RENTWATCH

Bristolian Angela Enwright is a Pubfolio tenant, whose pub is managed by County Estate Management. Her pub, the Hop Pole in Avondale Road, takes £2,200 a week. It was owned by InnSpired when she arrived in May 2004. Her initial rent was £8,000 a year and she signed a one-year agreement.

Pubfolio bought the pub from Punch, which had acquired InnSpired, and Enwright claims she was told her pub was now owned by a property company and properties were being turned over to free-of-tie. Also, she would not be allowed another year-long agreement as

"it wasn't what Pubfolio wanted". She was

offered a six-month temporary management

agreement on a yearly rent of £23,000 - County Estate told her the rent amounted to a £20-a-week saving in her favour from going free-of-tie. She is now on her third TMA.

Now County Estate has asked her to sign a 25-year lease with a full repairing obligation. Her rent would be reduced by £5,500 a year for two years and by £2,000 in the third year to allow her to save towards fairly urgent building work. A full structural survey revealed the pub needs £95,000 of work, including £33,000 for a new roof. County Estate, which Enwright says has not done a full structural survey, claims the roof just needs patching.

Her business development manager (BDM), who left the company last week and was the fourth during her short time at the Hop Pole, had advised her to leave. "I haven't paid

myself for 10 months - my BDM told me I should leave because this company would bleed me until I'm dry," she says.

l Do you have a rent-based story? Call The PMA Team on 01293 610344.