Bob Neill has welcomed the announcement of new rules to ensure that tied pubs are given a fair deal by pub companies.
A new statutory code will give pub landlords running tied pubs new rights to help them get a fair deal from pub companies. The rules will be enforced by an independent adjudicator with the power to punish pub companies that break them.
Tied tenants usually have to pay a higher price for beer from the beer company they rent from than those free of tie. This should be balanced out by reduced rents or other benefits – but this has not always been the case, resulting in some tied pubs being put at a disadvantage.
The new rules will address this issue, meaning that:
· Landlords will be able to request a rent review from pub companies if it has been five years or more since the last one.
· Landlords will be given the right to review the information used by pub companies to justify any rent increase.
· Landlords tied to pub companies with 500 or more tied pubs will be able to request an additional rent assessment to show if they are worse off than pubs with no tie.
· Pubs will have the right to decide if they are tied for gaming machines as well.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Bob Neill said:
“Today’s announcement is about supporting tied landlords who are currently at the mercy of big pub companies. We are calling time on the disreputable practices of companies like Punch Taverns who exploit their tenants and view historic public houses as numbers on an excel spreadsheet. In Bromley we have seen the devastation caused by the unfair treatment of tied pubs, so it is great news that landlords will soon be in a position to secure a far better deal.”
See here for Bob Neill’s recent article on the beer tie:
Bob Neill’s submission to the original consultation can be found below
Notes to Editors
· The new code, which will be included in a small business bill, will give tied pubs new rights to help them get a fairer deal.
o Tenants will be able to request a rent review if they have not had one for five years.
o They will have the right to review the information pub companies have used to decide any increase in rent.
o There will be extra protections for tenants renting from large pub companies with 500 or more tied pubs. If the rent can’t be agreed then tenants will have the right to request a ‘parallel free-of-tie rent assessment’ which will see whether they are worse off than their free-of-tie counterparts.
o Tenants will be able to choose whether or not they want to be tied for gaming machines too.
(BIS press release, 3 June 2014, link).
· These will be enforced by a new independent adjudicator also able to help settle rent disputes. The adjudicator will provide redress where the code has been breached. It will also be able to investigate accusations of systemic breaches of the code – with the power to impose sanctions if the code has been breached (ibid.).
This follows action in Budget 2014 to support pubs
· Beer duty cut by one pence a pint to support pubs. This is the second consecutive year that beer duty has been decreased by a penny. A pint of beer is now eight pence cheaper than it would have been under the last Government’s plans. With two thirds of alcohol sold in pubs being beer this is benefitting local pubs as well as beer drinkers (HM Treasury, Budget 2014, 19 March 2014).
· Duties on Scotch whiskey and other spirits frozen. To support the Scottish whisky industry the budget is freezing the duty on spirits. A typical bottle of Scotch whisky is now 42 pence cheaper than under the previous Government’s plans (HM Treasury, Budget 2014, 19 March 2014).
· Duties on ordinary cider frozen. To help West Country cider makers hit by the recent weather the duty on most ciders, excluding cheap ‘white ciders’, is being frozen. A typical pint of cider will be three pence cheaper than under the last Government’s plans (HM Treasury, Budget 2014, 19 March 2014).
· The duty escalator on wine has been scrapped. The escalator for all alcohol duties is being scrapped. A typical bottle of wine is now five pence cheaper than under the previous Government’s plans (HM Treasury, Budget 2014, 19 March 2014).