Smoking ban is no drag on pub values
THE ban on smoking in enclosed public places has had "no appreciable effect" as yet on the market in Scotland for pubs and other leisure venue properties, according to one of the country's leading commercial property agents.
Gary Louttit, a partner at Graham & Sibbald, said that so far there was no real evidence that the ban, which was introduced in March, was affecting pub values or affecting demand, which had held up for some time now.
"There has been no sign of that level of demand tailing off in the initial few months after the introduction of the ban," said Mr Louttit.
Turnover aside - much of which is yet to show any reliable pattern after just six months of the ban - Mr Louttit said the only real evidence that could act as a benchmark for the impact of the ban was the prices property agents were achieving for pub and licensed premises sales.
"We are seeing no real evidence of any negative impact on property prices thus far. It is to be hoped that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, although it is fair to say that we will all have to wait and see what happens over a full year," said Mr Louttit.
While the winter would be a crucial period for the licensed trade, Mr Louttit added: "The encouraging news . . . is that there is no sign of any tail off in the property market in the meantime, which has got to be good news for all within the industry."
