Your say

BII backs MA against alcohol duty hikes

I totally support your lead and editorial in the Morning Advertiser dated 10 April. I will certainly ensure that our members are aware of this campaign and I will be recommending them all to sign the Early Day Motion 1330 condemning the ill-judged duty hike.

We ourselves asked members to write to their local MP in February to put the industry's case for a freeze on alcohol duty by way of an article in BIIBusiness. We too provided a template letter and access to the local MP details.

We know that many thousands of members sent letters off to their MPs and I have many examples of copy letters received back from the local MPs, and, indeed, some Treasury spokesmen. I think the campaign is a really good idea and you can count on us to give as much support as we can.

John McNamara CMBII

Chief executive

Trade needs BDMs to pull their weight

With reference to "Punch on full alert" (MA, 17 April), I write with sympathy to your readers who are in a quandary over their pubco and so-called business development managers (BDMs). Taking on any pub with one of these big pubcos is a huge risk; they are constantly looking for new entrepreneurs to take on these ever-empty pubs then employ inexperienced "business" development managers to "look" after these hard-working people. In my 20 years in this trade I have yet to come across any BDM who is actually worth his/her weight.

I have, however, met plenty of these people who are so out of touch with their lessees it beggars belief. Hardly any of these guys have ever run a pub, yet have the attitude that they're totally above the mere licensee. But they need to think again and so do the directors of these companies, who are nothing without the licensee. Please, guys and girls, take a long look at your lessees and their requirements, take a look at how many of your pubs are changing hands or struggling and please take your heads out of the sand and put your very limited experience to some use and help these people.

We stand back and allow executives to earn millions while laughing in the face of these struggling licensees and we do nothing, yet the Government looks at the gas and electricity industries and orders them to give back the money when top execs earn too much. The licensees in your story should stand their ground, sound out the BDM and the company and tell the world what is going on.

Charles Gilbert

via pubvoice@yahoo.co.uk

Revolutionary times in the trade

Regarding your Inntrepreneur article (MA, 3 April), as part of the launch of the Inntrepreneur lease, I am in no doubt, as contentious as it was at the time, it did change the face of how pubs would be let in the future. But the pubcos today are controlling the market with

Punch and Enterprise owning approximately 30% of the UK's pubs.

They are basically stating their own terms and really only the rent is negotiable. However, I do believe there are real problems out there with more and more failures, basically due to high rents and overheads — ie, utility costs, insurance, wages etc. I also consider that imposing annual indexation is totally unfair and only to the benefit of the landlord, but it is a take-it-or-leave-it situation when entering into a lease.

Ken Newton

via ken@innconsultation.co.uk