County Estate trumpets hosts' free-of-tie benefits

A senior tenanted pubco executive is extolling the virtues of turning pubs free-of-tie.

Danny Rogers is managing director of County Estate Management, where more than 60% of pubs under management are free-of-tie.

Rogers believes individual free-of-tie pubs, often with barrelage as low as 250 per annum, can get discounts in the marketplace of up to £180 on key lager products.

He said: "Free-of-tie licensees are in a position, certainly over the past 18 months or so, to get very good discounts. The free-of-tie model gives entrepreneurial licensees the freedom to be more in control of their destiny.

"Many of our licensees who have gone onto substantive free-of-tie lease agreements (for between 10 and 25 years) have been very successful and our clients seek people who want to run their own business without head office-style interference — with support, help, guidance as required — but not forced upon them. It's much more of a straight-forward tenant/landlord relationship."

Rogers says County Estate Management sets free-of-tie rents at around 13% to 15% of turnover for wet-led outlets.

"This compares with some of the bigger pubcos whose tied rents are often set at that level," he said.

County Estate Management, which runs pubs on behalf of 34 different clients, is offering rent concessions at about 50 pubs in the estate.

Rogers said: "It's been hard for tenants and we need to tough it out together." The company has-reopened 64 pubs this year and has around 50 closed pubs.

He added: "Our unique selling point is the free-of-tie opportunity. Our pubs tend to be comparable to the pubs in the bottom-half of, say, Enterprise and Punch. The kind of pubs we operate is reflected in our rents.

"We've had tenants who have left some of the major tied pubcos because they appreciate the free-of-tie opportunity we offer."