Fair Pint disappointed by pubco no-show
The anti-pubco Fair Pint campaign is "disappointed but not surprised" that pubcos have so far declined an offer to meet the group before the Parliamentary probe into pub companies begins.
The MA revealed today that Punch, Enterprise and Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises have declined the offer. The group said it is yet to hear from other pubcos.
A Fair Pint spokesman said: "Members of the Fair Pint campaign are disappointed, but not surprised, by the responses received from pubcos so far.
"Enterprise, together with all other pubcos, have a substantial duty of care and responsibility for the stewardship of an iconic part of Britain's heritage - they hold the future of the pub in their hands by their actions.
"Fair Pint is calling for an open, transparent and fair debate about the future of the pub industry and our invitation to meet with the major pubcos is an opportunity for us all to discuss our grave concerns about the industry from a joined up shop floor and board level perspective and look towards building a positive and sustainable future for the industry as a whole.
"To suggest that the Fair Pint campaign is prejudiced and ill-informed is an extraordinary message to receive back given the massive groundswell of support that the campaign is getting right across the UK from lessees of all major pubcos."
"This is an emotional issue for thousands of people, many of whom are facing the prospect of losing their homes and livelihoods. Yet, far from being prejudiced and irrationally biased, we speak with intimate knowledge of our profession and from long experience of running busy pubs. Our strength is that we are a coalition of working Tied Lessees and sympathetic Industry Experts who share a common vision of a fair future for all in the pub trade.
"Since its inception Fair Pint has only taken an objective, measured and dispassionate approach to what is a historically unique crisis in the pub industry.
"We are comfortable about this position and if Mr Tuppen regards anything that has been published by Fair Pint as defamatory then he should take appropriate action and prove his case.
"As a result of their enormous influence over every aspect of the UK pub market the pubcos hold a much stronger position than individual tenants when it comes to negotiating sustainable rents and wholesale supply prices.
"This self evident fact has led incrementally, since the Beer Orders and creation of the PubCos we know today, to the current situation where tenants' profits have been eroded to a level that does sustain a reliable future for their businesses.
"Tenants are in fact the powerhouse and generator of all the pubcos' impressive earnings. However, as a result of their significant hold over the market, the pubcos hold a much stronger bargaining position than their individual tenants. The Fair Pint campaign was simply set up to try to level the playing field.
"Fair Pint stands by our invitation to talk and if the major pubcos choose to continue to rely on traditional missives that they are only prepared to talk to individual licensees about the future of pubs they are quite simply missing an ideal opportunity to help secure a positive future for the Industry they profess to care so much about."
