Oasthouse Inns Plc Report

Oasthouse Inns Plc Report

Introduction

Oasthouse Inns PLC is a long standing established and well respected brewer of some 60 years in the market. Now owned by Medway Breweries, the new companies' head office is situated in Tonbridge. Oasthouse Inns manage 30 pubs spread from Folkestone to Greenwich.

Under a new agreement signed at the time of the buyout Oasthouse Inns now buys the majority of its requirements from Medway Breweries. The company brews a range of beers through traditional methods. Since the buyout 5 years ago some of the pubs have struggled to make a profit and have had high labour turnover of managers. Some premises which sold in 2008 to take advantage of the property values, property value have fallen since because of the recession. Managers of Oasthouse Inns are having problems with developing short/medium term plans of growth.

It is estimated one quarter of the pubs they own are in rural areas and rely heavily on weekend trade. The remainder are located in urban areas; a decline in sale has been seen over the last two months.

David Summers is the newly appointed chairman who was previously the financial director. Summers appointed Samantha Hardy as marketing director who is known for integrating modern management IT systems.

Both Summers and Hardy recognise the importance of innovation and the image of Oasthouse premises needs updating to match current drinking and leisure trends. The company is required to conduct market research and analysis on relevant up to date data. Hardy suggested that pubs could be themed to appeal to differing market segments. Some premises may need to be sold for financial investment or to be turned into a new chain of themed pubs under a new brand name.

1.0 Consumer and Industry Trends

Consumer is defined as 'an individual who purchases the product or service for personal use and not for manufacture or resale.' (investorwords.com)

An industry "is classification that refers to a group of companies that are related in terms of their primary business activities." (investopedia.com)

The Industry

Home drinking vs. Drinking out of the Home

• A general decline in drinking out of the home since 2006 (10% decline).

• 55% of adults drank alcohol out of home in 2011 compared to 71% who drank in home. This shows there is a bigger proportion of home drinkers compared to out of home drinkers.

• The percentage of home drinker compared to out of home drinkers are likely to increase due to rising take of beer; "Beer duty has risen 42% in the last three years" (camra.org.uk).

• Men and