Licensees plan protest at Enterprise and Punch HQs

Frustrated licensees are planning a protest march to highlight the plight of tenants outside the headquarters of Britain's two biggest pubcos — Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns.

The protest will take place on 26 January and bring together members of several licensee groups including Justice for Licensees, Fair Pint, Save the Great British Pub, Freedom For Pubs Association, Freedom2Choose and Colm Powell — the licensee who went on hunger strike in a coffin at his pub.

It is believed that music mogul Vince Power, who helped fund the Fair Pint campaign, is also involved — he is providing a mobile bar for the day to demonstrate the difference between tied pub prices and free-of-tie prices.

Protestors plan to hit Enterprise first before moving on to Punch's HQ in Burton-on-Trent.

"There is a lot of hurt out there about the way tenants are being treated," said protest organiser Inez Ward of Justice for Licensees and Enterprise lessee at Mavericks in Newquay, Cornwall. "We want honesty, transparency and clarity from the pubcos.

"This is a peaceful protest but we want to make our point that we are paying too much for our beer and too much for our rent. Things can not go on as they are. We want the pubcos to acknowledge these problems and to act."

A Fair Pint spokesman added: "We support the aims of the protest."

The protest has already received the official go-ahead from police. Organisers are expecting around 100 licensees on the day.