Greene King set for U-turn on Harveys

Greene King is expected to bow to consumer pressure and reinstate Harvey's Best Bitter into Sussex pub the Lewes Arms, following a vociferous campaign by locals.

Adam Collett, marketing director for Greene King's managed pubs, acknowledged his company had "underestimated the strength of feeling which led to many locals boycotting what was once a great British pub. As a result, it has lost some of its character and greatness."

Although he defended Greene King's right to remove the beer from the pub "and, where we choose, not to sell rival beers", he admitted the group "did not fully appreciate its special position in Lewes as the former 'Brewery Tap', or take into account its history and traditions".

In countering what had descended a public relations nightmare for the Suffolk brewer, the original decision to remove the cask ale from the pub is to be the subject of an internal review.

The review's findings will be presented to Local Pubs managing director Jonathan Lawson when he joins the brewer next week, with the likely return of Harveys being given the green light soon afterwards.

Greene King originally took Harveys' products out of the Sussex pub last December as part of a drive to promote its own cask ale brands.

However the decision sparked outrage amongst Lewes pub goers who remain fiercely loyal to the locally-brewed beer.

A local campaign to get the ale back in the pub, which included a boycott of the pub itself, attracted national newspaper headlines and airtime on radio and TV.

Some observers have suggested that the row prompted the recent departure of Greene King Pub Company managing director Mark Angela and the restructuring of the managed division, which was recently split into 510 community-focused 'Local Pubs' and 280 food-led 'Destination Pubs'.

However Collett denied this. "Speculation that the review is connected with the re-structure of our managed pub operations falls wide of the mark," he said.

The Harveys review "should result in some positive decisions and we look forward to reconciling those involved in all sides of the debate.

"We can't put an exact date on when a decision can be expected, but it is likely to be within the next couple of weeks," he said.