Go on, afanof. Get on your high horse and show us how pompous you can be. Closing that pub is an utter disgrace.
People venting their ire at the board is hardly ground-breaking stuff. There's plenty of the home-grown variety on here. I just wasn't sure why we had to be directed to another website for more of the same.
thats stupid, and if we get rid of simpson we have nothing, were already in trouble that wont help at all get a life and get behind the boys and malky, show your support for them and stop concentrating on the board it isnt helping
Historically I can accept that its closure could attract annoyance and disbelief. Commercially I think it is not the end of the world but with hard working nurses practically on the door step want a bevvy or two and a s,hag, i quickly done some break even estimated figure for viabilty discussions:. Break even point. sales £210k ( equiv to £4,038 per week excluding Vat = @ ave drink price £2.55 {£3 inc vat} = 82,352 drinks in the year/1,584 a week/226 a day) Cost of sales £113k GP (63%) £132k Rent Nil Rates £12k (est) light/heat and water £4k (est) Repairs and maint £5K (est) Equipment hire £4k (est) Cleaning £10k (est) Advertising and PR £5k (est) staff - manager £30k 2 full time staff (live out) £20k Matchday staff p/t - 6 ( for matchdays) £8k est Social security costs £6k approx Sky rental (business rate) £18k est Miscellaneous exps £10k ( Printing and stationery, contingency exps) Total exps £132k NET PROFIT/LOSS £NIL The above takes no account for food, snacks etc. Would kids be allowed in? take up space on match days? The location is perfect for match days ( maybe not for policing though) but otherwise, do Indians and Pakistan people drink? Isn't the Conservative club a lot cheaper than pubs and been highly recommneded on here? How many people are likely to use the pub on non match days. In recent times when it was open, I would pass by at 8pmish from a hospital visit and no canut would be in there. Would the targets be met? Would the match day sales in the rookery bar drop substancially thus only transferring profits/funds fro one area to another? How much is it currently costing for rent of offices? I don't know. Health and safety issues not included in costings above but normally this would be capitalised costs in order to get the H&S certificate - fire safety regs/hygiene/disabilty access - having said that, this would apply to offices as well. Discuss if you wish or rant away. The Red Lion was it's own demise. The fact the club are now seemingly unwilling to turn it into a Hooters or such like trendy establishment is indeed sad.
The closeness to the hospital would see a clean and well run pub, (IE the opposite to what it had become), being a well used establishment all year round IMO. It was only empty because it was a total ****ehole. If there was one part of the ground that could definately make money all year it was this. A decent pub, food, TV's with sport, nurses... who wouldn't want to go there? It wouldn't impact the VBar, just add to the profits as people who use town pubs instead of the VBar would be attracted to it.
Couldnt agree more. Tbh, in theory, wouldnt a pub create more money for the club then a block of offices that arnt in a particularly appealing area for businesses to operate from.
So everyone in the v bar will stay loyal to that bar and not go into the red lion on match day as will the rousers? On non match day - will 38 key worker home residents spend all their time in the red lion. Good food - will need a good kitchen, table space on the floors rather than standing room, thus losing spend per head, unless the food is expensive and on a Saturday most people would have had food at home before coming out, unlike a weekday match after work. Having a good kitchen adds to the annual expenses and profits would depend on the ability to entice customers in on Monday to friday and Sunday. The offices are appealing for the St Pancaras housing association and for the hospital itself. WFC would also use the offices saving rent on the leased offices at present. If it was a pub How many punters do you think there would be from 11am to 7pm monday to friday Admin - do you know how much sky tv is for a pub per year? If any one thinks its a money spinner - offer to lease it from the club? Shyte pub/shyte beer. Great news it's gone. Isn't the new in bar, where the real people go that icecream bar - magnums or such like name. Was in there after the cardiff game for a swift pint of actually decent guinness - who was that woman shouting yella army, yella army....?
I agree with you PYA, I think people like the idea of the club owning the pub but few of them would actually use it and those who did would only get there every other week when there was a match on.
I disagree, but then Watford FC gets precisely £0 per year from me per year, so my opinion is a bit moot.
The red lion might not have been a money spinner, but tbh the club wont do any better from offices. Theres an over abundance of office space around & its very cheap to rent. I doubt the hospital would need the extra offices & the housing association arnt excatley going to pay alot of money. True WFC would save money by using the offices themselves but I doubt they are currently paying alot for where they are leasing atm. Apart form those 3 examples, who else would be intrested in renting that office space? Its not in an appealing area for alot of businesses. Im not saying a pub is a better idea, but if the club want to make any sort of money from that land then they will have to do better then just sticking a few offices there.
Very questionable, no doubt it'll be considerably cheaper in town than any club owned pub (same prices as the ground) and for those who go to the ground through town anyway it'll make little difference.
I'm not sure if many of you realise that it is not just the site of the actual pub building we are talking about!!! The adjacent land belongs to the pub also, and runs about half the length of the Vic Road end. As I understand it that will be built on as well!!! So we are talking about a much bigger project than many of you think, not just a few offices!!! Hence the revenue should be greater than many of you think!!!
This from the interim half-year version of the current full results: How much of that was down to the rent at Tolpits Lane? It's a large office space.
Considering its just a figure listed as administrative costs, the amount of it that could be down to renting Tolpits lane is anybodies guess without knowing the terms of the rent agreement. The short anwser would be 'not alot' though. Going from personal experience of the 2 office units I rent. The first is an office suitable for 14 people with kitchen, toilets & function room costs apporx 2,500 a quarter. The 2nd is more of an industrial unit with large office, trade counter, show room & very large warehouse plus customer carpark which costs just over 1,000 a month in rent. So like I said before office spaces are cheap and WFC arnt going to make/save much money from building offices where the red lion is. Granted those adminastrive costs probaley include all the costs of running the offices in Tolpits lane, but they wont be much difference in the costs of running ofices outside the vic.
None, it's just a foul mouthed rant thats purpose will be lost after the first insult. Utterly Pointless and at best will be filed in the bin. Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about the money situation and the playing staff situation, but this is simply a classic example of what not to do.
I'll give you a classic example of what not to do. Buying a pub that is part of WFC's heritage and folklore and shutting it down in order to turn it into offices and a mongshop. That's a classic example of something not to do. Generations of Watford supporters have drank in that pub, before and after games. It's more than just a pub to a lot of people. Simpson knows that very well, but does he give a ****? No. Of course he doesn't. he knows football fans are the easiest people to shiit on, because they're loyal to the point of stupidity. As for it's financial viability, a pub across the road from a stadium that hosts a professional football club and a top flight rugby union side should be a potential goldmine. It's utterly senseless, not to mention amazingly ignorant, to shut it down.
K - How long have Saracens been playing at the Vic? Why wasn't it a goldmine? Premiership football and the Rugby for a while. Why didn't the tennants and or brewery spruce it up like suggested if it was /is so viable?
Note 20 of the audited acounts (page 45/48) Operating lease liabilities within one year 2008:£279k (split vehicles and equipment £32 and Other ££249k) 2007:£266k Operating lease rentals represent PRIMARILY rentals payable by the group for its administrative offices. The main lease is for a term of 5 years with a break clause after 3 years. So the way it is written with the use of the word Primarily - suggests that a large part of the £247k is for rent of the groups administrative offices. Dynamo - if you say the office rents are "not a lot", what the hell is the annual lease commitment - other made up of?
