Scream Pubs
| Industry | Hospitality industry |
|---|---|
| Genre | Pub chain |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Bass |
| Headquarters | Birmingham |
|
Area served
|
UK |
| Products | Student-themed pubs |
| Owner | Stonegate Pub Company |
| Website | Scream Pubs |
Scream (formerly known as It's A Scream) is a student-oriented pub chain in the United Kingdom owned by the Stonegate Pub Company. There are 49 pubs in the chain which began in October 1995.
The pub chain was set up by brewers Bass, who called it It's a Scream. The pubs were all within relatively short walking distance of a university.
Bass's retail arm became Mitchells & Butlers in April 2003.
Scream was disposed of by Mitchells and Butlers on 20 August 2010, along with around 300 other Mitchells and Butlers pubs for £373m. Stonegate is owned by TDR Capital.
In June 2011, Stonegate merged with the Town & City Pub Company.
Scream pubs are aimed at the student market, and mostly found near to universities. They claim to be 'the number one choice of students'. Its chief competitor is Varsity, owned by the Barracuda Group, although Varsity has a more mainstream market – often concentrating on football matches on Sky Sports and located closer to town centres.
The original name came from the 1893 painting The Scream, by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, which is a popular poster image with many students. The painting was formerly shown on some pub signs of the former It's A Scream chain.
The pubs each have individual items, for example a giant monkey mural (Horn in Hand), a talking moose's head (White Harte, Bristol), an aadvark costume (The Aadvark, Coventry) or a large painting of a Phoenix (The Phoenix, Coventry) and their own sign relating to their name. Some go further, such as the Dry Dock in Leeds and Leicester which are built inside of an old grounded ship.
Scream pubs have a loyalty card scheme known as The Yellow Card. It is available to students annually for £1 and entitles them to discounts on selected food and drink. As of November 2006, however, selected Scream Pubs have been chosen to run a trial wherein they did not sell Yellow Cards.
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