Master Victuallers to vote on tie fight
Members of a licensee trade group are to vote on whether to campaign for abolition of the “unfair” beer tie.
Guild of Master Victuallers members will also vote on whether to lobby pubcos to take barrelage targets out of rent reviews, and get assurances that deposits and dilapidation payments are protected if pub companies go bankrupt.
These are among the motions on the agenda at the GMV Annual Conference 2009, which takes place on 26 May at the Royal Victoria Hotel, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.
A motion from the GMV’s executive council says the “tied system is unfair and has no place in the current challenging environment”.
It urges the GMV and its political lobbying arm, the National Parliamentary Committee, to “take all steps necessary to bring about the abolition of the tie”.
The motion says the “nature and scope of the tie has changed dramatically since the late 1990s”, with ties extended from beer-only to beers, ciders, RTDs and gaming machines.
Three separate motions from the Blackheath & District Licensed Victuallers Association want the guild and NPC to urge pubcos to:
• Ensure maintainable trade levels or barrelage targets don’t form part of rent reviews.
• Confirm that deposit and dilapidation payments at pubs with sitting tenants are transferred if the pubs are sold.
• Ensure deposit and dilapidation payments are protected if the pubco goes bankrupt.
Other amendments call for the smoking ban to be “amended” to allow some smoking in pubs and for more consistent implementation of the Licensing Act by councils.
Negotiating “fairer” Sky fees and reintroducing transitional rate relief are also urged in separate motions.
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