THE LANDLORDS of three of Droitwich’s main pubs say they fear for the future of their venues because of the financial situation they have been placed in by Marstons.
Stuart Wilcox from the Old Cock Inn, Trudy Faulkner from the Riflemans Arms and Ray Hannon from The Red Lion spoke out amidst high rents and price increases on products brought in by the pub company.
Mr Wilcox said for the first three years, when he and co-landlord Graham Leonard took over, they received a lot of support from Marstons and with hard work managed to turn the Old Cock into a reputable and much-loved community venue.
But in the last year because of price increases he said the pair and the Friar Street venue were really struggling.
“It costs us £5,000 per week to keep the the pub open and that is even before a pint has been pulled.
“What we are charged by Marstons for our beer is three times the amount some pubs nearby pay and we have to get the money from somewhere – inevitably, it gets passed onto the customer but if we put the prices up too much people will just go elsewhere.
“There are three free houses in walking distance which, because of their lower overheads, can charge a lot less for their drinks.”
The pair’s lease is up at the end of October and he said the pair were seriously considering walking away because they could not currently even earn a living.
“We organise as many community events as possible and have always done as much as we could for Droitwich but we cannot go on like this.
“And if the pub was to close, it would be Droitwich residents who would lose out,” he added.
Mrs Faulkner said because of the £25,000 annual rent she was being charged by Marstons and because of tie-ins which meant she had to buy all of her alcohol from the company, she was also struggling.
She added other Marstons pubs in Droitwich were on retail agreements whereby managers took a cut of the sales and the company covered all overheads, including rent, gas, electricity and other bills.
Mrs Faulkner is forced to charge more than £3 per pint but other pubs in the area are offering the same products for £2.60 or less.
As a last resort, Mrs Faulkner is now getting assistance from the Pubs Advisory Service and plans to go through a Pubs Independent Rent Review Scheme (PIRRS) which will see an independent assessor come in to examine the rent she is paying. That process is costing her £1,800 but, she hopes, it will rule that she is paying too much rent and recommend a reduction.
“I don’t know what else I can do because at the moment with the amount I am paying the business is unsustainable and if nothing changes there will be no future for me here.”
