New codes of practice have made it harder to let pubs, two of Britain's top pubco bosses have revealed.
Marston's Pub Company boss Alistair Darby said the pubcos had made "significant progress" in reforming their relationship with tenants, spearheaded by the new codes of practice, accredited by the BII.
But Darby said there had been a downside. "The codes of practice have made it challenging to let pubs. It has raised the barrier to entry," he told the Morning Advertiser.
"That means that some pubs are more difficult to let."
Enterprise boss Ted Tuppen also made comment on the difficulties at the company's AGM, saying that "stricter pre-entry requirements have led to some delays in signing new substantive agreements".
Buyer beware
But Phil Dixon, a key participant in the BII's accreditation panel, said he was pleased pubs were harder to let. "We are removing the old buyer beware issue. 'Caveat emptor' is no longer applicable.
"There is a clear requirement to be transparent and honest and let pubs with a level of integrity that perhaps wasn't there in the past."
Enterprise said the new code had been "well received by the vast majority of our licensees". It has delivered more than 1,400 training days to almost 700 licensees during its first quarter, covering both pre-agreement training and business development courses.
It said said the code "enhances the level of disclosure and requirements for training".
Onerous conditions
However, Fair Pint founding member Steve Corbett said the codes "don't do anything to balance the risk and reward" between lessee and pubco. "The only way the codes can be of benefit is if they include a genuine free of tie option accompanied by an open market rent review," he said.
"As they stand, they add onerous conditions and won't stop pubs from failing or closing."
Inez Ward of Justice for Licensees said the codes of practice had made "very little difference" to the pubco-tenant relationship and even questioned the pressure being put on licensees to sign the codes.
"We have come across far too many cases of pubcos demanding signatures without allowing the tenants time to seek fully qualified legal advice, this practice is not acceptable," she said.