Pubco pressure will not abate

There's no doubt that tenanted pub companies are firmly on the back foot at the moment on every major front. Not least of these is the political front, as was abundantly clear at Tuesday's public hearing of the Business Skills & Innovation (BSI) Committee.

MPs on the committee were not impressed by the public rhetoric from some of the pubcos in the past six months or so and, therefore, doubt their private commitment to change.

Chairman Peter Luff himself complained of bullying and threats, including a threat of litigation from Enterprise. Alistair Darby, boss of Marston's tenanted division, had to admit that he had to have "fairly strong words with my colleagues at Enterprise" and told them they had to "behave with decorum" after Enterprise dismissed

the report as being based on "hearsay"

and "ill-informed".

All in all, it's the stuff of a public relations nightmare at a time when tenanted pubcos are trying to convince people inside and outside of the industry that a new era of transparency, fairness and trust is beginning. It looks like the tenanted pub companies will now be given a year or so to prove their commitment to change.

This time around, the pubco critics are mobile and well-funded and have absolutely no intention of letting the pubcos off the hook. (Witness the move by Fair Pint to fund an examination of the accuracy of Brulines beer-flow monitoring equipment by experts SGS). Likewise, MPs on the BSI committee are much more versed on the major issues that bedevil the pubco/tenant relationship — and are now watching closely.

Key cultural shifts​

I believe the depressed state of the market as well as external criticism has sparked key cultural shifts in the pubco/tenant relationship at a number of the main companies this year. Darby, a model of personal integrity, has introduced a host of imaginative new agreements at Marston's bottom-end tenancies.

One key change will be delivered externally, with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) committed to producing a code of practice on rent-setting, which stands every chance of creating a rent-setting process that is seen to be fairer by everyone. RICS has delivered a huge endorsement of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers bench-marking survey, which aims at collecting the kind of information needed to make the process more robust. Embarrassing to hear from the ALMR on Tuesday that several landlords have withdrawn from this year's survey because the ALMR has entrenched its position as a critic of the status quo.

The powerful tenanted pub companies that have arisen in the past 10 years must expect (and welcome for their own benefit) the pressure on them to improve their performance and transparent fairness.