Ei licensee sees trade ‘walk down the street’ to rival Ei site

By Liam Coleman

- Last updated on GMT

Fair trade? The Post Office Inn claims it is being undercut by a rival pub under the same ownership
Fair trade? The Post Office Inn claims it is being undercut by a rival pub under the same ownership
An Ei pub in Plymouth has launched a stinging attack on the pubco claiming that it is paying £80 more for tied beers than an Ei site two minutes’ walk down the road.

Nicola Pearce from the Post Office Inn said that the pub was seeing its trade “walk down the street” after neighbouring Ei pub the Sir Joshua Reynolds became a Beacon Retail Partnership site in January.

The Post Office has used its external A-board to promote the price it pays per barrel and the disparate difference in price for the nearby Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Post Office

Claims denied

The calculations for the price per barrel for the Beacon site come from a 2015 price list that Pearce said was given to her by a fellow Ei licensee.

Pearce added that the rent was disclosed by the licensees at the Sir Joshua Reynolds when they took on the site and met with the team at the Post Office Inn.

The licensee of the Sir Joshua Reynolds told The Morning Advertiser​ that the figures given on the A-board were incorrect, but declined to comment further when asked what information was incorrect.

One model of many

The Beacon Retail Partnership Model​ from Ei offers licensees guaranteed gross profit margins, support in marketing repairs and training, as well as free BT Sport. The Beacon sites are then fully tied on beer.

Ei said that the Beacon model was one of a “wide range of different business models” it operated across its estate.

“We are aware of the concerns of our publicans at the Post Office Inn and we are in regular dialogue with them regarding their business performance and how we can assist them,” a spokesperson for Ei said.

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