From the front, well somewhere near there anyway

Some of you will have thought that my hunt for a new venue has slowed or that I have lost interest, I would like to assure you that nothing is further from the truth. I remain fully committed to finding and operating the next venue and some would say I need committing for that alone! Unfortunately my location of choice seems not to have the largest turnover of properties so patience is needed by the bucket load.

There has been some recent movement with the proverbial ‘gem’ making a reappearance on the market. After much difficulty we managed to align diaries for a recent viewing and successfully banished all gem like thoughts from my mind. It was incredibly sad to see how quickly a premises can move from operating to stripped but, and only a publican would use this phrase, it had at least been ‘sympathetically’ stripped. A distinct bonus to speedfit is that plumbing can be removed without significant damage although reinstating the supply will still be somewhat of an interesting proposition.

Removing gem status is tough, it is harder to fall in love with a stripped shell and equally hard to avoid falling into a sympathy purchase. Valuations that had been urgently sought had to be stalled to allow for some consideration to be given to what was now a very blank canvas indeed. On reflection and no small amount of maths the next stage is an independent building survey that will tell me if the structure is reasonably sound. I know that roofs need work, roofs always need work, but if the bits holding the roof up are sound then we still have everything to play for.

Blank canvases are not all that they are made out to be, they cause significant capex at a time when it is not appreciated and without a real feel for what the venue wants, but there are positives and negatives to every position. I now have a business plan stripped of F&F and with large capex sections added in case the surveyor rings me with good news. Oh and because it is me the surveyors report that makes the key decision will take the form of a telephone call, his office staff are not in until the New Year! I still have the potential to get a valuation done this year if the survey is positive so watch this space, in fact watch this space anyway because if it is not this one it will be another one.

I should also take this opportunity to apologise to all of the venues that suffered a research visit from the two publicans as part of this viewing. Please understand that the funny looks, finger-pointing and muttering are not intended to be offensive it is just that when we see another venue we are compelled to discuss the operation.

In other news I can tell you that the metalwork that holds my hands on is no more of a fan of the season than I am. Some people say that surgical implants give them problems in the cold, the heat or the damp but mine seem to dislike Christmas. Some would argue that it is the exercise, the industrial plumbing or the refusal to listen to medical advice but they would be wrong clearly it’s that bloody jingle bells tune! That is the only logical explanation that I can come up with that explains the rising level of pain that both wrists are keen to impart in harmony with the shoulder. I am finding it harder to sleep with shoulder pain which means I keep waking up and realising that my wrists hurt.

There is some relief with lefty from cracking the joint, like a knuckle on a bigger scale, but it is limited and the return is reasonably fast. It is clear to me that the nefarious Ms Nature is simply as uninterested in the festive season as myself and is therefore punishing me, just don’t let the witch know that we have something in common!

 

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Hurdles: An alternative approach

I had a sudden brain wave over the weekend, I know who would have thought it? My mission for the last two long years has been to resolve the outcome from my accident and reposition myself to hit the market again and restart life. I know that there are more hurdles on the way but remain resolute, I just have to keep knocking them down until I get the keys to my pub after all life is just a game isn’t it.

Not being directly in the market does not mean that I don’t keep a watching brief, I have tried to keep my nose out as it where but it has proven far too difficult. So I am aware of sales and movements in the one market that is critical to me but also those in other markets that provide indicators, trends and benchmarks. One constant fear has been the gem, the risk of watching the one offer that is too good to pass up slip out of the market. The licensed trade is a complicated beast burdened by more pessimists than would seem fair so it is not as simple as opportunities being sold, the real concern is opportunities being sold at viable rates. Where venues are taken off the market at untenable or naive prices I consider this to be nothing more than a change of caretaker, so far my opinion has been proven to be right. But what about that little slice of perfect, sold at a realistic price and potentially out of reach for a generation?

There was always a back up of ‘buy and board’ but this presents significant commercial hurdles and as such can only be applied to real bargains. But I have now seen another option, perhaps encouraged by some progress in my return to the market, locum management. Don’t misunderstand me, I do not consider this a viable way to operate a commercial enterprise, but to preserve an opportunity I think that it has legs. There is nothing more soul destroying than working to fund an empty pub, I remember running between meetings and calling Shorty to hear “nobody has been in boss” and still wince at the thought. But like so much in life it is a matter of perspective, I funded the Ship because I believed it could wash its own face and, bless the old girl, she proved me right.

This option has reinvigorated my view of the world and restored my passion, there is a new business plan that enables a holding period if needed. There are three venues that are on the current list and their numbers are all being revisited, not as decision makers in themselves but as gates to see whether decisions should be brought forward. Once again I find that I am astounded by the passion that the subject stirs in me, I keep waking up surrounded by piles of floor plan sketches and scribbled notes on operating costs. The new option is not preferred and it certainly doesn’t lend itself to every option but it does provide a grappling hook to snag the one that is getting away and that is more than I have had for some time.