UK's 24-hour drinking plans 'seriously flawed', says bar chain

Tiger Tiger bar chain Urbium today branded as “seriously flawed” British government plans to fine pubs and bars for disorder caused by drunk customers.

The group said the levy – which would form part of controversial 24-hour licensing plans – would punish bars instead of supermarkets which it claimed fuel binge drinking by selling cheap alcohol.

It came as Urbium reported an 18% rise in pre-tax profits to £11m (€15.9m) in the year to December 31 after a strong performance by its London venues.

Urbium has 29 UK outlets, including eight Tiger Tiger bars at locations including Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, as well as one-off bars such as London’s Sugar Reef and Zoo Bar.

The London-based firm hit out at claims that proposed 24-hour pub openings would lead to a surge in binge drinking, and criticised the subsequent government revisions forcing disorderly premises to pay towards policing and other public expenses.

It said a “torrent of misinformation” in the media had prompted the changes.

“These proposals appear to have been compiled in haste, are muddled and in our view largely unnecessary and unworkable,” it said. “The proposal to levy special charges on licensed premises in particularly troublesome areas is seriously flawed.”

The new rules will apply to premises in areas designated as “Alcohol Disorder Zones”, where there have been problems with binge-drinking.

Urbium said it had made significant progress since reporting half-year results in September. Like-for-like sales were 3.1% higher in the second half of the year, leaving them 1.8% up for the full year.

A strong performance by the group’s West End business and the rapid expansion of its City of London operations contributed to the growth. Chairman John Conlan said he expected these parts of the business to underpin growth in the current financial year.

The Tiger Tiger estate reduced a decline in like-for-like sales to 1.6% from 6% in the first half. The group said its focus on quality rather than price had driven the improvements.

Analyst Matthew Gerard at Investec Securities said: “Urbium has delivered a good performance against a tough retail background for late night licensed operators. Going forward we expect comparatives to become easier.”

Sales from continuing activities rose by 13% during the year to £75.3 million.

Shares rose a penny to 716p.