Host Bill Sharp is the first IPC chairman
The Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) has appointed long-standing licensee Bill Sharp as its first chairman.
The appointment of Sharp, lessee of Enterprise Inns' the Kings Arms in Borough, London, was made at a meeting of the IPC yesterday.
The IPC, formed after the end of trade mediation talks last year, wants swift reform of the beer tie to benefit tenants. Members include the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, the Campaign for Real Ale, Fair Pint, Justice for Licensees and the Guild of Master Victuallers (GMV).
Sharp, 64, is a founding member of the GMV and said he will continue to work with the group as a Parliamentary representative.
He has been a licensee since 1970, running pubs across London and the surrounding area, including Camden, Bexley and Orpington, before taking on the Kings Arms 11 years ago.
Sharp said: "It's a great honour to be the first chairman and I will do it to the best of my ability.
"We've got common goals to work towards benefiting the whole trade. It's not a war. It's about negotiating and talking."
IPC secretary Kate Nicholls said: "It's eminently sensible to have a good, working, professional licensee at the helm of an organisation like the IPC."
The position of chairman is to be rotated.
