BII defends wet-led pubs after figures showed sector decline

Wet-led pubs can still thrive in today's culture despite figures showing that they are in decline, according to the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII).

The institute responded to reports this week, based on research by CGA Peach and AlixPartners, that there are now more restaurants with licenses than there are community pubs for the first time, prompting suggestions that wet-led pubs are in general decline.

He added that customers were more interested in the "complete package" with good service, and were not concerned with whether a pub was dry- or wet-led.

The BII pointed to its Licensees of the Year 2015, Keith and Diane Marsden, whose wet-led pub managed to beat competition for the title, and has continued to see an increase in turnover and profit.

Dry-led establishments have been lauded in recent months, with the editors of the Good Food Guide highlighting the important role played in the sector by gastropubs and establishments serving high-quality food, with the most recent leisure spend tracker from Greene King suggesting that consumer spending on drinking out (as opposed to eating out) had declined by 2% in the past 12 months.

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