Hall & Woodhouse caps RPI rents at 2.8%
Hall & Woodhouse (H&W), the Dorset-based pub operator and brewer, has revealed that it capped Retail Price Index-linked rent adjustments at 2.4% in 2010 and 2.8% this year, as part of its new Business Partnership Agreement (BPA).
The RPI figure is significantly lower than that used by a number of larger tenanted pub operators.
The company says a third of its tenants have signed up to its BPA one year after its introduction. The company expects "the majority" of tenants to transfer over the next two years. The BPA scraps cyclical rent reviews in favour of adjustments linked to the RPI.
H&W also revealed that it has made lagers from Heineken UK available to its tenants. In addition, the pub company has frozen prices for tenants on all cask ales and its HB Extra Cold brand for three years.
H&W business partnerships director Matt Kearsey said: "We are delighted with the impact that the BPA has had on our business. It is clear from feedback we have received from business partners that it has enabled them to make more profit without fear of a rent review.
"We are committed to supporting our business partners to make sure they succeed and we think that initiatives such as capping RPI adjustments, holding drinks pricing and introducing more choice helps to achieve this."
The issue of RPI levels on rents has come to the fore in recent weeks. Trade expert Phil Dixon has challenged tenanted operators to follow the lead of Fuller's and cap RPI-linked rent rises at 3%; others have capped it as high as 5%. RPI reached 5.3% in March.
