Fair Pint clash with BBPA

The Fair Pint campaign group clashed with the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) in a minor skirmish ahead of the main battle at Westminster later this month.

On Radio 4's You and Yours​ programme, hosted by former licensee Peter White, Fair Pint founder and Enterprise licensee Steve Corbett took on BBPA director of communications Mark Hastings at his George Canning pub in South East London.

Corbett said the last two years had been the toughest he had known in 27 years in the trade. "The smoking ban, duty hikes and the credit crunch are all nails in the coffin but the coffin was actually built by the landlords.

"They (pubcos) are not brewers, they don't deliver the beer but the tied tenants has to buy beer off the property company. So the property company effectively acts as the middle man in the buying process."

He added: "Tied tenants will pay between two and three times the amount for beer than a free-of-tie tenant does."

Hastings said: "The pubcos themselves are in the business of supporting their pubs. They have poured tens of millions of pounds into support in terms of rent concessions and deals.

"I think it is equally important to remember that a successful pubco is built on the back of successful pubs. Without successful pubs they don't have a business so they share a common interest in having well run successful pubs."

Hatsings insisted that the tenanted model was more robust. "The numbers show that the tenanted model is far more robust than the free trade model. More than half the pubs that are going out of business at the moment are in the freetrade. Amongst the major pubcos in the leased model, only around 13% of closures are in that.

"I think that emphasises the extent to which pubcos are going to try and help their tenants through these difficult times. Do they always do it 100% right? No but they are they trying to do it right? Most of the time absolutely they are.

"More than half of pubcos income comes from the beer sold in those pubs so when those pubs aren't selling beer, the pubcos income is suffering as well."

Corbett said that his GP margin had dropped from 50-60% in 2002 to 46-47% now, making the business "unsustainable".

He said: "I would like the tie removed and Fair Pint would like the tie removed. There is no need for it.

He added: "Pubcos are effectively a buy-to-let property company with no interest in the pubs or the product sold in those pubs. All they're interested in is the profit they can make or squeeze out of it."

The first session of the Business and Enterprise Committee inquiry into pubco power is set for 18 November.

• To listen to the radio show visit www.bbc.co.uk/radio4​.