol in supermarkets there is a loss in revenue terms to the exchequer, this along with the social impact and high street demise. Pubs are important, stupid.

So what part does "the cost of going to the pub" play in the greater scheme of things? I think "more and more" is the answer.

I have blogged before on my 'hobby-horse' about our culture of 'round-buying', and I continue to believe that it is detrimental to our industry. I hear many people say that they avoid certain pubs at certain times because they know they will get involved in a round-buying group where a round can cost £20 or more. For those who want to go on doing it "fine", but let us create a culture where it is perfectly acceptable for those who want to "buy their own" to not be considered as skinflints or social pariahs!

Onto the VAT disparity twixt supermarkets and pubs. It is outrageous that supermarkets pay no VAT on food when pubs pay (and therefore you dear pub customer) 20%.

The argument is simple: Reduce VAT for pubs – more people will visit, spend more money, create more jobs, regenerate high streets, generate more revenue for HMG. The battle is joined and growing in influence. Want to know more? Take a view: www.vatclubjacquesborrel.co.uk


Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Courses

Successful Pubs Cater For Their Entire Local Community

There comes a time when contributing to the good of the community has to be balanced by commercial reality.

Can the greatest pub in the area really afford to continue letting the Dog Owners Society (nothing against dog owners!) of the village have a section of the restaurant area dedicated to them on the first Monday in every month, when two bottles of sparkling water is about the most they order? It’s a dilemma facing so many 'community pubs'.

'The pub' offers a terrific venue for so many obscure groups but they seldom want to pay for the privilege, and often only visit the local for this once a month meeting. But upsetting them by saying "sorry I am afraid you will have to find somewhere else" then gives the pub a (wholly undeserved) reputation locally of being skinflints (at best). There is an old adage from the rugby world which says "Kick one and fifteen limp" how true of local communities.

Being 'all things to all people' is the challenge facing our great unsung heroes; the husband and wife team who run the 'community local'. So many differing customer types and tastes to cope with and cater for: the local vicar, the local stone-waller, the local millionaire, the local bankrupt, the local drunk, the local flirt, the local do-gooder, the local author, the local celebrity, the local idiot, the local genius who knows how to run the pub better than you (well that applies to most of the list), the local recently bereaved widow, the local just out from the Nick, the local about to go into the Nick, the local who wants exclusive service, the local loudmouth, the local fighter, the local lover, the local singer, the local one-pint-a-night-man who wants the log fire lit just for him, the local who gets upset if someone sits in his seat, the local who always wants credit, the local who wants the music turned down, the local who wants the music turned up, the local who doesn’t want any music, the local who wants a different menu, the local who (constantly) tells you the beer is cheaper in Tescos (and Wetherspoon’s), the local who wants you to stock some obscure brand of gin and then doesn’t order any leaving you with dead stock, the local who complains that the quiz questions are too hard, the local who complains that the quiz questions are too easy, the local who says the lights are too bright, the local who says the lights are too dim, the local who says its too hot, the local who says its too cold, the local who wants you to provide the Daily Mail, the local who wants the Telegraph/Times/Mirror/Sun/Observer, the local who wants to sit and use your free Wi-fi whilst taking two hours to drink a half of shandy et all … and dear reader if you really want to have more, I can quote another twenty or so types!!

No wonder licencees are exhausted at the end of each day! And yet the good ones (and my word you need to be good these days) rise above all of these foibles of their cherished and valued customers and provide a terrific community service, and what’s more: I’ll bet the Dog Owners Club are not confronted and remain using the pub! Just perhaps they could spend a bit more?

Support your Local!!! They deserve every bit of your custom and you only get what you deserve. Use it or lose it! Support your local Landlord and Landlady, cherish the good ones, they can be few and far between!!


Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Courses

Timpson Adopts Whitbread's 300 Year Old Pub Management Model

There’s a new management philosophy being promoted and exulted called "Upside Down Management". The theory is that Head Office should set a few standards, then the 'front line' (in other words 'customer facing staff'), should run the business unhindered by HO interference.

