‘5,000 pubs in danger'

Some 5,000 pubs will close over the next five years and not reopen, says a leading industry figure.

Jim Walsh, chairman of the Commer Group, speaking at the Catering Forum last week, said that he expected to see a huge number of pubs close by 2007 if companies did not improve relationships with their tenants.

He said pub companies were "totally dependent" on their tenants and had to start building real partnerships with them.

Walsh added that he also expected a contraction in the managed pub market, with no more than 5,000 managed pubs open in the UK by 2006.

Despite this, Walsh said he was confident that there was a future for the pub industry. "When we get it right, we have a tremendous product, and customers will continue to come back to us time and time again," he said.