A new free pub finder app “Pub Club” has launched this week which promises to revolutionise the way thirsty, but discerning, Londoners search for their ideal pub experience.
Conceived last year by ‘new-to-London’ friends Tom Ireland-Life and Freddie Bermingham, when flat sharing in Wandsworth and seeking a good local in which to watch the footie and enjoy a Sunday roast, Pub Club is an app designed to match its user’s preferences with their perfect venue.
Pub Club already has 350+ pubs across South and West London on their app, which is now available to consumers in both the Google Play and Apple Stores. The founders’ ambition is to grow this footprint to cover around 2,000 pubs across London by the end of the calendar year, with further UK coverage in the following year.
Users can select pub attributes using filters in the app ranging from affordability to wheelchair accessibility, from beer garden availability to cocktail and music offerings, with many more options in between, allowing them to swiftly identify suitable pubs within their preferred geographic radius.
Pub Club also benefits pub owners by helping to market their establishments, menus, and entertainment to regular customers and prospective visitors, encouraging increased footfall. Pubs can also track the number of views their pub is getting through the app, the number of people scanning their QR code at the pub and respond to reviews from their customers.
Freddie says:
“Our idea came about on a gloomy November Sunday morning when we wanted to find the perfect pub for a roast, with sofas and a fireplace and, of course, Sky Sports. After countless dead-end Google searches, we were convinced there had to be a more efficient way for people to find their desired pub.”
Tom adds:
“The British pub scene has suffered a great deal recently due to the pandemic; 150 pubs in England and Wales permanently closed within the first few months of 2023. We are hoping that Pub Club helps not only punters but the industry itself by providing a new way to put cash in the till for both chain-based and independent pubs.”
Pub Club aims to offer more than search engine functionality. A sleek promotional section of the app, known as ‘The Chalkboard’,iswhere pub landlords and managers can advertise events such as live music, comedy nights, and drink offers to clientele within a chosen radius. Customers can also rate the pubs they visit and share their top recommendations with friends online.
To mark its launch, Pub Club is running an inaugural ‘Golden Ticket’ campaign starting in July and running throughout summer. Lucky app users who check into pubs between July and the end of September by scanning the bar-side QR codes, will have the chance to win an enticing prize of £100 bar credit.
Looking ahead, Pub Club has plans to expand its features to include meticulously curated bar crawls and a convenient table booking function, all seamlessly integrated into the app’s user-friendly interface.
Carly, manager at The Four Thieves in Battersea, says:
“The Pub Club app is brilliant! It allows us to connect with customers in a way that’s not been possible before. It is great that more people are aware of what the Four Thieves has to offer, and The Chalkboard makes advertising what’s going on at the pub seamlessly easy.”
The App is free to download and use for pub-goers and there are no subscription fees for London pub owners until mid-September 2023.
ENDS
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Declan Flahive: declan@bell-yard.com Mob: 07944629485
Notes to Editors:
Until earlier this year, Freddie Bermingham worked at a recruitment firm in the City while Tom Ireland-Life works in External Affairs. They met through mutual friends while Freddie was at Bristol University and Tom at Bath University.
Seed funding was provided by Freddie, Tom, and their friends and family.
The current anticipated subscription fee for pubs, levied from September, is expected to cost £30 per month with second-tier membership also offered as an option for pubs.
20/07/2023
