Should I Take On a Pub? 10 Questions to Answer Honestly

Last updated: 24 April 2026

Most people thinking about taking on a pub have already fallen in love with the idea before they’ve looked at the numbers. The pubcos are brilliant at selling you the dream: your own business, community connection, flexible hours (they never mention 70-hour weeks), and the freedom to build something. But here’s what they don’t tell you in the pitch meeting—the first year is survival mode, not profit mode, and the financial reality hits harder than you expect.

You’re probably feeling a mix of excitement and uncertainty right now. You’ve got the passion for hospitality, maybe you’ve worked in pubs before, and you’re genuinely interested in whether taking on a pub could work for you. The problem is, most prospective licensees don’t ask themselves the tough questions before they sign. They ask them six months in, when they’re locked into a lease and the bills are already coming in.

I took on Teal Farm Pub in Washington NE38 on my birthday three years ago under a Marston’s CRP agreement. I navigated the full ingoing process, NSF audits, BDM relationships, and the real financial reality of running a tied community pub. My best revenue year was 2025—but I can tell you exactly which decisions got me there, and which ones nearly broke me in year one.

This article walks you through 10 questions you need to answer honestly before you sign anything. Not the marketing questions the pubcos will ask. The real ones.

Question 1: Can You Genuinely Afford the Ingoing Costs?

The most dangerous assumption prospective licensees make is thinking the ingoing cost is just the deposit and some stock. It isn’t. Not even close.

When I took on Teal Farm Pub, the pubco quoted me an ingoing of £8,500. That’s what went in the contract. What actually left my bank account was nearly double that once I factored in all the hidden costs: deposits on utilities, professional cleaning before opening, health and safety compliance checks, staff uniforms, POS training, initial stock rotation, working capital for the first 30 days of trading before cash flow turns positive, accountancy setup, and legal review of the lease.

Before you speak to a bank or an accountant, you need to know your real ingoing number. Not the number the pubco tells you. The number that includes:

• Deposit (as quoted)
• Initial stock and rotation (usually 2–3 weeks’ worth)
• Utility deposits and connection fees
• Deep clean and compliance works
• Staff training and uniforms
• POS setup, training, and support (if not included)
• Working capital for month one (when you’re trading but cash hasn’t cycled through yet)
• Legal fees for lease review
• Insurance setup (usually higher in month one)

Most banks will lend against 70–80% of the ingoing. Some pubcos will part-finance the stock. But the gap—that 20-30% you need to cover yourself—is where most people run into trouble before they even open the door.

Honest question: Do you have access to this money without borrowing against your home or taking out a personal loan at high interest? If the answer is no, pause here. A tight cash position in month one makes you vulnerable to every decision. You’ll order cheaper stock to preserve cash. You’ll skip maintenance. You’ll say yes to things you shouldn’t because you’re afraid.

Question 2: Do You Understand the Tied House Agreement?

This is the question that separates people who’ve done their homework from people who are about to get a nasty surprise. In a tied house agreement, you do not own your supply chain. The pubco does.

You must buy your beer, spirits, soft drinks, and in most cases your food suppliers from the pubco’s approved list. You cannot ring up a cheaper distributor and switch. This isn’t negotiable unless you’re taking on a much larger pub in a major market, and even then, only partially.

What this means in practice: Your margins are fixed by the contract. The pubco sets the gross profit margin you make on each category. You cannot undercut a competitor by buying cheaper products. You cannot test a new cider brand without approval. You cannot move suppliers when one gets expensive.

This is why some tied pubs thrive and others don’t. It’s not always the landlord’s skill—it’s the pubco’s pricing and whether they’re competitive in your market. When I signed with Marston’s, I had a detailed conversation with my BDM (Business Development Manager) about the pricing on my top 10 sellers. I asked for comparisons against free houses in the area. Some were competitive. Some weren’t. But I understood what I was locked into before I signed.

Read the supply agreement line by line. Ask your BDM for actual pricing on the 20 products you’ll sell most of. Compare it to what free houses nearby are paying (not retail price—wholesale). If the gap is too wide, the pub won’t work, no matter how good your management is.

Question 3: Have You Worked Out Your Real Monthly Burn?

Monthly burn is the minimum amount of money you need to spend to keep the pub open and yourself alive. It’s different from your target profit. It’s your survival number.

