Gastropub run on a lease or tenancy

Local diners, couples and families, weekend visitors, and regulars who come for drinks and a meal.

Customers pay for food and drink on site. Food sales bring in the larger tickets, while drinks usually carry the better margins. Sunday lunches, events and private bookings add extra income.

• Cooking or managing a kitchen
• Running a bar and managing staff
• Controlling costs and stock
• Friendly, confident customer service

• Premises licence and a personal licence holder as designated premises supervisor, check with the local council
• Register as a food business with the council before you start trading, and plan for food hygiene training and allergen rules
• Read lease or tenancy terms closely, including rent reviews, repair duties and any beer tie, and get a solicitor to review them
• Employer's liability and public liability insurance, plus fire risk assessment
• Music licences, business rates and long hours, especially at weekends
• Cash flow is tight in the first months, so keep a reserve

Startup costs are typically around £40,000 to £150,000, depending on the pub, its condition and your fit-out. These are estimates, and cash flow is tight in the first months, so keep a reserve.

Check the premises licence and a personal licence holder as designated premises supervisor with your council. Also check food business registration, hygiene training and allergen rules, music licences, business rates, fire risk assessment and your lease terms, ideally with a solicitor.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around £20,000 to £90,000, depending on the pub's location, food offer and trade. This is revenue before costs, and you should expect around 50 hours a week or more.