Hospitality industry stalwart Marshall Bain was used to hot weather when he lived and worked in Portugal. As SLTA president back in Scotland, however, he expects to encounter occasional dark clouds but with his sunny disposition and positive outlook on life he’ll take whatever’s looming on the horizon in his stride. Karen Peattie meets the man of the moment in Edinburgh
IT’S a dull but dry Thursday in June and Marshall Bain is making notes ahead of his interview for the SLTA Newsletter. But his choice of venue – Costa Coffee in Edinburgh’s Hanover Street – seems surprising. Why not his own premises – the Queen Charlotte Rooms in Leith?
Bain smiles broadly. “I’m going to the 49 Club,” he reveals. “It’s usually in Glasgow but twice a year we bring it to Edinburgh and today it’s in the New Club. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The corporate clatter of Costa – and the obligatory never-ending wait for the coffee – seems a million miles away from the plush surroundings of the New Club, Scotland’s oldest private members’ club with its stunning views over Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle.
For Marshall Bain, wearing the SLTA president’s chain of office is a far cry from his more casual attire when he was an entertainer and hospitality manager in Praia da Oura in the Algarve. An accomplished singer and pianist, he spent 10 years playing for holidaymakers – six of those years at the one venue. “I also managed the premises but apart from occasionally having to step behind the bar I never thought about doing it back home in Scotland,” he says.
“We loved Portugal – we were young,” he laughs. “Maggie Thatcher had just got into Number 10 and we thought we’d nothing to lose by upping sticks and trying our hand in the sun for three months – but we never expected to stay for 10 years. Life there suited us. The climate suited us.
“Did I think about buying my own bar? Yes, at one point I did. But I could see that it was hard work. I was earning good money clinking away on my piano for two hours every night from a terrace overlooking the fishing boats and watching the sun come down. Why give that up for pouring pints and clearing tables?”
Bain admits that he’s had a lot of luck in his life, particularly in Portugal where he and his family recently returned to celebrate his 65th birthday. “I met the owner of the Queen Charlotte Rooms there,” he says. “He was on his honeymoon, we got chatting and he said if you come back to Edinburgh give me a call. We did come back and he called me.
“At that time, the premises weren’t known as the Queen Charlotte Rooms but I started helping him out and eventually bought the business outright – and then it was like painting the Forth Bridge because there was so much space that needed refurbished and modernised.
“At that time, Leith was a different Leith to what it is today but I was managing to build up the business through sheer hard work. I was lucky again when the big regeneration boom landed and I definitely benefited. Look at Leith now – it’s home to penthouse flats and Michelin-star restaurants. There’s no doubt I got in there at the right time.”
For those unfamiliar with the Queen Charlotte Rooms, it’s fair to say that this is Edinburgh’s premier function facility. If you want to have your wedding here you’re advised to book at least a year in advance to secure the date you want, particularly if it’s a Saturday. Indeed, 50% of the Queen Charlotte Rooms’ business is weddings.
But it also caters for funerals, corporate events, business meetings and Christmas parties in three spaces – the elegant first-floor Queen Charlotte Suite, which can cater for up to 120; the more intimate No. 5 Suite on the ground floor which is ideal for gatherings of 20-40 people; and the second-floor Capital Suite, popular for parties of around 60-80 guests.
SLTA
So why did Bain first become involved with his industry’s trade association? Without hesitation, he answers: “For the social side,” he admits. “I’m a social animal and I thought if I joined the SLTA I’d meet like-minded people, learn a bit more about the trade and also enjoy myself.
“As it happened the Edinburgh licensed trade scene was vibrant and the local branch was lively and forward-thinking – as well as lunches and that type of thing we wanted to spread our wings further afield so we went on wine tours and when I was branch president I organised one to Portugal.
“We were all publicans – hotel and bar owners – so being together in a social environment gave us a great opportunity to share our experiences and talk about the problems facing the industry. And it’s still the same today – I’d recommend that all owners join the SLTA.”
What has changed in Marshall Bain’s 15-plus years of SLTA involvement, however, is the amount of bureaucracy and red tape involved in running a business. He believes it puts people off entering the licensed trade. “We need young people coming through,” he points out.
“The younger generation is the lifeblood of our industry but when you look at all the boxes you have to tick and the forms you have to fill out you can understand why it’s not for everyone. Today, in Scottish law, if anything goes wrong it is your fault. All the legislation comes with a cost to you and it’s also time-consuming, keeping you away from your customers.
“For example, the SLTA supports the National Living Wage – but it has to be paid for. Then there’s rates, VAT on food. The legislation just keeps on coming.”
Bain’s wrath is particularly directed at business rates. “Quite simply, we need help,” he states. “We have a situation whereby our rates are totally out of sync with those of the supermarkets and we need to rectify this discrepancy. The rates we pay are based on turnover while the rates supermarkets pay are based on the floor space allocated to alcohol.
“It’s wholly disproportionate and it needs to change – all we’re asking for is a level playing field.”
Alluding to the health issue surrounding Scotland’s over-consumption of alcohol, he is rightly angry and frustrated at the media’s tendency to blame the licensed trade – and pubs, clubs and bars in particular – for society’s ills. “It’s so wrong and ill-informed,” he points out. “We know that preloading is a problem – people get tanked up at home before going out.
“I see it myself at the Queen Charlotte Rooms,” Bain continues. “Someone who is a guest at a wedding or other function will appear really drunk after just two or three drinks – that’s only possible if they’ve been drinking before they arrive. Yet we are responsible for that individual. It’s really difficult for the most experienced owners, publicans and licence holders, never mind those who are new to the trade.”
The issues Bain raises are just some of the reasons why people should join and support the SLTA. “It’s your trade association,” he points out. “We’re there to help you prosper and grow your business. The more members we have, the stronger our voice when it comes to lobbying the government.”
He accepts that the industry is evolving but is adamant that the SLTA has – and will continue – to address that. “Yes, we’re changing, the industry is changing. Everything does and that’s why we’ve taken steps to become more relevant to the younger people in our industry,” says Bain.
“We need to appeal to all ages – we’re not just a ‘club’ for old fogies like me which is what some people might think although I think we’re lucky that we still have a lot of experience with many people from my own generation still actively involved in the licensed trade and making a sterling contribution.
“It’s about finding that balance of youth and experience – that’s going to give us a great combination of fresh ideas and the steady hands of people who have themselves been the ones with the new ideas who have been prepared to take risks.”
Echoing comments made by SLTA Paul Waterson in his address to the recent Scottish Wholesale Association conference, Bain highlighted the “worrying” issues surrounding Scotland’s lower drink-driving limit. “It’s bad for us – and there’s talk of it being lowered even further,” he says.
“Northern Ireland is doing the right thing by doing a deal with Westminster and the Scottish Government has to do the same,” Bain stresses. “If one of our customers is only marginally over the limit they could find themselves unable to go to the USA for 20 years – that’s incredibly harsh.”
Use us or lose us
As Marshall Bain checks his watch and straightens his tie before heading across the road to the New Club and the 49 Club lunch, he reflects: “This is an amazing industry to be part of. Each and every one of us – we’re part of the nation’s social fabric. And I worry about some sectors of society because if the local pub disappears then there are people who won’t get out of the house – that pint is their lifeline with the outside world.
“It’s sad that many still view us as being somewhere to go and get drunk,” he continues. “That’s such an ill-conceived perception of our industry and it’s why we need a really strong SLTA to ensure our future.”