Greene King gets it in the neck
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who read the piece in The Guardian's G2 section last week on Greene King and one of its pubs, the Lewes Arms in Lewes, Sussex.
Taking as its lead the ongoing row between a number of Lewes folk and the Bury St Edmunds-headquartered pubco - which last year removed a locally brewed ale, Harveys, from the pub, much to the chagrin of its many of its regulars - the piece painted a less-than-flattering picture of a corporate leviathan slashing and burning its way through the verdant forests of the nations' pub culture, and cited Greene King's takeover of Hardys & Hansons and Ridley's as evidence for the prosecution.
It wasn't exactly what you would call a 'balanced piece', but by its very tone it highlighted that Greene King is now a Big Player, increasingly able to exercise growing economic power and, together with its nearest rival Marston's, becoming an industry consolidator par excellence.
This rise to prominence means one becomes a bigger target and comes with attending flak from time to time, much as was the case with the brewers pre- the Beer Orders.
Should Greene King be worried about this adverse publicity? The Suffolk group will no doubt have taken it on the chin, point to the good things it does elsewhere in the country with its pubs, and continue to pursue the business goals it has set itself.
Still, despite an understandable drive to promote its own jolly good cask ales, it might also have quietly noted to itself that by retaining a hand pump in the Lewes Arms with which to dispense a beer that is highly regarded by a fiercely loyal local following it could have saved itself some grief and banked a chunk of goodwill at the same time.
Staying with press coverage of our industry, I read an interesting piece on property tycoon and pub magnate Robert Tchenguiz in one of the Sunday papers yesterday. Along with documenting his rise to, well, where he is today, the paper also noted his hobbies; 'ski-ing' and 'the countryside'. The first I can understand is a hobby. 'Ski-ing' is something you 'do'. But 'the countryside'? It's just out there, being the countryside. Surely he can't want to buy that as well?
Sebastian Connerie is unwell
