About us/Our leased business
Thaal, 18 Doncaster Road, Darfield, Barnsley, S73 9HH
Leased estate: 6,318 pubs.
Our goal: to be the most trusted and best value pub partnership business in the UK.
The leased business model continues to evolve as we focus on long term sustainable value creation for ourselves and our Partners. A key element of this is our commitment to develop more open and transparent relationships with our Partners.
The business has embarked on a strategic change programme called Pathway to Partnership, setting ourselves the ambitious goal of becoming the most trusted and best value pub partnership business in the UK. This programme is designed in three phases:
Phase 1- stabilising performance
Our first priority was to stabilise the performance of our existing estate and begin introducing changes to improve the transparency of our relationship with our Partners. This coincided with the publication of the BEC Report which saw us move quickly to announce changes to our model, including the removal of the Partner machine share from the rent calculation and upward only rent reviews, the passing on of negative RPI rent reviews, the removal of restrictive covenants and the introduction of a price match commitment on our insurance premiums.
We have also re-launched our recruitment website with indications of expected earnings from running a particular pub together with a clear choice of rents linked to different levels of discount on tied products. We have hosted Partner Forums to source direct feedback from our Partners and we are in the process of updating our Charter to ensure that it exceeds the standards laid out in the new Industry Framework Code of Practice.
We recognised the impact that the recession was having on our Partners and, as a result, reorganised our priorities to focus on providing targeted support and performance improvement. We created a Turnaround Division comprising c.1,250 pubs which faced the most severe local market conditions. This helped us to provide dedicated operations support whilst identifying the options for disposal. It has also released our teams in the core estate to focus on providing targeted support to help our Partners succeed.
Phase 2 - creating the platform for growth
This involves reviewing all aspects of our business model, to create the platform on which we respond to changing consumer demands and grow in partnership with our Partners. It begun with a detailed assessment of the market potential for each of our pubs together with the calibre of our Partners.
The next stage involves reducing the number of pubs looked after by each of our Business Relationship Managers in order that they can further enhance each sites capability. We are also developing our new Punch Buying Club Agreement which will offer Partners the option of free of tie pricing and freedom to source local ales benefiting from Progressive Beer Duty.
Phase 3 - sustainable value creation
Phase three is about making sure that we deliver sustainable long term value for our investors and our Partners. It is about making sure that we have a clear consumer vision for each pub and that we recruit the right Partners to run every pub. It is about providing the best in everything needed to operate a successful pub so that we can attract the best Partners. It is about shifting our focus to sustainable Partner earning and building a solid reputation for transparent, open and fair relations. It is about Punch Partnerships becoming the most trusted and best value pub partnership business and the preferred choice for anyone seeking to run their own pub.