Licensees lashout over committee report

Licensees feel that they have been cheated after the Trade & Industry Select Committee failed to recommend decisive action to rein back the pub companies.

Announcing its conclusions on the investigation into the industry, the committee gave pubcos a slap on the wrist by questioning certain practices, but stopped short of calling for firm action or an end to the beer tie.

The report found that ending the beer tie would not benefit licensees, and claimed that no one pubco or brewer held a dominant position in the market.

Despite the findings, committee chairman Martin O'Neill, the Labour MP for Ochill, said MPs had placed the industry on a "yellow card", and said serious action would be taken if changes were not made.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) came in for some criticism as the committee urged the industry to look closely at current business practices and review its voluntary code of conduct.

Mr O'Neill said: "I would like to think that the BBPA will now pause and reflect on our findings. If they do nothing I'd expect to look very closely at the industry."

The BBPA said it was now planning a formal review of its code of conduct. But tenants and lessees had hoped the investigation would bring in sterner measures to monitor pubcos.

"The recommendations are nonsense," said Bill Sharp, licensee at the Kings Arms in Southwark, London.

"Unless there are some hard and fast rules that the pubcos have to adhere to it will always be 'buyers beware'.

"Small business people have to stick to very strict rules yet government committees aren't prepared to enforce the same for the pubcos."

Bernard Brindley, licensee at the White Lion in Pailton, Rugby, said: "I had hoped for a national code of practice that the whole industry would adhere to. It would have benefited the publicans and the pubcos, particularly with regard to rent transparency."

Chris Scholey, licensee at the Bedford Arms in Balham, London, added: "When the beer orders came in the industry faced changes but it seems that they were never intended to benefit us, the licensees.

"Public houses should be run by publicans and supported by accountants and lawyers, not the other way around, which is what we now have."

Despite the disappointment the committee made 33 recommendations that need to be addressed, many of which look at improving the quality of the relationship between the landlord and the tenant.

The committee was also concerned that national brewers retain a stranglehold on beer distribution and it wants the Office of Fair Trading to keep an eye on the situation.

Pubcos, though, were left with little to complain about. Giles Thorley, chief executive at Punch, said: "We broadly welcome the report's conclusions.

"We are pleased to note that the committee did not believe that the removal of the beer tie would be to the benefit of retailers."

Enterprise Inns added: "We welcome the balanced nature of the committee's conclusions and recommendations and we are confident that the industry will continue to act in the best interests of the vast majority of its constituents."

The Department of Trade & Industry will respond to the committee's recommendations in the next six weeks.