Member Article

Wear on the rise and looking to grow further

A small but ambitious North East pub company is bucking current sales trends despite facing the same issues which have caused concern for the UK’s major licensed trade players. Wear Inns, which currently runs six pubs in the North East and Yorkshire, has recorded an average 5% sales increase month on month since the beginning of June - a period which saw the introduction of the smoking ban in public places and some of the worst summer weather in decades.

More remarkably, Wear Inns operates within the traditional market with the focus on drink sales rather than food, a sector which industry observers declared would suffer the most from the smoking ban.

John Weir, Managing Director of Wear Inns said: “The poor Summer and the smoking ban has been cited by a number of national players as reasons for below average sales. However, we’re currently experiencing growth across all of our pubs, including those that have just simple basic dining operations or indeed no food facilities at all.”

John Weir formed Wear Inns in 2006 along with former industry colleague John Sands who between them have almost 70 years experience in the UK pub industry. The pair are seeking to double the size of the estate in the next six months and are currently searching for suitable freehold sites in the North East as well as new pub management staff with the necessary entrepreneurial flair to help continue the company’s success.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .