A free app, Pub Club, has launched this week, promising to revolutionise the way thirsty, but discerning, Londoners search for their ideal pub experience.
It was conceived last year by ‘new-to-London’ friends Tom Ireland-Life and Freddie Bermingham. They were flat sharing in Wandsworth and looking for a good local in which to enjoy the footie and get a Sunday lunch.
Pub Club already has more than 350 pubs across South and West London listed. The founders’ ambition is to grow this footprint to cover around 2,000 pubs across London by the end of this year, with further UK coverage the following year.
Users can select pub attributes using filters in the app. These range from affordability to wheelchair accessibility, from beer garden availability to cocktail and music offerings, with many more options in between.
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 customers.
“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,” said Freddie.
“After countless dead-end Google searches, we were convinced there had to be a more efficient way for people to find their desired pub.”
Pub Club founders Tom Ireland-Life and Freddie Bermingham
Tom added: “The British pub scene has suffered a great deal recently due to the pandemic. One hundred and fifty 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, is where 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 the 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 £100 of bar credit.
Looking ahead, Pub Club has plans to expand its features to include curated bar crawls and a convenient table booking function, all seamlessly integrated into the app’s user-friendly interface.
Carly, manager of The Four Thieves, in Battersea, said: “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. Download here for Android and here for Apple.
