TYNESIDE IRISH CENTRE
Letter to Members
On behalf of the Management Committee I have to thank you, our members and friends, for your loyal support throughout 2019.
Despite this it has been a very difficult year for us financially. We can point to many external factors to blame for this: more clubs closing than ever, continued austerity, ageing profile of our memberships and the rest. It doesn’t help us fix it.
The plain facts are that the staff have worked very hard to maintain our sales at previous levels but we have simply been spending more than we earn. We, therefore, only need a marginal improvement to put things right.
In the immediate future we need make price adjustments and savings. The brewers have once again imposed a totally unjustified increase of 6p to 10p per pint and more will follow on wines and spirits. HM Government have also increased the minimum wage in April. We have been selling beer at £2.50 a pint and it has NOT brought us any noticeable increase in trade. This can’t continue and I hope you will understand the reasons for the price increases we are forced to make.
To protect our members a DISCOUNT CARD has been introduced which will help and also make your membership of more value.
in the longer term we realise that the club needs to be made more welcoming and attractive especially to the younger generations we need to come in.
In 2020 we propose to carry out a programme of works starting with improvements to our entrance and ground floor bar. It is our intention to consult members in the next few weeks regarding the exact nature of these proposals. Meanwhile the Management Committee hope to count on your continuing support for the centre and for Lynn and her staff during this period of transition.
Tony Corcoran
Secretary 6/2/2020
Company Registration No: 28346R