Slug and Lettuce - History

History

Hugh Corbett, an entrepreneur with a background in the hotel industry, opened "The Slug and Lettuce" pub in Islington, North London in 1984. At the time, Islington was becoming increasingly gentrified due to its proximity to the City of London financial district. Corbett owned a small number of pubs, all of which he rechristened with humorous or nonsensical names, which had the effect of differentiating them from competitors. His pubs had the then notable differential of having stripped out carpets and curtains and enlarged windows so that people could see inside from the street. Corbett listed his business in 1989 as Fast Forward, by which time it was a nine-strong chain. In 1990 Roger Protz identified the chain as an imitation of David Bruce's Firkin pubs.

In 1992, the David Bruce controlled Grosvenor Inns acquired Fast Forward for £4.46 million, bringing Grosvenor's total number of pubs to thirty. By this time, Fast Forward owned thirteen pubs, all based around the London area, with seven under the Slug name. The decision was taken to appeal to customers in their 20s and 30s and make the bar "more contemporary", "more of a bar, less of a pub", "young and even rowdy" and "not blokey - not a very male environment", aiming for an equal proportion of both male and female clientele. Sheila McKenzie, who had founded the female-friendly Pitcher & Piano chain, was enlisted to enact these changes, and the Slug and Lettuce concept has been described as her "brainchild". Grovesnor felt that the pub chain had "lost its way", and concentrated on boosting its food operations.

In 1995, Slug and Lettuce was rebranded again, this time as a "contemporary English bar", designed to occupy the middle ground between a continental cafe and a classic English pub. By this time, food constituted 30 per cent of total sales. In 1997 the chain identified its primary competitors as the All Bar One and Pitcher & Piano bar chains. In 1998 Grosvenor Inns changed its name to The Slug and Lettuce Group, reflecting the fact that the now 22-strong chain had become the company's sole focus. The chain also announced that it would not stock the Amusement with Prizes machines common in many other pubs. In 1998, the chain encountered its first major setback after it expanded into the North of England with five outlets in Nottingham, York, Manchester, Harrogate and Leeds. These all made profit losses in their first six months of operation, which triggered the company's first profit warning. In 1999, the chain first entered the Scottish market, with an outlet in Glasgow. Meanwhile, the company board was criticised for a lack of dynamism and being too slow to expand its number of outlets. The chain launched a website in February 2000.

In mid-2000, SFI, the owner of the Litten Tree bar chain, announced a £31.6 million takeover of Slug and Lettuce, paid for in shares, and McKenzie left the chain in order to pursue new challenges. According to analysts, the chain was too small and had too much debt to survive alone. SFI converted a number of their existing pubs into Slugs, and by 2004 the chain had 56 outlets. In 2005, SFI attempted to reposition the chain as an upmarket place to eat, in anticipation of the forthcoming smoking ban. In June 2005 SFI went into administration, and sold 98 of its 150 outlets to the Laurel Pub Company, controlled by Robert Tchenguiz, for £80 million. In 2008 Laurel itself collapsed, and the Slug chain became a part of the Bay Restaurant Group, later Town & City Pub Company. The chain has withdrawn from a number of locations, including Glasgow and Cardiff, leaving it with only one location in Scotland, and no presence in Wales. In 2010, Town & City began to refurbish the outlets, switching from a beige and brown colour scheme to aubergine. In June 2011 Town & City merged with the Stonegate Pub Company.

Since 2011 outlets have opened early for breakfast. In September 2012 the Stonegate company chairman Ian Payne announced plans to expand the chain, which he claimed had outperformed the high street for the past three years, and was enjoying double digit growth. As of 2012, outlets are being refurbished with a colour scheme of gold, purple, green and plum.