Enterprise Inns chief Tuppen warns of "unintended consequences" of statutory code

He said that the system being proposed by the Government to save struggling pub tenants up to £4,000 each, would leave companies with “no incentive to offer support”, which can be up to £10,000 on average across its c5,720-striong estate.

He said: “There is an extraordinary suggestion in the consultation that under this new code that the struggling publican will earn a further £4,000 per year which they will invest in improving their pubs. Well, £4,000 after tax will be £3,000 and you don’t have to be a mathematician to divide our £60m investment by 5,720 pubs to see that we, along with so many in the industry, invest an average of £10,000 or more every year in our pubs.

"So the idea that investment into the pub estate of this country is going to be improved is frankly farcical.

“There will be job losses as pubs close, tax revenues will be reduced and the thing that would upset me most of all is that a very good system that offers entry into a brilliant industry would be closed off. The training, the support, advice and assistance that we give would be chocked off as we are forced to consider different ways of running our business.”
Tuppen said is there is no evidence to show self-regulation isn’t working and suggested the proposals from the Government could result in a legal challenge.
“Clearly, we hope the eventual outcome will be measured and fair,” he said. “But if the conclusions are politically motivated rather devised for the long-term good of the wider pub sector, then there are a number options open to the industry, which I would imagine could include a judicial review or even a legal challenge in Europe.”