Townsend: 'Tie is not the problem'

Enterprise chief quizzed at inquiry

The pubco model has nothing to do with the problems faced by some community pubs — that's the view of Enterprise Inns chief operating officer Simon Townsend.

Townsend, who was giving evidence at the Community Pubs Inquiry, also called for rate relief for pubs that provide facilities for the community.

In the six months to April this year, Townsend revealed that 866 — about one in nine — Enterprise Inns pubs had been offered some form of rent relief or drinks discount to help them.

"The tie, per se, in businesses such as ours, has nothing to do with the difficulties faced by some pubs in general," he said.

He said the tenanted and leased model allowed flexibility in economically challenging times.

He urged the inquiry to "make sure they don't connect things that are not connected".

When pressed by Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland on the number of Enterprise lessees that had surrendered or forfeited their leases, he replied he did not know, but that it was "not a significant number".

The Enterprise chief said he has "absolutely nothing

to fear" from the Business

& Enterprise Committee Inquiry into pubcos.

Townsend also said that, despite the downturn, there are "more people enquiring about taking on pubs".

"The pub is still an attractive business with relatively low cost of entry," he said.

Townsend suggested rate relief should be extended to pubs that provide facilities for the community. He also slated the "hard and cumbersome" process of applying for rate relief.

Fair Pint view

The anti-pubco Fair Pint campaign has called for pubcos to reduce rents to help out struggling community pubs.

Responding to Townsend's comments at the inquiry, Fair Pint campaigner and Enterprise licensee Mike Bell said: "Everybody, including the pubcos, recognise that the market is currently struggling. If the tied model is a viable model, able to respond to economic challenges, then surely my rent should be going down."

"Mr Townsend claims that the worst thing for his business is a closed pub. The answer is quite simple then - reduce rents to reflect the downturn in pub trade and stop making us pay twice as much for beer as it would cost if we could go directly to the brewery."

'End machine duty,' inquiry told

British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) director Martin Rawlings called for an end to duty on pub gaming machines.

Scrapping the £740 fee would encourage more hosts to have machines and mean greater profits for pubs — AWP income is down 20%, he added.

He said deregulation "simply isn't happening" and "we need something very quick to help pubs".

Rawlings also called for the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and local Government co-ordinator Lacors to be tougher on councils that put onerous conditions on licences.

For example, he said the BBPA has written to 15 councils about their policy of making pubwatch compulsory. Just two have said they've changed their policy.

Rawlings urged licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe to take on a "sponsorship role" and speak up for pubs across other Government departments, adding: "Come on, minister! Give us a break!"