Pound stores transformed the British high street, and the launch of a budget chain of pubs hoped to replicate this success.
With the popularity of the likes of Poundbakery and PoundCafe, Pound Pubs could arguably be seen as the next logical step. The first Pound Pub launched to great success in Stockton-on-Tees in 2014, with the next one opening in Greater Manchester later the same year.
With its yellow and white branding and EasyJet style lettering, Pound Pubs looked every inch the no-frills option for the nation's pub goers. The first Greater Manchester Pound Pub opened on Market Street, Atherton.
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The pub chain's motto was "Get more round for your pound". And it was a promise that owner, Mike Wardell, kept by selling half pints of beer for £1 and a full pint for just 50p more.
The businessman had previously said : "If it is a success – like Poundland – we will roll it out to other sites." By July 2015, there were five Pound Pubs in the north of England, including Greater Manchester and Liverpool.
However, the opening of the Atherton pub wasn't without controversy. It attracted criticism from other pub owners who claimed it attracted "riff-raff" and questioned how it could sell beer so cheap.
According to a story in the Express, the pub was also branded "irresponsible" by drink campaigners. It also said angry neighbours claimed the pub was catering for drunks who had been seen "staggering around the streets" before lunchtime.
One concerned local was quoted as saying: "All this bar is doing is selling cheap alcohol early in the morning to vulnerable people."
However, the pub's landlord, Dave Sutton, dismissed the claims. He told the Express: "Pubs around the country are shutting all the time, so something has to be done and this could be it."
And the landlord wasn't alone in his support for the new pubs. In an article in the Mirror, one local lorry driver said: "When I am in London and paying almost £4 a pint in some places I just shake my head and groan.
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“When I tell the landlord or landlady I pay £1.50 for the same stuff at home they think I have had too much to drink. No-one can believe it.”
Another local said: "There is a lot of people in most days, lunchtime or evenings. Some who walk in off the street can’t believe the prices, especially if they are in a big round."
Despite its popularity with some locals, the opening of the pub didn't go down well with other landlords. Quoted in the Daily Mail, a rival pub landlady of the nearby Jolly Nailor pub said she welcomed the pub as it was keeping "bad people" out of her establishment.
She added: "At least it keeps all the riff raff in one place. We are happy because it takes all the bad people out. Every town should have a pound pub because it attracts all the ne’er-do-wells."
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Looking to attract older customers who used to go to working men's clubs and those put off by the higher prices in gastro pubs, Pound Pubs aimed to offer Britain an alternative, no-frills drinking option. Despite the criticism and some negative press attention, the pub chain's owner said "early interest has been really positive," and he had received requests from across the country to open other Pound Pubs.
However, despite rumours of more Pound Pubs set to open in Greater Manchester it appears the idea failed to catch on. Only five Pound Pubs opened, including Atherton – the others were in Liverpool, Newark, Stockton and Staffordshire.
By 2017, the Pound Pub in Atherton had closed and had been replaced by The Wheatsheaf. All of the four other Pound Pubs belonging to the franchise have since closed.
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