Many welcomed the reality of smoke-free environments, others predicted resistance and backlash. And there were plenty who had visions of the once-thronging bars, restaurants and nightclubs standing empty.

With its emphasis on nightlife, parties and festivals, the Capital had much to gain or lose, depending on who you listened to.

Certainly the authorities believe the ban has been a success. Health Minister Andy Kerr says: “Latest statistics show a smoking rate of 24.6 per cent for the first three quarters of 2006, down from 26.2 per cent in 2005 – a greater decrease than in previous years – suggesting that the ban is inspiring people to give up.”

Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK adds: “One year on and the evidence is clear. The Scottish smoking ban is improving the nation’s health and we will see many more health gains in the years to come.”

But are the city’s publicans as delighted? Last year, the News reported from three pubs on customers’ and staff’s feelings on the change. A year on we asked these bars – and two family-friendly pubs and a bingo hall – how the last 12 months have been.

THE FAMILY-FRIENDLY PUBS
THOSE pubs and restaurants whose main custom is families were expected to do best from the ban, the idea being that those with children would be far happier in places clear of smoke.

However, at pub and restaurant the Pavilion, on Buckstone Terrace, Fairmilehead, the picture has been mixed.

Owner Margaret Wilkie says: “We’ve gone down around ten per cent in drinks sales, although food sales are up 40 per cent. But the decrease of ten per cent is a direct result of the smoking ban, without a doubt.

“Our older customers aren’t coming in as much and when they do they aren’t staying as long. And we don’t see any more families and non-smokers than we did before. I feel so sorry for those having to be out in the cold smoking, it’s not fair on them.”

Lauriston Farm Brewers Fayre on Lauriston Farm Road was the pioneering smoke-free pub in the city, banning smoking from its bar and restaurant in February 2004. At the time, it was reported trade was up, benefiting from those seeking a smoke-free sanctuary. But with every pub now smoke free, has that changed?

“There was a slight decline in sales after the ban came into effect,” admits assistant manager Chris Wallwork. “I think because everywhere was no smoking, people felt they could enjoy their drink and food smoke-free anywhere.”

But as the ban has become accepted, the customers have come back and the pub is now seeing an increase in sales again. “I think the ban is a step forward. People have adapted well to the ban.

“From a personal point of view, not having the smell of stale smoke on my shirt is great.”

THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S PUBS
Staff and punters at the Three Sisters weren’t fazed a year ago when the smoking ban came into effect. After all, the bar boasts a large courtyard equipped with lighting, heaters and an abundance of seating, meaning smokers would not be left out in the cold. But, one year on, the pub has declined to comment on how the ban has affected it.

Staff at hostel bar Belushi’s on Market Street, a favourite with backpackers and locals, were daunted by the incoming ban.

Now, one year on, manager Liam Cronin admits that the ban has cost the bar customers.

He says: “I have seen a change in trade, definitely. When the ban first came out the weather was good and there was no change. But as soon as the weather changed, trade changed. If the weather is bad, there are a lot less smokers coming, but there are no more non-smokers coming.

“So we’ve gone down in trade – probably about six per cent.”

But Liam does admit that the ban is for the best. “I come from New Zealand where there’s already a smoking ban in place, but it was brought in at the right time. Long-term, hopefully trade will return to normal, but the council and government will have to allow more outside smoking areas for this to happen,” he says.

THE LOCAL
It was the local pubs which were expected to fare worst – the places where a sociable pint and a fag with neighbours were the order of the day.

Last year, Mary Moriarty, landlady of the Port O’Leith, in Constitution Street, was strident in her opposition to ban. One year on she says her fears have come true.

“It’s horrendous for everyone,” she says. “It’s a huge cultural change, isn’t it? You must remember that some people after a hard day at work just want to pop to the pub for a pint with their mates, but now, for those who smoke, they can’t enjoy it as much.

“So it becomes easier to take the lads home instead and smoke there. People are still gathering and smoking, they’re just doing it elsewhere.”

She continues: “It has cut down business. I’ve found some groups of people who used to come around 8pm and stay all night are now leaving and moving on.”