It’s a bit similar to the introduction of tenancies in 1742 when Whitbread created them, in as much as the Whitbread Brewery brewed the ale, and the tenants interacted with the customers by selling it to them! Pretty simple model really. Here we are 271 years later seeing it being adopted by other retailers.

John Timpson, chairman of the shoe empire, is a leading advocate of trusting the front line staff to deliver the goods, and what a fine man he seems to be and what fine results his philosophy is achieving for his business.

Not only has he taken away the "Trust me I’m from head office" hierarchal approach and turned it upside down, he has removed all of the modern supply chain information obtained from data bases and computers, relying on motivated staff to forecast what is needed / when for their local store. Much more reliable in his experience! (perhaps a step too far for some retailers?).

Just to demonstrate his total belief in trusting staff, he even employs ex prisoners (about 10% of his staff). And what do you know, they perform brilliantly. Statistics prove that giving an ex prisoner a job, motivation and trust reduces recidivism from 61% to 19%. So, a great social contribution, as well as good business!

Here are some of the messages he offers around making this Upside Down system work:
• You need to recruit the best people, but (kindly) get rid of those who cannot respond to the trust placed upon them, or when they cannot deliver the business performance and growth others can.
• You need area mangers who understand that they are not there to 'tell' front line operators how and what to do; they are there to help grow each business by offering advice and support.
• You need to reduce the companies marketing spend and rely on local initiatives and word of mouth to do the job.
• You must pass power down to the front line for all operational matters.
• You must avoid putting in huge prescriptive regulations and rules just because 2% of the staff let you down (not always the ex prisoners by the way!). Instead, you need to trust the other 98% to deliver compensatory overall growth results.
• You need also to have a method of monitoring customer feedback.

Hang on, its 1742 all over again! And isn’t a lot of this just what we do in the tenancy world today?

We provide a low-entry-cost business opportunity, we set out a few standards (called an agreement), we then let the tenants run their businesses with support from an area manager. All we have to do as an industry is to find ways of Pub Cos/Brewers and Tenants to both get a fair return from their investment and efforts. Ah, there’s the rub … but it is not impossible!

By the way, I like to think that in Inn-Dispensable, we were 20 years ahead of Mr T, because this is exactly how our business model works which our chairman Phil Davison introduced all of those years ago, and I as MD have progressed and  developed ever since. We trust our tutors to deliver a great experience to all of our customers, and at HO we monitor customer feedback very closely.


Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Courses

Pub co or Freehouse?

This one is a long (long) read but worth getting to the bottom!!

Fred and Mary have always (for as long as they can remember) wanted to run a pub, they have no experience of running any sort of business what so-ever but as Fred has just lost his job and he is in his mid forties, they both reckon this is a good time to pursue that dream.

Mary, also in her mid forties, can easily give up her job behind the till at the local supermarket (when the time is right) not least because the £12k a year she earns for her full time duties has always seemed to her a poor reward for the effort she puts in.

Fred has been a store-man for a number of years at a local warehouse and his £19k pa is now lost, the company have however given him a redundancy package of £7k.

The three kids are at various stages of their education, with Sally doing A levels, Bert in year 9 and Rebecca in year 6. The combined wages of Fred and Mary over the past few years have been just about adequate to live quietly in their three bed semi, holidays and luxuries however have been sparse to say the least. They have maintained a mortgage on their property and have build up an equity stake of around £35k, they have little or no savings and so their fund to seek the pub of their dreams is around £40k.

Fred now has time on his hands and so starts his exploration of the various pubs available on the market and the various ways in which he and his missus could enter into the trade. He scours the web and finds there are “thousands” of pubs available and to his surprise finds there are many different ways in which to take one on, Free house, Tenancy with a tie, Tenancy without a tie, Free-house- free of Tie deal, Lease deal with a tie, Lease deal without a tie, Shared equity deal, Pub Management; all a bit confusing!

