The mood on writing this letter is damp to freezing, but looking ahead to 2024, there is cause to feel, if not toasty, then certainly a burgeoning warmth inside.
Yes, it looks likely that there will be an election, which is no-one’s idea of a calm and soothing time, but at least it gives the sector the chance to brush off its wish list in terms of VAT cuts and beer duty cuts and general ‘stop rinsing us for cash’ cuts.
With the number of people enjoying an alcoholic break from the old routine continuing to slide, the government will need to find other sins to tax, so don’t expect Jeremy Hunt to open his red box and start spraying the cash at us any time soon.
But clearly someone sees signs for hope, particularly in pubs, where investors are liking what they see and not just because the cost of buying one fell by 8.3% last year, according to the latest data from Christie & Co.
The group reported that corporate buyers were back in the market and that 86% of Christie & Co pub sales were sold for continued use.
Stephen Owens, Managing Director of Pubs & Restaurants at Christie & Co, said: “Whilst there were significant challenges during 2023, the pub sector remained remarkably resilient from a trading and transactional perspective against a backdrop of interest rates rises and an inflationary environment. As we enter 2024, we have begun to see signs that these pressures will ease and our experience from the latter end of 2023 is that buyers are beginning to return to the market now that we have a more stable environment.”
Further reassurance came from Fuller, Smith & Turner, which reported at the end of January that it had seen strong momentum in recent months and was confident of a good year.
Fuller’s typifies all that is great about the sector, most notably with its pubs with rooms. What could be a better way for visitors to a destination to enjoy it than embedded in the community, with a room above a pub? Airbnb and its ilk could only dream of such an offering when it talks about living like a local. So, as Sham 69 once sang, we’re going down the pub.