Fair Pint wants pubcos to share closure facts

A campaign group has urged pubcos to release numbers of its pub forfeitures and surrenders over the last three years.

Fair Pint wants to see the figures because it believes it will help "encourage an open, transparent and fair debate about the future of the UK pub market."

The group, whose supporters include MPs and licensees, wants to end the beer tie and what it believes is unfair pubco "monopolies" and "abuses of power".

But last week John Grogan MP, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said he feared Fair Pint could divert attention from other pressing issues such as cheap booze in supermarkets and the government's alcohol tax hikes.

In a letter of response to the Labour MP for Selby, Fair Pint's Brian Jacobs wrote: "You (Grogan) highlighted the figures quoted by the British Beer & Pub Association which state that managed and free-trade pubs appear to be closing faster than leased and tenanted sites.

"However, these do not take into account pub forfeitures, and involuntary and voluntary surrenders of pubs.

"When a tied tenant goes out of business, the pubco will not usually close the pub down but simply replace the previous tenant with a new tenant who, in turn, will invest substantial money into the business, only to often face the same difficulties as the previous tenant.

"It is our aim to encourage an open, transparent and fair debate about the future of the UK pub market."

He added the main aim of the campaign is to see guidance outlined in the 2004 Trade & Industry Select Committee report into pubco power made compulsory.