Further to my post about the latest Save Our Pubs and Clubs report on the impact of the smoking ban, the London Evening Standard reported on Friday that:

More than 700 pubs in Greater London have closed since the start of the smoking ban, research reveals today ... Research by CR Consulting for the Save Our Pubs And Clubs campaign found 4,800 pubs had closed in England during the same period.

See also: Inner city pubs were hardest hit by smoking ban (Big Hospitality)

Meanwhile I received an interesting email last night from a publican who shall remain anonymous but he has good connections within the industry. He writes:

Like many publicans I sympathise with your views on the issues of the smoking ban. My pub has seen some fairly radical changes in clientele since the ban. Luckily for us we have some outdoor space and have managed to accommodate the upheaval but I know many have not been so fortunate.

I will be the first to admit that the smoking ban, supermarket pricing and tax have all had their role to play in a very turbulent and demanding time for pubs, but I see JD Wetherspoon and all the managed house groups seem to be fairing pretty well, with like for like profits increasing year on year and plans for expansion and development.

The one thing that differentiates the latter from the majority of pubs actually closing is the beer tie and with the tied tenanted model offering little in the way of tenant earnings sadly many have insufficient resources to weather the economic storm of the combined influences and a further downturn in turnover as a result.

The pub owning companies cure for this downturn in volume sales is to try and achieve similar returns from the dwindling customer base by increasing their prices to tenants, who in turn must pass it on to the customer and practically drive them away with a shi**y stick into the arms of those pesky supermarkets who rather inconveniently are passing on their discounts, achieved by their buying power, to their customers.

Be under no illusion, I believe as publicans we should have been offered an opportunity to offer smoking and non smoking areas, or even choose whether our pub was a smoke free or not venue, but with 2.3% of all tied tenanted pubs closing (660) as against 1.3% of free houses closing (300) – the latter includes wine bars and cafes – in the 12 months between Dec 09 and Dec 10, I think it's fair to say there is a pattern of closure reflecting tied pub profitability being at an all time low.