Punch accused of reneging on pledge

A multiple Punch lessee has accused the company of reneging on its promise to pay for all premises plans and of using the plans to "blackmail" him into accepting a rent increase.

Rodney Hall, managing director of 20-strong Sarumdale, claimed Punch chief executive Giles Thorley had promised to pay for all premises plans required for new licensing applications at a retailer forum last year.

This was confirmed in a letter dated 15 January to Punch retailers from chief operating officer Adrian Fawcett, who said: "We have engaged a company called Roman Surveyors to prepare plans for all pubs in our estate. This will be undertaken at our cost."

However, Hall said that he had been refused the plans for his eight Punch pubs because he had not joined up to Punch's One Stop Shop licensing support package. There is no mention in the letter of the plans only being available to those in the scheme.

In a further twist, Hall had been in discussions with Punch since December 2002 over the rent review of the Spread Eagle in Southend. He claims the pubco is refusing to give him the plans and that he has been told it might reconsider if the rent review was sorted out. "We will not be blackmailed into accepting their rent proposals," he said.

A spokesman for Punch said: "There was a genuine employee misunderstanding and we have written to Mr Hall explaining that, of course, he is entitled to his premises plans free of charge.

"The rent reviews are a totally separate issue which is ongoing and we can not comment on individual negotiations."