CITY VIEWS: HAVE YOU SEEN A DECLINE IN CITY PUB DRINKING IN THE DOWNTURN?
RAQUEL FERNANDEZ ALIUM PARTNERS
“I haven’t seen a difference – people probably feel like life is so difficult at the moment they deserve a drink. I’d say lunchtime drinking in the City is as prevalent as it always was, with people driving to secure more business. Perhaps after-work going out is slightly down, but that’s not necessarily a direct result of the downturn.”
MARTIN NEALL M&G
“I haven’t noticed City pubs getting any less busy recently. They’ve all got special offers on to get people in, and there always seems to be plenty of people in there of a lunchtime. City drinking certainly hasn’t suffered as much as rural pubs – I live in a village and fewer and fewer people are using the pub as a central meeting point.”
GRAHAM BARR HEATH LAMBERT
“No, you wouldn’t even know there was a recession by looking at the pubs in the City. Any pub within the Square Mile is still bustling, partly because the City’s pubs are good quality on the whole. The downturn is causing a natural consumer evolution in that well-priced, quality pubs offering good service will thrive where others fail.”