The biggest problem for Mary and many other local pubs is that they don’t have the space to accommodate smokers outside.

She explains: “Many publicans can’t give their smoking customers ample outside room. We can’t all have canopies on the street – what alternative do we have to keep customers happy? They can just go elsewhere, which is the problem.”

THE BINGO HALL
Bingo halls were also expected to be big losers from the ban and Donna Killen, of the Royal George Bingo in Bath Street, Portobello, agrees that the ban did affect business, with the bingo hall seeing a drop in custom of ten to 20 per cent. She says: “In the first couple of months it affected us a lot. Customers weren’t happy about having to stop and go outside.

“I think people are a lot more used to the ban now, but others still don’t like it because of the cold.”

Taken from: living.scotsman.com
By: SARAH HOWDEN

Yet despite the imminent threat to the pub industry from falling sales as punters are turfed outside for a cigarette, shares in the sector have been steadfastly rising.

Over the past six months, major pub firms such as Punch Taverns, JD Wetherspoon, Mitchells & Butlers and Greene King have seen their shares go up by between 25 and 50 per cent.

Pub bosses have seized on the new legislation as an opportunity to rejig their pub portfolios, ditching old “landlocked” venues without outside space in favour of larger, brighter ones with gardens or terraces to lure back older female customers, in particular, and make the places more family-friendly.

While preparations for the smoking ban have certainly kept the sector on its toes, as landlords and managers seek ways to combat falling drinks sales and accommodate al fresco smoking, the major drivers behind the sector’s stellar stock market run is the property value of pubs.

A strong property market, falling property yields, new real estate investment trust (Reits) legislation – potentially providing pub companies with a more tax-efficient way of organising property assets – and a bid for Mitchells & Butlers by the property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz have shifted the industry focus heavily towards “asset-backed” or property-based valuations. On this basis, analysts at Merrill Lynch upgraded all the stocks that the investment bank follows in the sector at the start of the year.

And evidence from the Scottish smoking ban, which has been in place for almost a year, suggests the pub sector and its shareholders have little reason to panic.

Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, which has 297 managed pubs north of the border, says: “In the worst cases where pubs are small, without outside space, sales are down double digits, but in venues with gardens and better food offerings, sales are up double digits.”

But not everyone is so upbeat. Beers sales in Ireland, where the ban was introduced in 2004, are falling 7 per cent a year; in Scotland the figure is 6 per cent. The British Beer and Pubs Association is forecasting similarly gloomy figures for Wales and England.

As the first anniversary of the ban approaches, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association says that 34 per cent of pubs have laid off staff and only 3 per cent have taken on more. Its members reported 56 per cent fewer visits from regular customers and 30 per cent fewer from new ones. The figures are a warning from Scottish publicans to their English counterparts.

But Mark Hastings of the BBPA points out that certain sectors of the industry are flourishing. “The impact of the ban on pub companies in Scotland has been marginal,” he says. “Some have seen a big surge in food sales to offset losses elsewhere, while other drink-led pubs have suffered.”

But sales at Punch Taverns, which has more than 400 pubs north of the border, JD Wetherspoon, which has 40 pubs, and Mitchells & Butlers, with around 100, are up between 3 per cent and 5 per cent as increased food sales offset the decline in booze.

Jim Clarke, finance director of JD Wetherspoon, explains: “Wet margins [margins on drinks sales] are 10-15 per cent higher than food margins. Provided we can sell a decent coffee we can make similar margins to beer.”

In the meantime, companies are jettisoning the more downmarket parts of their estates. Punch Taverns is selling off as many as 1,000 pubs ahead of the ban, while Enterprise Inns last year sold 769 of its low-value pubs to Admiral Taverns and its entire 137-strong Scottish estate to Mr Tchenguiz.

Greene King similarly sold 155 pubs to Admiral last year, and Admiral is seen as the most likely buyer for Punch’s unwanted estate.

Industry insiders say that Admiral is taking a long-term view of these assets, preferring to buy under-performing pubs cheaply rather than pay a premium for the best-run venues.

