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WEST HOTELS BOOM WHILE PUBS COLLAPSE

Demand grows for more hotels:  casinos flourish:  national restaurant chains expand: but pubs and clubs are closing

“10 per cent of Bristol‘s population seem to be members of the new Harbourside casino!”

 Major hotel chains are eager to provide thousands of extra hotel rooms in the South West to meet buoyant demand, but the region‘s pubs and clubs are “in turmoil”.

Meanwhile, national restaurant brands plan further branch openings in the West, and new casinos are recording meteoric success.

These were among the key messages from the leisure industry specialist at the region‘s largest firm of international property consultants.

John Kinsey, the leisure sector partner at King Sturge, told the firm‘s annual media briefing that the South West‘s hotel market is performing strongly, despite economic slow-down.

 

HOTELS

“Over the past year, new hotel developments and acquisitions in the South West have delivered hundreds of new rooms, with hundreds more are awaiting planning consents or to find suitable sites”, said Mr Kinsey.

“In Bristol, there is an identified need for about 800 extra hotel rooms, while the new Future Inn is under construction in the city and Whitbread has received consent for another new hotel.

“In Exeter, 275 new hotel rooms are under construction or awaiting planning consent; but the market needs to find sites for another 725 rooms”, said Mr Kinsey.

Bath, however is a problem city.

“Every hotel operator would like to find a site in Bath, but those sites are as scarce as hens‘ teeth”, he added.

Plymouth also has demand for up to 400 new hotel rooms, if sites can be identified.  The city‘s new Millbay regeneration should deliver space for half of the new rooms, according to John Kinsey.

But the region‘s hotel boom is not limited to the major cities.

“We are working with big hotel groups that also want to find sites in market and seaside towns.  Whitbread, for example, is now creating new Premier Inns in Weston-super-Mare, Torquay, and Newquay”, said Mr Kinsey.

“There is also keen demand for new hotel sites in the region‘s smaller towns, like Wellington, Trowbridge, Okehampton, and Launceston”, he added.

 

PUBS

While national hotel brands are flourishing in the South West, four pubs are closing every day throughout the country. 

According to King Sturge‘s John Kinsey: “The new smoking ban, the ‘credit crunch‘, and the recent Budget have combined to create a lethal cocktail for pubs.

“Two years ago, 21 per cent of adults were visiting a pub once a week:  that figure has already dropped to 16 per cent.

“I believe that many pubs could have survived the 10 per cent decline in trade, resulting from last summer‘s smoking ban, and the further 10 per cent penalty from customers cutting back on spending in response to the ‘credit crunch‘.

“But the Chancellor‘s latest Budget will prove to be a killer-blow for many pubs. The 4p rise in duty, paid by the brewers, will increase the price of a pint of beer by 12p by the time that beer reaches pubs”, said Mr Kinsey.

“Although some pubs in the South West are performing better than the national average, thanks to higher incomes in some parts of the region, the South West also has areas where incomes are among the lowest in Britain”, he added.

 

RESTAURANTS

Big name national restaurant chains remain keen to open new branches in towns and cities throughout the South West, despite tightening household budgets and the big number of restaurant openings in recent years.

“At a time when household budgets are under review, there is a move from spending £20 on a weekly pub visit to spending £30 on a monthly visit to a restaurant”, said John Kinsey.

“This benefits the national restaurant chains, which deliver a consistent product, in terms of the menu, the service, and the dining experience.

“Start-up private restaurants have always been among the highest risk new businesses for failure:  those that provide a very good product will continue to thrive, while those that have been less than outstanding but benefited from a strong market will now have to up their game or face collapse”, Mr Kinsey warned.

 

CLUBS

While modern large scale clubs are trading well, the region‘s recent boom in night clubs may have gone into reverse for some clubs that have not invested in keeping up to date and refurbishment.

“The effect of the smoking ban and the new licensing laws has already seen two of the country‘s biggest club operators go into liquidation.  24-hour licensing means that customers no longer need to go to nightclubs for ‘after-hours‘ drinking”, said Mr Kinsey.

 

CASINOS

Despite the Government‘s u-turn on Manchester‘s super-casino, the West‘s newest casino is already a “phenomenal success”.

Within months of opening its doors, the new casino in Bristol‘s Harbourside development has secured a membership of 60,000, with strong trading results.

“This would suggest that 10% of Greater Bristol‘s entire population has signed up for membership”, said King Sturge‘s John Kinsey.

“Just like the growth we are seeing for the known product quality of national budget and moderate price hotel and restaurant brands, the West‘s leisure-consumers are choosing to spend their under-pressure disposable income on best-value entertainment. 

“Even though the ‘credit crunch‘ is delivering a down-turn in many sectors, South West consumers are still spending money on leisure – but they are becoming much more choosey”, Mr Kinsey added.

ENDS             10th April 2008

For further information please contact Neil Fraser, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk

 

Notes to editors

 

King Sturge is one of the largest international property consultancies in Europe (52 offices in 17 countries), with a comprehensive network of over 165 wholly owned and associated offices throughout the world.  Over 3,800 staff throughout these offices cover all property sectors and specialisms, including plant and machinery.  In Europe, King Sturge operates in principal mainland European cities.

In Asia Pacific, King Sturge has associations in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

In North America, King Sturge has business partners in the Americas and Canada through King Sturge CORFAC International.