HEINEKEN-owned Star Pubs & Bars has extended rent reductions for its 240 tied leased and tenanted pubs in Scotland to include July and August.
The company says that since the 20th of March, its tied pubs in Scotland have received rent concessions of 50% to 90% on a pub-by-pub basis and payments have been deferred until pubs reopen – and it has now confirmed that licensees will continue to receive the same level of individual rent reductions for another two months.
This further commitment means over £2 million will have been invested into its Scottish pub estate since lockdown in March as part of a £21 million UK-wide rent reduction package, say the company.
Other measures include a commitment to replacing pubs with fresh stock when their pub re-opens.
Lawson Mountstevens, Managing Director of Star Pubs & Bars http://www, starpubs.co.uk said, “The cancellation of more than 50% of rent in Scotland has been central to our support. We hope that the extension of rent concessions provides a degree of certainty to pubs, as we turn our collective focus on the complex task of reopening.”
Meanwhile one of its licensees has been busy making changes to adapt his businesses ahead of re-opening.
Explained Neil Douglas, licensee at Ardnamurchan, http://www.ardnamurchan.biz on Glasgow’s Hope Street, and Basils, on Annfield Road in Edinburgh, “We’ve taken the opportunity to completely redecorate Ardnamurchan during the lockdown and put in place measures so that customers can comfortably and easily socially distance. We’ve created 21 unique, private dining and drinking spaces, discretely separated from each other by screens. We’ve also put in a one-way system, infrared taps and toilet flushes plus hand sanitiser pumps.
“Customers can still pay by cash and sit at the bar or can choose to go contactless by booking online and ordering and paying for their food and drink via an app. We’ll be replicating the approach at Basils. The staff are fully trained in the new systems, and we’ll be ready when the go-ahead to reopen comes. We can’t wait to welcome customers back.”