Most prospective licensees look at the rent, rates, utilities, and staffing costs, add them up, and think that’s their burn. They’re missing 30% of the number.

Your real burn includes:

• Rent
• Rates and water
• Utilities (electric, gas, and water usage increases dramatically during opening hours)
• Staff wages (including employer NI, pension contributions if you offer them, and holiday pay accrual)
• Pubco tie payments (if applicable—some pubcos charge standing charges)
• Insurance and licenses
• Repairs and maintenance reserve (aim for 5% of turnover—you will need it)
• Professional fees (accountancy, payroll services, legal support if disputes arise)
• Marketing and promotions
• Your personal drawings (not optional—you need to eat)
• VAT and tax reserves

When I calculated my burn at Teal Farm Pub, I set it at £7,200 per month. That’s the absolute minimum turnover I need each month before I make a penny of profit. In my first month, I hit £6,100. In month two, £6,400. Month three pushed to £7,100. I survived because I’d planned for six months of shortfall in my working capital.

Use a pub profit margin calculator to stress-test different turnover scenarios. Work backwards: What does the pub need to serve per day, on average, to cover your burn? Is that realistic for the location and day-of-week mix?

If you cannot honestly see a path to hitting that number within 12 weeks of opening, this pub will not work for you.

Question 4: Are You Prepared to Work 70-Hour Weeks?

Let’s be direct: You will not have a typical 40-hour week. You will not have a typical weekend. Running a pub that serves 180 covers like Teal Farm requires being on-site or on-call for at least 70 hours a week for the first two years.

This includes:

• Opening shifts (5:00–6:00 AM setup, depending on licensing)
• Service hours (your pub’s full opening hours)
• Management time after closing (cashing up, stock counts, ordering, staff issues, maintenance walkthrough)
• Admin time outside opening hours (planning, payroll, compliance, BDM meetings)
• On-call availability (plumbing disaster at 2:00 AM, staff sickness, emergency repairs)

This is not something that gets better in year two. It gets different. Once you’ve stabilized operations, you’ll delegate more, hire a manager, and reduce your hours to 55–60. But in year one, you cannot short-cut this. If you’re trying to run a pub while keeping another job, it will fail.

Before you apply, ask yourself: Can my partner/family cope with me being physically absent or mentally unavailable for 14+ hours most days? Can they handle me being tired, stressed, and sometimes irritable from month 4 onwards? This is not romantic. It’s the reality of what a typical week looks like running a UK pub, and if you’re not aligned on it with the people who live with you, it will damage your personal life.

Question 5: Do You Have a Relationship with Your BDM?

Your Business Development Manager is the most important relationship you’ll have outside of your staff and family. They control supply pricing, can help (or hinder) your growth, manage disputes with the pubco, and can advocate for you when something goes wrong. A good BDM relationship is the difference between solving a problem and getting locked into bureaucracy.

Before you sign the lease, you should have had at least two conversations with your BDM. Not with the recruitment team—with the actual BDM who will manage your account. You should know:

• How they approach new licensees (do they visit in month one, or leave you to figure it out?)
• What support they offer (staff training, marketing ideas, data analysis)
• How they handle supply problems and complaints
• What flexibility exists within the contract (can you switch products, test new suppliers, negotiate on specific lines?)

Ask if you can speak to one of their existing licensees. A good BDM will offer. If they won’t, that’s a red flag.

Question 6: Have You Spoken to the Outgoing Licensee?

The outgoing licensee will tell you the truth that the pubco won’t. They’ll tell you if the location is declining, if the footfall prediction was inflated, if the supply costs are actually too high, if there’s a hidden maintenance issue with the building, and how much money they actually made.

Most importantly, they’ll tell you why they’re leaving. If it’s “I’m retiring after 20 happy years,” that’s one thing. If it’s “The pubco lied about the footfall and I’ve burned through my savings,” that’s another.

The pubco won’t put you in touch with them. You need to find them yourself. Look at the pub’s previous trading history if available. Ask local regulars. Turn up during service and ask if the current landlord is around.

When I took on Teal Farm, I found the previous licensee through a local Facebook group. We met for a coffee. He told me the truth about the dip in weekday footfall, the maintenance costs I should expect, and the staff issues I’d inherit. This conversation probably saved me £5,000 in year one because I was prepared.

