Addressing the Tenancy Model
At the village presentation on 20th May there were some sharp intakes of breath when we announced we were seeking to appoint a Tenant to run The Globe. In hindsight, as a Management Committee we do not believe we addressed these concerns appropriately at the time and hope to expand on our rationale for this choice here.
Of course, if anyone has specific questions they would like to raise they can do so either via the website here or by approaching any of the Management Committee.
To provide some context, the perception of the concern being raised was that by offering The Globe to a Tenant the village would seemingly loose control of what the village needs from a pub and the Tenant would be able to dictate how they run the pub. In addition there was a perception the Tenant would also be able to take all the profits for the endeavours - thereby not giving back to the village.
This is not something we believe to be the case. We believe and recognise that any Tenant is likely to come from outside Milverton. Therefore, in terms of negotiation/selection we would at the earliest opportunity be making it clear that should they be successful in being selected to be the Tenant for The Globe they would have to provide a pub which serves the villagers wants and needs.
We also recognise there is clearly an onus on the village to welcome the new Tenant and weave them into the fabric of the village. Only by doing this can they understand the requirements of the village and therefore deliver an offering that is acceptable. It’s a two-way street to make sure this happens.
Our mission as a Management Committee has always been to retain a pub within the village of Milverton and by extension a pub the village will use. With this in mind any contract has to be acceptable to both sides. So, from a village perspective we may well include in the contract specific stipulations (measures of success), which draw on the requirements the village have expressed. For example (and these are purely suggestions):
You must provide opening hours 7 days a week - any change to this must be approved by the Milverton Community Benefit Society in advance, with 4 weeks notice
You must provide facilities for village groups of generational ages
You must start and maintain both male and female Darts teams entered into local leagues
You must start and maintain both male and female Skittles teams entered into local leagues
You must provide an affordable menu eg Pie & a Pint for £10
You must have a menu which provides for Vegetarian/Vegan options
You must hold an Annual Beer Festival of no longer than 2 days duration
80% of beers and ales stocked must which are produced within a 50 mile radius of Milverton
x% of profits must be returned to the Milverton Community Benefit Society for further Milverton Community Benefit Society projects
No more than £x to be held on site in cash at any time
With this contractual approach we can detail the requirements of the village, whilst allowing the tenant to have the bandwidth to breathe and adapt according to the village needs, whilst expressing their own passion to run a pub.
Switching to a Manager model does not necessarily allow us to weave such contractual obligations into place without day-to-day Management Committee involvement and oversight.
In terms of risks to both options a Tenant or a Manager could just up-sticks and leave overnight. We don’t have an answer to that. But, if that does happen it’s likely the pub would close until a new Tenant/Manager is appointed. However, the risk to this is marginally higher with a Manager than a Tenant because of the nature of the engagement.
Finally, we would like to invite a small group of the village (in order for it not be overwhelming) to meet with any Tenant before any formal offer is made.
We hope this helps to provide further clarification on why the option of a Tenant for The Globe has been selected. Again, should you have any specific questions they would like to raise they can do so either via the website here or by approaching any of the Management Committee.