“Admiral has no institutional shareholders and can get more leverage,” a private equity source commented. “Compared to other property investments, such as retail, the yield on a pub is significantly higher.”

This explains why the sector has attracted the attention of financial and property buyers alike.

The City’s change of focus towards property-backed valuations for pub groups has been intensified by the new Reits legislation, potentially allowing a pub company to split off its property assets into a tax- efficient trust. It is an opportunity that has not gone unnoticed by the billionaire entrepreneur Mr Tchenguiz, whose R20 investment vehicle is stalking Mitchells & Butlers and putting pressure on the board to realise the value of their property assets.

And that value is substantial. Mitchells & Butlers has over 63,000 pubs in the UK, 90 per cent freehold or very long leasehold. Merrill Lynch puts a gross market value for these property assets at £4.9bn.

As is so often the case, premium assets will always attract attention, an adage being played out across many parts of the pub sector. What is more, the switch to property-based valuations has resulted in the stocks trading on multiples significantly about their historical ranges.

Overall, rising property prices, low interest rates, the use of operating company/property company dual valuations by private equity firms, and the bid for Mitchells & Butlers are all contributing to the upward pressure on share prices.

Still, most analysts now agree that the initial excitement over the possible impact on the sector from the Reits legislation was “somewhat overblown”.

Doug Jack at Panmure Gordon says: “Converting into a property company and an operating company would mean losing a lot of flexibility. Most pub companies are already highly leveraged on the back of their property assets – there’s just not much upside to be had from converting.”

Pub company boards have a duty to consider the possible implications of the new legislation, and Mitchells & Butlers and Punch Taverns plan to provide updates in May.

Mr Bunting goes further. “I do not expect any of the pub companies to convert their property assets into a Reit. It is much more likely they will use Reits as a counter-partner for sale and leaseback deals, where the property is sold to a Reit and leased back,” he says.

The rise of the gastro-pub and a far greater emphasis on food offerings by the industry looks set to provide new opportunities for private equity. Many in the sector expect to see mergers between pub chains and restaurants. Mr Tchenguiz, whose private equity vehicle owns the Laurel Pub Company, is already stalking the Spanish tapas bar chain La Tasca.

However, Mr Anand of Greene King cautions that pub companies still occupy a clearly defined place in the market: “The base of wet trade provides good cashflow. It’s good business – it’s the heart of the British pub. Not everyone wants to sit in a gastro-pub. It’s about choice.”

THE UK’S BIGGEST BOOZERS

Whitbread: 365 pubs in England; 20 Scotland; 10 Wales

Punch: 8,500 England; 400 Scotland; 400 Wales

Mitchells & Butlers: 1,800 England; 100 Scotland; 80 Wales

Greene King: 2,344 England; 297 Scotland; 18 Wales

Enterprise Inns: 7,339 England; 348 Wales; none in Scotland

JD Wetherspoon: 671 England; 30 Scotland; 41 Wales

WHAT THE INDUSTRY THINKS OF THE BAN

Rooney Anand, chief executive, Greene King:

“I have seen licensees take over a pub, rip out the bar to transform the venue into a restaurant and then six months later come to us to hand back the keys.

“It is nonsense [to say] that pubs will have to become mainly restaurants to survive.”

Jim Clarke, finance director, JD Wetherspoon:

“Overall, the only sales going down are for beer. Since the ban in Scotland we are finding new customers, people who previously didn’t visit pubs. If we can make a decent coffee, the margins are similar to beer.”

Kathryn Holland, director of communications, Mitchells & Butlers:

“The ban is a huge issue for the pubs industry and some venues will certainly suffer. So far, though, M&B has seen like-for-like sales up 1.3 per cent since the ban started, which is encouraging.”

Taken from:http://news.independent.co.uk

The Wetherspoons at Victoria Station was selected as the first business to receive a smoking ban fun pack. They were delivered, along with an oversized calendar to aid the countdown process, by MP Caroline Flint, the Minister for Public Health, as disgruntled smokers looked on.

