BACKGROUND 

Trust Inns is one of the UK's established privately owned pub companies, operating around 360 leased and tied tenanted sites stretching from Cornwall to Scotland. Their estate spans the full spectrum — traditional community locals, food-led destinations, music and entertainment venues, pubs with letting rooms, and family-focused sites — serving customers from all walks of life, every day of the week. 

Operations Director David Davies has long understood the role a great pub plays beyond the pint. When the opportunity to partner with InPost arose, it aligned naturally with what he calls the ‘pub is the hub’ philosophy: a local venue that offers its community more services, more reasons to visit, and more value. 

THE CHALLENGE 

Finding monetisation that doesn't compromise the estate 

Trust Inns has seen many partnership models come and go — car charging points demanding 25-year agreements, telecoms installations that became impossible to exit after legislative changes, digital advertising hoardings locked in for decades. For a pub company that needs to protect its ability to develop, sell, or repurpose sites, long-term commercial encumbrances are a serious concern. 

David had seen parcel lockers appearing at supermarkets and petrol stations, but before conversations with InPost, hadn’t considered them as a genuine fit for pub venues. The question wasn’t just whether lockers would work commercially — it was whether they could work without strings attached. 

“Car charging points are seeking 25-year leases and I can see them becoming protected like telecoms as ‘infrastructure of national importance.’ Even advertising hoardings now seek long-term agreements.” 

THE PARTNERSHIP JOURNEY 

A relationship built on patience, not pressure 

After becoming aware of InPost through the trade press, David entered into a discovery process involving five or six touchpoints — presentations, calls, and detailed email exchanges on licence and operational matters.  

What made the process work was the approach taken by InPost. Rather than applying commercial pressure, the InPost team answered every question thoroughly, adapted the model to Trust Inns’ specific needs — including battery-operated units - and accommodated the company’s internal timelines without rushing the relationship. 

“If we had been pressurised I think the proposal would have been declined. As it was, we felt comfortable to move forward at each turn, having had the chance to review, understand and consider.” 

WHY INPOST 

The factors that sealed the deal:

- Workable 5-year licence 

Not a long-term tenancy agreement. Sites stay free to develop or sell without encumbrance. 

- Minimal footprint 

Small, unobtrusive units that don't dominate a venue or require planning changes. 

- Battery-operated units 

No connection to site services or infrastructure required — simple to install, zero disruption. 

- Market-leading brand 

InPost's proven network and experience with pub locations made it the clear choice. 

- Zero operational burden 

Remotely managed by InPost — no demands on pub staff time or management resource. 

- Revenue and footfall 

Commission income plus new visitors encountering the pub for the first time on a locker trip. 

We see this as not just a revenue source but also as something which increases visibility and services provided at our pub sites, which attracts new entrants to the potential pub via a visit to the site which may not previously have been on their radar 

THE INSIGHT 

A key moment of clarity came not in a boardroom, but on a walk. David’s daughter received a text notification, made a short detour to collect a parcel from a nearby InPost Locker, and in that moment demonstrated the entire proposition in action. 

“She never uses traditional delivery methods” he noted — because the locker model simply works better for her life: available 24/7, no waiting in for deliveries, usable for sending, returning, and receiving. This firsthand experience of how younger working adults interact with parcel infrastructure crystallised why pub venues — already embedded in local communities — are a natural and valuable host. 

"Send someone a bar of chocolate or something cheap to their local locker which is worth collecting and let them experience the facility themselves – I’m a convert! "

LOOKING AHEAD 

With the agreement signed, Trust Inns plans to assess their estate and progressively expand the number of InPost Lockers across sites that meet both partners’ criteria. The aspiration is clear: more services at more venues, more new visitors drawn in, and a pub estate that means something extra to its surrounding communities. 

Want to find out more about hosting an InPost Locker? Click here