S&NUK's price rises hit Punch pubs this week
Pubco's deal means increases are delayed
Punch licensees face higher charges for beer and cider from this week.
Scottish & Newcastle UK's (S&NUK) annual price rises have taken effect at Punch pubs, and the prices of bottled cider, including Magners and Kopparberg, have also been raised.
The rises for S&NUK brands are a maximum of 4% and vary according to discounts. They apply to orders from Monday 7 July.
The standard wholesale increases of 5.7% for beer and 4.9% for cider were implemented in January and February — both figures are expressed as duty-exclusive. Punch's deal with S&NUK means the rises only hit the pubco's pubs from this week.
However, the price of Bulmer's cider from S&NUK has not changed as this increased in February.
A letter to Punch licensees also says the price of non-S&NUK ciders Magners and Kopparberg will increase from 7 July.
Meanwhile, surcharges for deliveries in small containers have also been passed on to Punch licensees from Monday this week.
The charges are 75p for 11-gallon kegs of S&NUK brands and 70p for smaller containers of InBev products, including Stella Artois. The charges were introduced across the on-trade by S&NUK in March and InBev in April.
A Punch spokeswoman said the price of the brands from Punch's other suppliers, Coors, Carlsberg and Diageo, increased at the start of the year. "We are trying to make sure that all the price increases come in at one time from next year," she said.
