Publicans of the world unite... you have nothing to lose but your ties

There's plenty of us around and we're easy to spot - pale blue or pink open-necked shirts and chinos, holding our mobiles to one ear while checking...

There's plenty of us around and we're easy to spot - pale blue or pink open-necked shirts and chinos, holding our mobiles to one ear while checking our email messages on a Blackberry.

We are all searching for that one undiscovered public house goldmine, turning up at open days and trying to "do deals" with the good old boys from Fleurets and Christies. On the basis that I have been to see around 600 pubs in the last four years, you'll understand that some of these agents have become close friends.

So what's the problem? Well, I've got some bad news for all of you - there is very little money for publicans (and a lot of hard graft) in running a pub. I feel I can say this with some certainty. I've looked at the pub industry with my economist's eye (there's my smugness coming through), plus I run a pretty successful pub that's doing better than most - but not as well as it could be.

The harsh truth about the structure of our industry is that, to borrow from Karl Marx, the means of production (eg, pub freeholds) are concentrated in the hands of a few capitalists (eg, large pubcos). What's worse, we have to buy all our tools and raw materials (eg, fixtures, fittings, beer supplies) at inflated prices from the same capitalists as well.

We, the honest (usually) hard-working (most of the time) publican workers are being exploited by the capitalists, who care little about pubs and more about return on capital invested.

Looking at the whole supply chain, from brewer through to publican, surely it cannot be right that such financial "middlemen" make vastly more profit than the people who add value by brewing the beer or running the pubs?

Alas it is so, as shareholders in such pubcos will happily testify. For instance, having been to visit a large number of the former Spirit managed pubs currently on the market, I'm certain they will become a lot more profitable for Punch under the leasehold regime than they were under Spirit as managed houses.

Furthermore, the death knell is slowly ringing for all regional brewers - even for the likes of Shepherd Neame, Young's and Fuller's - who think they will be able to resist falling into the clutches of the large pubcos at some point in the future.

So what can be done about it? Well, the large pubcos could do a great deal if they had any deeper interest in the pub industry other than short-term financial gain.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Firstly, most publicans could actively avoid buying any non-tied products (eg, soft drinks, wines, spirits, foodstuffs and equipment) from their pubco landlords because they are being over-charged for beer products. If the pubcos were to focus on providing a range of pub-related products at normal market prices they wouldn't have to spend half the money they devote to policing the current system via Brulines and intrusive pub inspections.
Secondly, let's get rid of the practice of "subsidised" market rents. There isn't a publican in the land who wouldn't swap a fully commercial rent for the freedom to buy products outside of an anachronistic beer tie.

Do I have much hope that they will take up these suggestions? I'm afraid that, just like the 19th century mine owners and the 20th century tobacco giants, the large pubcos are likely to remain active in defending their market position, especially with regard to government select committees and legislation. In short, no significant changes to the structure of beer ties or wider pub ownership are on even a distant horizon.

Perhaps, like other workers with a grievance, we should all unite and withdraw our labour (eg, close our pubs) for a day of strike action, in protest at the situation? It would certainly gain significant media attention, although we publicans are a notoriously disorganised lot - as anyone arranging a local Pubwatch meeting will confirm!

Besides, we all know that there is a never-ending stream of pale-shirted chino-wearers dying to pay whatever is the going rate to get their hands on pub leaseholds. And why am I bitter in my condemnation of the large pubcos? Well, if I'm honest, it's because, like most workers, I yearn to become one of the big capitalist bosses too. I even dress like one.