Small brewers are being regulated to death'

JW Lees managing director William Lees-Jones fears small brewers and pub operators are being "regulated out of existence" by rising taxes, red tape and bureaucracy.

Following a Morning Advertiser survey that revealed the price of a pint had risen by as much as 10p in some pubs, Lees-Jones said market trends were his biggest concern.

"The cheapest way to buy beer is at the supermarket and that migration to the off-trade is worrying," he said. "Licensing costs are increasing, there is a ton of regulations such as the Disability Act to conform to and while no-one disagrees with them, you feel a real pinch in business costs and it has become very tough.

"If a smoking ban is factored in, we might see more people drinking cheap beer and smoking at home. Pubs could lose between 10% and 15% of sales. For pubs to be sustainable, prices will have to go up."

For mid-sized brewers such as Lees, the progressive beer duty has been a mixed-blessing. Lees-Jones said: "While it has helped smaller brewers, we are above the limit set so we do not get the benefit. I hope the barrier will be moved up but at the moment we are stuck between a rock and a hard place."

On the new licensing regime, he said: "The Government seems to thrive on bureaucracy because it creates jobs. I feel sorry for our trade associations who have worked hard and not been listened to. We have been sucking up to the Government for years but it gets to the stage where you have to say what's the point?' We are being regulated out of existence."