So he seeks advice, starting with his bank manager (same bank manager who told Richard Branson he would never make any money)who tells him to take up llama breeding in the Himalayas rather than take a pub, onto his solicitor (also Branson’s solicitor)who tells him he would be better off staying at home, getting hold of his cash and burning it in the fireplace as it would save time and effort in losing it. Undeterred however Fred does take one piece of advice from his solicitor; that as an entry point and first task he needs to get himself a Personal Licence (bit like getting a driving licence before you buy the car). Being equipped with this he is advised will at least have a bit of credibility with those who can asses his seriousness about taking on a pub.

He again scours the web and finds more “thousands” who deliver the course but settles on the most attractive looking company which offers not only the course but an on-going relationship should he eventually take on “The Dog and Duck” and yes you have guessed it he chooses Inn-Dispensable.

The course is brilliant, the tutor great and the result a pass for the BII Award for Personal Licence Holders, Inn-Dispensable then carry out his application for an actual Personal Licence and he is now “fully qualified” to take on a pub (well that is the only legal requirement!!)

Fred and Mary now decide it would be a good idea to again get in touch with that splendid tutor from Inn-Dispensable and learn about all of the upsides and downsides of the various ways in which they might invest their £40k and which of the bewildering options might best suit them.

Before Jack from Inn-Dispensable offers his advice he gently points out to F & M that “there is more to running a pub than pulling a few pints” “Really” say F&M, “what like”, well says Jack, “It is a business first and foremost and if you want to have half a chance of making it work, you need to be very expert in the following:

· Health & Safety/Risk Assessment
· Duties & responsibilities for Health & Safety at Work
· Risk Assessments
· RIDDOR
· First Aid
· C.O.S.H.H
· Fire regulations
· Manual Handling
· Employment Law
· TUPE (Transfer of Staff)
· Retail Legislation
· Consumer protection
· Mandatory conditions
· Weights and measures
· PRS & PPL
· WiFi
· Crime prevention
· Equality Act
· Smoking & Drugs
· Violence
· Finance Management
· Net & Gross Profit
· Book Keeping
· Gross Profit Calculations
· Sales Price Calculations
· Stocktaking
· Profit & Loss
· Cash flow
· Dish Costing
· V.A.T
· Budgets
· Breakeven
· Stock Control
· Stock taking
· Stock reports
· Ordering
· Security of cash
· Catering
· Menu planning
· Dish costing
· Food safety
· Enforcing agencies & legal requirements
· Storage, production and service of food
· Food Hygiene
· Legislation
· Gaming & Machines
· Legislation
· Maximising machine income
· Marketing & Merchandising
· Marketing Mix
· SWOT analysis
· Customer Occasions
· Business Trends
· Internal & External communication
· Customer Service
· The service profit path
· Effective service of products
· Selling skills
· Customer service path
· Business Planning  
· Mission statement & action planning
· Market position – SWOT/TOWS
· Competitor visits
· Modern Marketing Mix
· Pricing strategy
· Promotions diary
· Event planning checklist
· Setting C SMART objectives
· Retail standards and offer

Blimey says F &M how do we go about learning that little lot. Well says Jack, if you take the Pub Company deal ,they will put you on a course to cover it all, but if you take a Free-House , you will be on your tod! You will have to find it all on the web or pay a consultant to take you through it.
“Look” says Jack “I think the best thing you can do is to refine your search for the pub of your dreams along the lines of “what you can afford, where you want it to be, what sort of pub you want to run, how the kids can finish their education and what your lifestyle expectations are, then come back to me and we can work out the numbers and the way forward”.

Off go F & M, 500 miles and two months later they come back with two pubs they really want to pursue, one a Free house, the other a Pub Co lease.

Jack takes a look at the Balance sheet and Management Accounts of both pubs and what do you know they are identical with a turnover figure of £250k pa (ex VAT), bottom line profit of £30k (net of rent or finance charges), both around 180 barells a year,  same wet /dry mix, same margins, same wage costs, just about the same everything other than; the Free house is on the market for £400k and the Pub co lease is available for an ingoing of £22k plus a rent of £25k pa.

