Yates's
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Founder | Peter and Simon Yates |
| Headquarters | Porter Tun House, 500 Capability Green, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3LS |
|
Number of locations
|
52 |
|
Area served
|
UK |
| Parent | Yates Group plc (1986–2004) Laurel Pub Company (2004–11) Stonegate Pub Company (2011–) |
| Subsidiaries | Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteen (former) |
| Website | Yates |
Yates is a British pub chain, founded as Yates Wine Lodge in Oldham, Lancashire by Peter and Simon Yates in 1884. The chain remained strongest in the North of England, though spreading nationwide.
It is Britain's oldest pub chain. Its motto was moderation is true temperance. Peter Yates (born 22 April 1854), the founder, came from Preston. He was sent to Spain to learn about wine, and his brother went to the US to learn about business methods.
The first Yates Wine Lodge opened in Oldham in 1884. Peter died in 1944 aged 90. At one time, the company was based at 54 Carnarvon Street in Manchester.
In earlier times, it invented its own range of drinks which it called Blobs, which consisted of sweet Australian wine and brandy, (a fortified wine), sugar, lemon and hot water. The interior of the pubs had a Victoriana feel and look.
The late 1990s Britpop hedonistic era was (financially and culturally) the most lucrative time for the pub brand. This was also the introduction of alcopops, which supercharged Britain's pub culture, and benefited Yates's.
In the next decade, it began to lose favour as a place for a night out. Many of the pubs relied on late-night drinkers (1-2am). However, as history would confirm, the pubs were the first to be visited on a "pub crawl", they were the first port of call on a night out. It was most popular on Fridays and Saturdays, and many were quieter in the early week; the pubs were not often seen as family pubs, though were regularly the start of a hen night or stag night or just the start of a "pub crawl". The reasoning being that "The Blob" was an affordable and easy start to the night, with its cheap (comparatively), high alcoholic content and being hot, it didn't take many to get the consumer "in the mood".
By 2004, it had disposed of the Victoriana feel of its pubs, and sales improved.
On 23 November 2005, the Licensing Act 2003 came into force, of which the Chief Executive of the company described it would pour petrol on the flames of binge drinking.
It was owned by the Yates Group plc (Yates Brothers Wine Lodges plc) from 23 July 1994. Yates Group also owned Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteen. It also operated pubs under the Blob Shop and Addisons name. In the late 1990s it could virtually do no wrong and its share price reached 550p in 1998 – its highest price.
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Wikipedia