The Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SBPA) has announced that Andrew Lawrence Strategy Director at Molson Coors will be its new President. He takes over from Edith Monfries of Hawthorn.
The appointment follows the release of a new report by Oxford Economics which revealed that Scotland’s beer and pub industry support almost 62,000 jobs and contributes £1.75bn to the national economy every year. The new data was released in company of MSPs at Kilderkin pub in Edinburgh.
Commenting on his appointment, new President Andrew Lawrence said, “Having been part of the SBPA in previous roles I am pleased to now have been appointed as President and am looking forward to building on the brilliant work of previous Presidents to continue to champion the beer and pub industry and represent our members interests in Scotland.
“Working together as a group and with other trade bodies will be critical to our recovery from the pandemic, and so I am looking forward to supporting SBPA members to achieve the very best for our sector.”
Emma McClarkin, SBPA Chief Executive said, “We’re delighted to welcome Andrew as our new President and are really looking forward to working with him to continue to champion our pubs and brewers in Scotland.
“As our industry recovers from the pandemic we need industry expertise and passion for our cause more than ever and I am confident Andrew will provide just that.”
First Minister Nicola Surgeon has reassured Scotland’s pub operators that she will support the industry and visit their beer gardens when the time is right, and it is safe, as she apologised for using the words ‘hot spots’ in an hour-long call earlier this week.
For the first time since lockdown, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reached out to key operators in the Scottish licensed trade. She asked to speak to operators directly and orchestrated a call with the help of licensing lawyers including Jack Cummins of Miller Samuel Hill Brown and TLT’s Caroline Loudon, as well as the SPBA and SLTA.
Operators on the call included Nic Wood of Signature Pubs and Graeme Arnott of Caledonian Heritable as well as Elaine Kennedy of Hawthorn Leisure, David Balmanno of Admiral Inns and Andrew Lawrence of Molson Coors. Her call was organised a few days after the announcement that beer gardens could open on the 6th and hospitality on July 15th – all going to plan.
The feedback was positive, said one, “We felt that she listened and she told us she was listening and I believed her. She also said that when the time was right and safe she would do her bit to support the trade including visiting a beer garden!” During the conversation, the First Minister admitted that she regretted using the word ‘hot spot’, and apologised.
However she reiterated that it was not a ‘guarantee’ that beer gardens would open on 6th – she told the people on the call, “I can’t guarantee anything at the moment.” And advised them that when pubs, bar and restaurants could open there would be ‘limitations’ and also suggested that she wasn’t just trying to bring the ‘R’ rate down, but her goal was to ‘eliminate’ the virus in Scotland.
She told the callers to wait for her own Government’s guidance and advised them that the 2m would not be reduced to 1m until the scientific advice allowed it.
Other key points discussed included: using internal toilets within premises and needing certainty and guidance around that topic; a call for the Chief Planner to confirm a relaxation of the 28-day rule on temporary structures; calls for further discussion and legal input into Track and Trace and the trade having to obtain personal details of patrons and retain for four weeks; the 2m rule and reducing that; the need for continued financial support for the trade; VAT and Beer Duty cuts needed.
One operator summed it up the general feeling, “It was a positive call and it was great to get a seat at the table. We like the ‘cut of her jib’.
Meanwhile, Fergus Ewing MSP has failed to appoint Scotland’s biggest on-trade operators onto his Scottish Tourism Recovery Taskforce – which is made up of 30 tourism businesses – the only independent operator is Tom Kitchin who has 5 units and 250 staff. Hotel businesses have been well represented.
Ever wondered who’s behind the brands that you sell? Here’s the eighth of nine of Scotland’s drinks bosses, Molson Coors’ Sales & Operations Director ANDREW LAWRENCE, with his plans for 2020, including a steer on what he thinks you should be doing with your business.
You’ve been in this role since February 2018 – what do you most enjoy about it?
It is always amazing to see how our industry is changing and to spend time with operators, understanding their challenges and opportunities and what we
can do to support. It is equally a fantastic opportunity to help develop our people and their understanding of the trade.
Why the drinks industry and what do you love about it?
Our industry is such an important part of the social fabric of our country and I have been connected to the licensed and hospitality trades for many years –
developing a passion for the on-trade in particular. It truly is an incredible place to build brands. No matter what is thrown at them, operators resiliently evolve their offerings and continue to get better.
How do you plan to drive the business forward in 2020?
For me, 2020 will be another year of developing relationships across the trade with our customers and wholesale partners. It is important that we also
engage with government and legislators at both a local and national level. As a business, it’s important we harness the power of our beer and cider brands to
help operators drive more people into outlets. We’re helping customers embrace premiumisation, while also focussing on core brands. We will invest even more in Scotland into community projects through the Carling Made Local fund.
What is the best stress-buster?
Spending time with family or friends, walking the dog or heading to the gym are all ways I relax.
Which piece of advice would you pass on to licensees?
Quality always wins and making sure you are getting the support you need from your brand owners too.That might be as simple as providing advice on industry trends or how to maintain your glassware or ensuring your dispense equipment is the best it can be.
If you had a pub what would you call it and why?
Slàinte – I think it represents a warm and friendly welcome. Being similar in Scots and Irish Gaelic it represents my family (my wife is Northern Irish) and the close link to the word ‘cheers’ reminds me of my time working in Massachusetts and visiting Boston. Hopefully in my pub everyone will know your name!
After five years of working together Molson Coors and Matthew Clark have “mutually agreed not to renew their free trade distribution agreement in Scotland.” The deal, which was originally signed in September 2013, saw Matthew Clark take on the distribution of Molson Coors brands such as Carling, Blue Moon and Rekorderlig.
Now the two companies are parting ways although there will be a transition period following the end of this year, during which time current pricing will be maintained, subject to supplier price increases and Government duty alterations. However Molson Coors is not appointing a new distributor. In a statement the company said, ““Molson Coors will not be appointing a new distributor, but working with its network of wholesalers, including Matthew Clark, to serve the Scottish market. It is business as usual for both companies as they continue to work closely together to maintain the highest standards of customer service.”
Commenting on the announcement, Andrew Lawrence, Molson Coors Scotland Sales and Operations Director, said, “We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with Matthew Clark as a wholesaler, and together our priority is making sure our customers experience no interruption to the high standard of service they’re used to.”
Des Gallagher, Matthew Clark Regional Managing Director Scotland, said:“We have had a successful five years working together with Molson Coors, and I would like to thank our customers and joint teams for their tremendous support and commitment during this period.”
The dissolving of the agreement comes almost 12 months after C&C, owners of Tennents, bought Matthew Clark out of administration.
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