“We don’t mind either pub” says F & M , which is the best deal?

Well lets look at the numbers says Jack, but before we do I need to tell you that this is broad brush stuff, we as a company, do not offer accountancy advice, you will need to see your accountant to get a full appraisal but I can point out a few principle numbers, You would also be well advised to go onto our website and take the BII  PEAT (Pre Entry Awareness Training) course.

About the numbers; here goes;
The operational costs of running either pub are identical, so it’s the capital cost we need to view. Effectively if you take the pub co lease you will shell out ~£22k pa in rent but you will pay around £80 a barrel more for your beer (allegedly, this could change at any time if suppliers reduce their discounts to the Free trade) so over say ten years you will pay out a sort of premium of 10 x £22k plus 10 x 180 x £80 per barrel = £364k. At the end of the ten years you can sell the lease on for whatever you can get but likely (certainly) no less than the £22k you paid originally so net cost of this deal around £342k. With the other deal if you borrow say £380k at say 6% (currently but will never be as low again? Could grow to 10% plus over the next ten years) = £22.8 pa plus ten year repayment at £38k pa = £50.8k pa first year  and near to £500k over the ten years (but you get whatever you can achieve back when you sell it!
So “You pays your money and takes your choice!”.

Only one (major) flaw in all of this says Jack… “You haven’t got £400k to buy the Freehouse. Well, not unless you can borrow around £360k - go try and borrow it!”.

F & M return a few days later after seeing six bank managers and have discovered they could get easy loans to run the llama breeding centre in the Himalayas but naff all to buy a pub! “So it looks like the pub co deal for us?”, “I think so” says Jack “But we have heard so many bad stories and bad press articles about pub cos, what do we actually get from them compared to that if we really could have afforded that Freehouse?”. Well let me give you a list of the differences, you get the following from your pub co but not if you could have afforded the Freehouse (which you cant):

You get a low cost entry into running your own business which fulfils the dream you have always had
You get an induction course to give you every piece of information you need to run a successful pub
You get a dedicated Business management development manager free to support you.
You get promotional activity on an on-going way
You get invitations to company exhibitions and seminars
You get access to on-going training courses
You will get help with repayment of your trading account if you fall behind (if you were a Freehouse the suppliers will simply cut off goods if you do not pay on time)

And remember this, a pub co can only succeed if you succeed, they have a total interest in seeing you succeed, without you, they do not have a business”.

F & M go on to get the Pub co deal and live happily ever after.

The freehouse sold and went bankrupt 2 years later.

Key Points to Running a Successful Pub - From a Winner

How refreshing to read of Mahdis Neghabian experience of being a judge in this years BII’s Licensee of the Year, having herself triumphed last year.

Here are some of the reflections she makes; The competition forces you to:
Turn the mirror onto your own business and ultimately improve it
Be original
Be innovative
Examine all aspects of the following:-
    •    Socially responsible alcohol retailing
    •    Customer service
    •    Marketing
    •    Using new media effectively
Take a step back to view your business as the customer views it

I knew we have been doing something right at Inn-Dispensable because we've been featuring all of these messages (and more) within our courses for the last 20 years. The challenge is to get more licensees like Mahdis to actually DO IT!

Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Training

Life Doesn't Have to Be Taxing – Says Octoganarian Businessman

85 years old, French, decorated with the Legion D’Honneur, war hero, rich, innovator, self-made and claims to have created 650,000 new jobs as a result of his campaigning! And that’s just a bit of his life story!!

Jacques Borel the name, inspirational the man!

His campaign, simple; reduce VAT on Food and Drink, up go sales and profit, up go jobs! Easy to summarise? Difficult to achieve? absolutely, but he has achieved it across many countries and now he is focusing on Britain!

If you want to be inspired, if you want to see real strategy designed to address cause not effect, do no more than read Roger Protz brilliant interview with “The Man” in the Publican/Morning Advertiser. Fantastic!!

Martin Read CMBII
Managing Director of Inn-Dispensable Personal Licence Training