TV show to examine beer tie and rent
The BBC's Money Programme will examine the issue of the beer tie and rents in a special programme due to be aired on Friday 12 December.
Reporter Max Flint visited the village of Woodford in Northamtonshire, with a population of 1,500, to examine its three pubs. Flint was told by Punch lessee Alan Peel of the Prince of Wales that his rent increased annually by RPI despite his takings remaining at the same level while the costs of beer and fuel have also risen. His takings are an average of £2,800 a week.
Fair Pint founding member David Morgan also features in the show advising Peel of what a sustainable rent for the pub should be.
The White Horse pub, owned by Admiral Taverns, shut shortly after the show finished filming. It has had eight licensees in the last eight years. The last lessee ran up debts of £28,000 before closing.
The third pub, the freehold Duke's Arms, has seen takings halved in the last 18 months due to the smoking ban. Landlord Tony Blythe said he could not afford to pay himself a wage.
"Woodford is representative of Britain in that it has some great pubs, with loyal customers, but also on recycling day you can see the green bins full of beer cans and wine bottles," said Flint. "People have got out of the pub habit, so it's up to landlords and pubcos to get people back through the doors."
The show also visits two pubs doing well — the Old Crown at Hesket Newmarket owned by a co-operative and the Black Swan in Ravenstonedale, which has a shop under the Pub is the Hub scheme.
"Things are indeed looking difficult for the traditional British pub," said Flint. "A recent survey by financial experts recommended investors to avoid pubco stocks. It said the beer tie 'looks increasingly archaic', that a sizeable proportion of pubs are paying too much rent and may not be able to survive long term.
"With cheap supermarket beer, bad weather, high rents, big taxes and the smoking ban, it's enough to drive you to drink. And with the economy struggling for the foreseeable future, time could soon be called on a unique part of British life."
The show will air on Friday 12 December at 7pm on BBC 2.
