Pubco licensees speak out in Parliament
Furious pubco licensees have voiced their objections in Parliament today to rent levels, the price they are charged for beer and the way they are treated by their landlord.
Around half a dozen publicans - including members of campaign group Fair Pint - were given the chance to speak about their personal situations in front of MPs at the All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub group meeting.
Karl Harrison, licensee of the Bedford, in Balham, South London, and a founder member of Fair Pint, said: "The pub sector needs direct action to re-address rent levels and reform or abolish the tie, to provide a proper competitive playing field."
He also questioned the industry's current focus on alcohol tax. "Pubs do not close because of beer duty, but they do close because of outrageous wholesale beer prices," he said.
Another South London licensee, Nicky Francey of the Sun and Doves, in Camberwell, called for a "re-examination of the way rents are set" and pointed to the last pubco inquiry which said a tied tenant should no be no worse off than a free-of-tie licensee.
High profile campaigner, Inez Ward, who has been in a long-running dispute with Enterprise Inns, she said she was upset with the industry "as a whole" for not supporting her National Pub Day, taking place on Saturday (April 4).
"I think the brewers and pubcos should hang their heads in shame for not supporting this," she said.
Anthony Manderson, licensee of the Roland Arms, Aston, another Enterprise pub, claimed he was paying £130 more for a barrel of beer than from a wholesaler, not getting any help from the company, and working around 19 hours a day. "They are not giving us a chance to do anything," he said.
However, earlier today, Enterprise chief executive Ted Tuppen said the company was spending £1.4m a month on rent concessions and beer discounts for its licensees.
Today's meeting was led by outspoken Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland, chairman of the parliamentary group. He said it was an issue that licensees did not have an organisation that fully represented them.
Commenting on the title of the meeting - The Unheard Voice: The Voice of the Licensees - Mulholland said: "It amazes a lot of us how little that voice is often heard in discussions about the pub trade."
Patrick Hall, MP for Bedford, described the recent Pub Summit meeting in Parliament as a "wasted opportunity", as ministers were presented with a set of "unreasonable demands".
Instead he suggested the industry ask for the duty escalator to be suspended, which would be "more likely to succeed".
The Save the Pub group is awaiting the findings of the Business and Enterprise committee inquiry into pubco power, which Mulholland said would now be "after Easter".