A former smoker herself, she said: “The new law will protect everyone from the harm of secondhand smoke at work and in public places, and will save lives.” Listen to her here

As of July 1, bosses will have to ensure that employees and customers are aware buildings are smoke free by clearly display non-smoking signs. They are also responsible for the slightly thornier task of telling off anyone caught having a sly fag on the premises and there are of course hefty fines for failure to comply.

Although Ms Flint maintains that people will be ready for the ban, feelings on the subject at Wetherspoons Victoria were mixed. Listen here

But it’s not all bad news for smokers. It’s no coincidence that the ban will come into force in the summer when you won’t have to battle the elements for your nicotine fix. And when smoking was banned in NYC back in 2003, there were reports that smoking area socializing was all the rage.

So as the final countdown begins, do you think England is ready to go smoke free? And can you think of any use for the thousands of pub ashtrays that will be disused come July?

Taken from:blogs.guardian.co.uk
By Sarah Phillips / UK news

Punch declined to comment, but a report in The Times said the company was looking to offload many of its smaller pubs that could see trading hit hard when the smoking ban comes in, such as those without gardens and the more traditional drink-led pubs that do not have a strong food-based focus. The company has around 9,300 sites.

Analysts said a move by Punch to sell its more vulnerable pubs was “unsurprising” and that it was a natural move for the group to overhaul its estate ahead of the ban, which is set to come into effect in Wales on April 2 and on July 1 in England.

Smoking is already banned in enclosed public spaces in Scotland, which saw the ban introduced last March.

A number of UK pub groups have been sorting through their pub holdings in advance of the ban, with Midlands-based Marston’s reportedly recently putting 280 of its smaller pubs up for sale.

Admiral Taverns is mooted to be a prime suitor for the Punch pubs.

The group bought 769 so-called “bottom-end sites” from Enterprise Inns last August for £318m (€468m) and is said to specialise in smaller community pubs.

Admiral was unavailable for comment.

JP Morgan analyst James Ainley said such a sale for Punch signals a refocus on its core strategy, concentrating on large, highly profitable food-based pubs.

The group has been selling off hundreds of unwanted pubs after a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of 1,830 pubs from rival Spirit last January and 82 sites from Mill House Inns last September.

Mr Ainley said many of the traditional drinks-led pubs would change hands across the sector, with some closures possible as a result of the ban.

He added: “Thriving locals will continue to thrive but it’s the pubs which don’t have a very strong local community business or a strong food offering and are relying on a traditional more drinking, smoking customer base are the ones that could suffer, alongside those with no outdoor space.

“But a good pub with a good landlord should continue to do well.”

Punch shares were up 37p, or 3%, at 1230p by midday on news of the pub sale speculation.

Taken from: www.irishexaminer.com

With the rest of the UK set to ban smoking in public places later this year, Eversheds law firm is urging retailers to review smoking policies in the workplace to avoid costly claims.

Smoking in public places will be banned in England from July 1 2007. The ban, which also comes into effect on 2 April 2007 in Wales and on 30 April 2007 in Northern Ireland, is far reaching, extending to all substantially enclosed spaces to which the public have access and all workplaces where there is more than one person employed. It is expected that 99% of workplaces will be covered by the ban, which also extends to work vehicles which are used by more than one person.

The ban should have benefits for employers, such as reductions in sickness levels, an increase in productivity resulting from fewer cigarette breaks, lower risk of fire damage and cleaning costs. In particular, the smoking ban should also have a positive effect on retailers which will benefit from a more hygienic image. As a result, retailers may consider having a strict enforcement of the ban on site, but employers are warned to be careful of the way they enforce the ban, as with all new processes come unfamiliar legal issues.

Paul Cotton, employment lawyer specialist at Eversheds, comments:

“What the case in Scotland has highlighted is that there are still grey areas for businesses when enforcing the smoking ban in the workplace. The argument here concerns different rights for day and night shift workers, therefore it is a case that retailers in particular should monitor.”

