Pring: Coping with a Colossus

The first-ever 10,000-plus pub company is by no means a done deal - Mr Tchenguiz, for one, will be doing his damnedest not to be outwitted (and out-of-pocketed) by Giles Thorley and his advisers.

But there can't be anyone in the trade who's not amazed at the thought of so gigantic and powerful a pub group, towering over the industry like a Colossus.

After all, though the 1989 Beer Orders is history for many in the trade these days, there are others who will recall how the Government of the day set out to break up the big brewers because they were anti-competitive and not in the public's interests.

And they will be scratching their heads at how a combined Punch/M&B, with all its buying power on food and drink, its totally national spread, and its stronghold on the best sites in the country, is not in some way too powerful for both the industry's good, let alone the public's.

There will also be many tenants and lessees, and a great number in Punch's ranks, nervous at what might happen if the united managed operation chose to engage in price wars against the rest of the trade.

Great for consumers (so the anti-competitive argument is answered, for the moment at least), not so great if you're a Punch lessee having to compete against the Chef & Brewer or Harvester on your doorstep.

With times increasingly tough for lessees, the last thing they need is a new threat to contend with. Admittedly Punch does not want to harm its licensees' ability to generate rent for itself. But it does show the difficulties inherent in running a combined operation, and maximising the return from both sides.

And, sometimes, however carefully it's handled, the lessees will feel hard done by.

Punch will no doubt have considered all these issues, and clearly has many options up its sleeve if the deal goes ahead. But the sooner it can explain what it may all mean for its lessees, the better.

Patio heaters​

Talking of further trade pressures, the move to ban outdoor patio heaters will have gone down like a lead balloon with licensees everywhere.

After investing in smoking solutions, this ban, were it to happen, would prove very costly in terms of lost trade on those colder evenings.

But while condemning the EU for suggesting such a ban, it's important to remember that increasing numbers of customers are going green and actually may be unhappy at seeing patio heaters at their pub.

And their numbers will only grow. Patio heaters will be outlawed sometime in the future. It would just be helpful for trade if we had a few more years' grace.