Host tells MP of Punch's 'excessive' barrel prices

A Punch lessee has written to his MP slamming the "excessive" prices charged by the pubco.

David Foulk, of the Tiger Bar in Cornmarket, Derby, called for MPs to reassess the conduct of pubcos, in a letter to Bob Laxton, the Labour MP for Derby North, who sometimes drinks at the pub.

Foulk said Punch charges £207.80 for a 22-gallon barrel of Carling, compared to £115 charged by wholesaler Waverley TBS. This means the pubco charges £93 more than the wholesaler, a difference of 80%.

The host, who stressed that he does not buy out-of-tie, said Punch gets £65,000 per year in pure profit from the Tiger Bar as a result of the "excessive pricing".

Foulk told the Morning Advertiser that the cost of beer he buys from Punch has increased by around 5p a pint each year for the past few years, due to the pubco's increases and rising tax on beer.

Foulk asked his MP: "At what level does excessive pricing become illegal and an impediment to trade, and what action will the Government be taking to protect consumers from practices that appear to have attained illegal proportions?"

Foulk insisted that he is not struggling at the pub, which takes over £10,000 per week.

However, he did say he was "sick to death" of Punch taking so much of his profits. "There are imbalances in the market. It's wrong." He added: "There must be at a lower level, less successful outlets that are currently being taken advantage of."

Foulk, who has been at the pub for 25 years, took on a 15-year lease with Bass in 1992 before Punch bought the pub six years later.

Foulk said that he plans to extend the lease when it expires in 2007.