“Although the government insists that the approach to enforcement will be non-confrontational and will be considered only when efforts to encourage compliance have failed, anyone caught flouting the ban by smoking in smoke-free premises or vehicles could receive a fixed penalty notice of £50 or a fine of up to £200. A failure to install adequate signage in premises or vehicles could result in a fixed penalty notice of £200 or a fine of up to £1000 and allowing smoking could result in a fine of up to £2500. But for the retailer, there are wider issues than being caught out by the legislation. Smoking is of particular importance to the sector – aside from health and safety implications, the negative impact of smoking on the image of the sector can be immeasurable, far more so than in other sectors.”

The practical implications of the smoking ban will mean the closure of dedicated ‘smoking rooms’ and an end to tolerating ‘illegal’ smoking on an informal basis. Only smoking outside in the open air will be permitted, although employers can provide limited shelter for staff, such as a structure with a roof, provided that more than half of the wall area is open to the elements. How employers choose to implement the ban will therefore be of crucial importance – it may well be preferable to provide a shelter so that employees do not smoke where they might be visible to customers.“Retailers will need to review any current smoking practices in the workplace and consider how and when any changes will be communicated; introducing a smoking policy or amending any existing policy and how changes will be introduced. Doing so in a high-handed manner or through over zealous use of disciplinary procedures may affect morale or encourage litigation. Several employers have already seen the adverse effects of this approach through employment tribunal claims. Disciplinary procedures should also be reviewed to ensure smoking offences are covered and consideration should be given as to whether to offer support and counselling to staff trying to give up smoking.”

If you would like to receive guidance on the smoking legislation, whether in a health & safety/compliance or employment law context, you can contact Eversheds on 0845 497 9797 or www.eversheds.com. Or, for further information on this issue, visit the ‘smoke free’ websites http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/ and www.smokingbanwales.co.uk .

Taken from: www.theretailbulletin.com

Government will not release any more guidance to clarify whether pub smoking shelters comply with the smoking ban rules.

Department of Health officials have said the follow-up guidance will only refer to signage – and the guide from local government co-ordinator LACORS will also lack specific measurements for shelters.

This will anger licensees and operators who are confused about whether their proposed shelters will comply with the ban. It also makes it more likely that licensees will face a “postcode lottery” over how the rules on smoking shelters are interpreted.

Crown Awnings managing director Tony Holman was told in a meeting with Andrew Black, of the Smokefree legislation team at the Depart-ment of Health, that the new guidance would not cover key issues about shelters.

These include whether a covered courtyard is classed as a substantially enclosed place and how far a roof can be from the wall of a shelter.

Only details on signage requirements will be included in the guidance, which is due in the next few weeks.

“There will be no planning guidance whatsoever,” said Holman. LACORS will also not offer clear-cut dimensions in guidance for local authorities. “It will not go as far as to stipulate measurements of roofs to walls or shelters to other walls,” said a LACORS spokesman. “It will be up to the individual officers to use their judgement.”

Graeme Cushion, of law firm Poppleston Allen, said forthcoming guidance from Government will not state how close a roof needs to be to

a wall for that wall to be considered part of the structure.

He said: “In Ireland the guidance was 50mm and in Scotland 500mm. In England and Wales, it will be left to common sense. The message coming through from the Department of Health is that anything which is within the spirit of the legislation will be acceptable and anything which is not will not.”

Paul Wigham, boss of Bar Group, which operates 32 sites in south east England, recently contacted several councils to find out whether shelters on courtyards would comply with the rules.

“They were absolutely clueless,” he said. “We don’t know what to do in these sites. We are sitting here waiting because we were told there would be more guidance. It’s ludicrous.”

He added: “You can bet your life that what one council will argue [complies with the rules] another won’t.”

The BII’s director of membership Steve Howe said: “There’s no doubt that additional guidance on smoking shelters would be welcome.”

He said a key area where clarification was needed concerns the distance that shelters can be situated from walls – and he feared an “inconsistent” approach from councils.

Tensions in conservation areas

Green belt and conservation areas are proving the most difficult to get planning permission for smoking shelters.

