LETTERS

We'll help out genuine cases - Provence boss

This is my final word about your coverage of Provence rents.

I still firmly believe that our straightforward approach is more conducive to the success of the end-user's business (to act as landlord, pure and simple).

However, I cannot ignore the fact that a few of our tenants are struggling and this comes into conflict with my sound principles.

I have today instructed our commercial lettings department to contact a number of consultants who specialise in advising licensees on all aspects of running their business.

This service will be provided free of charge to all of our tenants.

We have strived to be flexible by removing the barriers to entry and by having faith in people that have simply wanted the chance. We, unlike other companies, have given them that opportunity and in some cases have regretted it.

Clearly, by looking at some of the photographs in the Morning Advertiser, we have matched the wrong people with certain properties.

I believe there are two issues - the first of which is genuine and the second is where people are simply jumping on the bandwagon.

It is very important not to confuse the two. A clear case of people jumping on the bandwagon is that of the Aviation Group. They cannot possibly blame the Provence rents, as they didn't pay any.

It is people like these that are allowed to run up large debts that discredit the genuine cases!

The few genuine cases will be contacted within the next couple of weeks by a professional consultant who will be instructed to appraise the tenant, the business and the property at no cost to them.

I will add to the consultants' advice, my own, in relation to attitude and work ethic.

Often people cannot see their problems and I think your reports are encouraging them to focus in the wrong direction and upon the wrong issues.

Let there be absolutely no doubt that we value our tenants highly and their well being is of extreme importance to us.

We go to exceptional lengths to help them as much as we are able; we allow rent reductions, have deferred rental payments and even waive rental charges completely in some cases.

However, there will always be whiners no matter what is done for them. As the saying goes, 'the more you do for people, the more likely you are to upset them'.

My aim is to build a great company, one that will be here forever; I want to leave a legacy.

I do realise that to pursue the best ends, one must apply the best means, therefore if your responses have resulted in us altering our means for the better then I thank you!

Paul J Kiely

Managing director

Provence

Bolton

Barring under-21s simply cuts one of our lifelines

Has it really come to this? I read with some interest about the five Peterborough pubs banning under-21s on a Friday and Saturday night (Morning Advertiser, 10 November).

The fear of getting caught by the incessant sting operations from police has led some to ban a group of customers who have the right to drink.

Unless I have missed something and the law has changed, you are allowed to buy alcohol when you are 18.

I can understand the move as police are trying to catch us all out and seem to be visiting pubs again and again until they get the result they want - an under-age sale.

By all means ask for ID and I am a big fan of the Challenge 21 but to just ban a group of customers doesn't seem right to me.

Pubs have no excuse for serving those under 18 and we must put up signs warning people that everyone who looks under 21 will be asked for ID.

We must also enforce this policy rigorously. Take the United States for example, they think nothing of asking everyone under 30 for ID.

It should be on the first page of the training manual.

Maybe then we could start concentrating on providing entertainment for all, including those aged 18 to 21, safe in the knowledge they were all of the legal age to be there.

It may also get the police of our backs, but I doubt it very much.

Terrence Rigger

Headingley

Leeds

L&E paves way with its radical trading ideas

Full marks to London & Edinburgh Inns for thinking of ways in which its licensees can diversify ('L&E pubs set to ape Tesco model', Morning Advertiser, 10 November).

Some of the ideas sound a little harebrained, but others must be worth trying.

There's no doubt that when a smoking ban is introduced licensees will need to summon up every last ounce of ingenuity to out-trade the threat to business.

Will Farthing

Keckwick

Widnes

Surely there's more to Daly life in Parliament?

Like Snifter ('Minder merriment as Daly gives MPs a giggle', Morning Advertiser, 10 November), I too was intrigued to hear that Dave Daly of NALHM has become such a talking point among our leaders in Parliament.

I just can't believe that precious time is being used in Government to make ridiculous jokes that bear no relation to reality.

To recap, Tory MP Gary Streeter asked whether his fellow Conservative was referring to TV character Arthur Daley instead of Dave.

Moss responded by suggesting that the NALHM president and pub manager is in fact the cousin of the fictional Daley.

Ha, ha. My question is how much do we pay these people to waste time on nonsense like this when they should be running the country?

Still, it's impressive to see that someone from the grassroots of the pub trade has become such a high-profile figure.

Perhaps he should be the next David to lead a political party, rather than Conservative hopefuls Davis and Cameron?

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