Question 7: Can You Handle the Isolation?

This is the question nobody asks, and it’s the one that drives licensees out of the industry.

Running a pub alone is isolating. You’re surrounded by people all day, but you’re not their friend—you’re the boss. You cannot vent to staff. You cannot talk to customers about your cash flow problems. You’re making decisions alone that affect your family’s finances. And on your day off, if something goes wrong, you’re the one who gets called.

Burnout after 18 months is common among licensees who didn’t build a support network before they started. You need:

• A peer group of other publicans (not a Facebook group—real people who understand what you do)
• A mentor, ideally someone who’s run a pub successfully
• A therapist or coach if you have a history of mental health challenges (stress at this level can trigger relapse)
• A partner or family member who genuinely understands and supports the lifestyle

I’m part of a WhatsApp group with four other licensees in the North East. We share problems, solutions, and sometimes just rant about the same BDM decision. It’s saved my sanity more than once. Build this before you start, not after.

Question 8: Do You Have a Contingency Fund?

Things will break. Unexpectedly. Expensively.

In my first year, the commercial dishwasher failed (£3,200 to replace, £1,200 to repair and rent while waiting). The walk-in cooler compressor gave up (£2,100). A customer slipped on the floor and threatened legal action (£800 in immediate legal costs, ultimately resolved). I was grateful I’d set aside six months of personal living expenses as a contingency.

Before you sign a lease, you should have access to a contingency fund of £5,000–£10,000, separate from your working capital. This covers emergency repairs, unexpected legal costs, or the gap if you hit a bad month earlier than you planned.

If you don’t have this, do not take on a pub. The first emergency will force you into a high-interest loan or a bad decision.

Question 9: Are You Ready to Live On-Site?

Most tied pubs come with accommodation. Usually a flat above or attached to the pub. This is presented as a benefit—free housing. It’s more complicated than that.

Living on-site means:

• You never truly leave work. Your bedroom is 30 seconds from the bar.
• Customers sometimes expect you to be available at 11:00 PM because they saw your light on upstairs.
• Plumbing and heating problems in your flat become your emergency because you’re there.
• Your personal life happens in the same space as your business.
• When you want to take a week’s holiday, arranging cover is harder because someone needs to live in the flat or the pub looks abandoned.

Some licensees thrive with on-site accommodation. Others find it suffocating. Before you commit, spend a night in the flat. Picture yourself living there for two years. Talk to the current licensee about how it feels.

Question 10: What’s Your Exit Strategy?

Before you enter the pub industry, you need to know how you’ll leave it.

Most leases are for five years with renewal options. Some are three years. You’re signing up for a minimum commitment. What happens if:

• The pub doesn’t perform as expected and you need to leave after two years?
• You want to move for family reasons or health reasons?
• The pubco changes its tie pricing and the margin becomes unworkable?
• A health issue makes the 70-hour weeks unsustainable?

Breaking a lease early typically costs money—sometimes a significant amount. Some pubcos will help you find a replacement licensee. Some will hold you to the contract. You need to understand the legal position and the financial exposure before you sign.

Ask your legal advisor about exit clauses. Ask your BDM what happened to the last three licensees who left early. Understand the worst-case scenario.

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The Verdict

Taking on a pub can be genuinely rewarding. I’m still here three years later because the numbers work for me, I’ve built the right team, and my family is aligned with the lifestyle. My best revenue year was in 2025, and I’m proud of what we’ve built at Teal Farm Pub.

But it’s only rewarding if you go in with your eyes open.

If you can answer all 10 of these questions honestly, and the answers give you confidence, you’re ready to have a serious conversation with a pubco. If you’re dodging any of these questions or telling yourself “I’ll work it out once I’m in,” you’re not ready yet.

The final piece of preparation before you sign anything: Know your numbers. Not estimates. Not what the pubco tells you. Real, detailed financial projections for your specific pub, built from actual data. This is where most new licensees fail—they sign without a clear financial picture, and then they’re forced to make decisions from a position of panic.

Pub Command Centre gives you real-time financial visibility from day one. You’ll know your labour costs, VAT liability, and actual cash position as it happens—not weeks later when your accountant sends you a report. At £97 once, it’s the single best investment you can make before trading day one. Before you sign anything, know your numbers.

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