That’s the view of Mike Clist, general manager of tenanted and leased pubs at Fuller’s, which owns a large number of pubs in green-belt land in the Home Counties. Green belts are designated areas, covering around 13% of land in England, where there are tighter restrictions on developments.

“If we are in a green-belt area you can’t even put a patio flap down without permission,” said Clist. “In green-belt areas the likelihood is you will be refused.”

Plans for structures at pubs in conservation areas are also being refused because they are deemed to alter the look of the area, Clist said.

Minister promises softly-softly approach in wales

Smokers who unwittingly break Wales’s smoking ban in pubs and bars will be “gently” informed of their indiscretion, according to the Welsh Assembly.

Welsh culture minister Alun Pugh said officials would not deliberately try to catch out smokers immediately, even if they were aware that the Welsh ban comes into force before the English one.

Lighting up in enclosed public places in Wales will be illegal from 2 April, compared to 1 July in England.

Pugh said at the Assembly’s weekly press briefing: “Nobody is looking for a heavy-handed approach to enforcement on day one.

“It’s going to be gently pointed out to them, ‘look the rules here have changed’.

“We are not going to have somebody lurking in plain clothes, as it were, with a penalty fines book, looking to nick them at the first possible opportunity.”

MA leads the way in big debate

The debate around smoking shelters will be on the agenda at the Morning Advertiser’s smoking ban roadshows, which take place this month. Tony Holman of Crown Awnings will give his view, alongside speakers from Smokefree England and local authorities. Licensees and operators will also offer valuable advice on how to prepare for the ban. For more information see www.morningadvertiser.co.uk or call Diane Russell on 01293 610343.

advertising campaigns set new tone

Major advertising campaigns in advance of the smoking ban have begun.

The Government’s “shocking” new campaign encourages people to stop smoking ahead of the July ban in England.

The campaign, “Invisible Killer”, kicked off with a television advert this week showing cigarette smoke curling round guests at a wedding. Popular soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street will also run storylines raising awareness of the smoking ban.

Public health minister Caroline Flint said: “With England going smoke-free on 1 July, there has never been a better time to stop smoking.” The ads will run until 8 April.

The Welsh Assembly’s campaign is called

“Time’s up for second-

hand smoke”.

Posters showing a clock face with stubbed out cigarettes replacing hands are currently being displayed on buses and trains, and a series of television adverts will run in April.

Guidance packs, including free no-smoking signage, are being sent to businesses in Wales.

Taken from: ww.morningadvertiser.co.uk
Written by: John Harrington john.harrington@william-reed.co.uk

Virtually all enclosed public places will become smokefree from this date and as the regulations are still in draft form, businesses will need to sign up to the Smoke Free England website – www.smokefreengland.co.uk – so they can be kept up-to-date with the changes.

South Somerset District Council is already actively looking at July 1 and among other things smoking shelters may need to be erected, smoking policies may need to be put in place, and variations to premises licences may need to be applied for.

Employers may need to consider signage, and take steps to ensure staff and visitors are aware the premises are smokefree.

Businesses across the district will need to have all the changes in place before the ban comes into effect on Saturday 1 July.

As the new regulations are still being finalised in Westminster by the government, businesses can keep up to date by registering with the website for alerts.

The council’s environmental health officer, Stewart Brock, said: “As the regulations are still being finalised, we aren’t sure how specific, or how far they will go. But here at South Somerset District Council we want to ensure that businesses are prepared for the impact it will have on them.

“The council have many different roles to play, including licensing, planning, street scene, economic development, so we are well placed to give advice to businesses across South Somerset, but as the regulations are still in draft form we encourage businesses to initially register with the Smoke Free England website.”

The smoking ban that will have far reaching effects on businesses in South Somerset, and they can keep up to date with any changes that will happen via www.smokefreenegland.co.uk Cllr Ric Pallister, the council’s portfolio holder for housing, environmental health and inclusion, said: “The legislation, brought in by the Government, will have consequences on our businesses, but we must remember that it is being brought in for the benefit of everyone’s health.”

Taken from: www.yeovilexpress.co.uk
By Steve Sowden