A Punch below the belt - a column by Phil Dixon

I gazed out over the serenity of the Ochil Hills. The grounds of Gleneagles shone in the bright glow of the evening sun.

"Champagne at 5.45pm then on to Stirling Castle."

Mmm, I thought, this is one pub company (Punch Shine Awards 2006) really pushing the boat out for its top licensees. As I boarded the coach to Stirling I wondered how long would it be before someone criticised the hosts.

The answer was three hours and forty-seven minutes!

"Punch, they're alright, but they don't do a lot for you," claimed one of the assembled throng

in between some desperate drawing on his cigarette.

"Well, that is apart from giving you the pub; investing in it; then flying your partner and yourself up to Gleneagles and entertaining you in the majesty of this Castle," I responded.

"Aye, you could say apart from all that."

I considered indulging Monty-Pythonesque style into a "whatever have Punch done for us?" ramble, but refrained and simply observed: "Your name must be Brian."

"No of course it isn't, can't you read my badge?" He was clearly not on the Python wavelength.

At the evening's end we stood in the historic courtyard a few feet away from the place Mary Queen of Scots was crowned as a nine-month-

old baby, the cobbled area illuminated by large braziers.

The look on the faces of 99.9% of those gathered as they listened to a marching pipe band said it all: it was indeed a privilege to be there.

Two-way traffic

There was also an excellent atmosphere at the Trust Inns Awards held last month at a posh hotel near Runnymede. One of the directors complimented the licensee sitting next to me on his eight letting rooms.

"No, its 10," he volunteered. I almost choked on my fresh Tunisian granary with sun dried tomato and raisin roll.

"Steve, if your pub company thinks you only have eight letting rooms. why correct them?" I discreetly enquired.

"They have always been fair, and fairness is a two-way process," was the surprising answer.

As we were in the vicinity of the signing of the Magna Carta I thought perhaps, after all, as Tony Hancock famously remarked: "she did not die in vain." On the other hand I had never heard before such an honest remark from a licensee. Indeed the Chairman of Rugby LVA once hid from his company (M&B West) and myself for nine years the fact that he had a thriving function room on the first floor. Later in the evening another Trust licensee told me he thought his last rent review was "more than reasonable".

I turned in a state of near agitation to the beloved one and remarked: "I think they may have spiked my drink. Either that, or things may be changing for the better."

Case for transparency

Although the likelihood of another Trade and Industry Select Committee update or inquiry is remote, there is no doubt that some companies are making efforts to offer more support to their licensees. Ask the question at Punch as to what is sent out to assist Punch tenant/lessees and you are given such a pile of literature that you need to undertake a hernia risk assessment before attempting to transfer it to your vehicle!

Rental procedures and levels, however, are still an issue. There is certainly an argument for all those companies that claim "transparency" to actually deliver. When companies operated under the BBPA (then Brewers Society) Code of Practice they were entirely open in how they had calculated the rent. In complying with the requirement to "provide the tenant/lessee with all relevant factors" (Section 3 of the Code) Bass, Whitbread, Allied, Courage, Grand Met, W&D etc would all produce a copy of the computer calculation for the licensee and his or her adviser to scrutinise. This practice was quickly curtailed post beer orders, although in retrospect I personally may have contributed (in my NLVA senior officer days) to the ending of the approach.

The issue was the Bass Lease Company calculation. I kept thinking that the figures didn't add up. Eventually on a wet Sunday afternoon I took my calculator and some rental forms into a dark room and discovered they had forgotten to remove the VAT on certain items - eg wines and sprits. I produced my evidence. There was a deafening silence from Bass Lease's HQ in Birmingham (Lionel Street). Eventually some chap from London phoned up and, in what I considered was a rather flippant tone, said: "OK, so we messed up. We won't do it again."

"Now just a minute, what about all those rents that have been incorrectly set?" I demanded, trying not to sound too pompous in this moment of triumph.

"The licensees are not moaning, so what's your problem?" he countered dismissively.

"It's called a 'duty of care'. I would like the company to recalculate all the rents and rebate the over charged amount," I suggested, adopting a morally-superior tone.

"No way," was the emphatic reply.

"In that case you can read about it the Morning Advertiser," I responded in my best South Yorkshire attempt to impersonate a menacing Sharpe, alias Sean Bean (this, when all else failed, used to work).

"Do what you like," came the surprising riposte.

It made the front page - and a few inside pages, including being the subject of a number of side-swiping cartoons (see examples above and below left). Licensees were rebated various amounts. Some received four figures plus. There was, though, one immediate side effect of the entire industry having great fun at the expense of the Bass Estates Department. The calculation was withdrawn from the public arena never to see the light again.

Perhaps it would be appropriate now to consider returning to the transparency values that the industry used to have and which, quite frankly, caused less rental arbitrations or expert valuations and bad press than at present.

Richardson tribute

I would just like to add a final comment on the sad and premature death of Gerald Richardson.

I simply would not have been given the op-

portunity to work in this sector if Gerald, as president of NULV (the National Union of Licensed Victuallers) in 1979 and chairman of the BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) in 1997 had not employed me twice.

He was revered amongst licensed victuallers association members, as they knew they had someone of the highest intellect and integrity who could represent them with distinction in any forum.

I used to particularly enjoy Gerald's detailed analysis of how he had introduced a lap-dancing concept to a site he felt had been rendered unviable by a nearby development. I would listen with envy at the level of research he had conducted and the sheer professionalism of everything he did.

In truth, I know of no other person who, as a licensee (later pub company director), has made such a contribution to this industry. We all owe him a great deal. With respect and much affection for his memory.

phildixoncmbii@aol.com