No grounds" for referral to Competition Commission, says Enterprise Inns' CEO

Enterprise Inns' chief executive Ted Tuppen has said there are "no grounds" for the pub industry's model and practices to be referred to the Competition Commission, as called for by the Business & Enterprise committee (BEC) yesterday.

Responding to the BEC's damning report into aspects of the trade, which included calling for the beer tie to be reviewed, Tuppen said it was "disappointing on many levels".

"It fails to address some of the major issues that the industry - both pub companies and licensees - currently face.

"Instead the committee has chosen to focus upon a highly emotive, and we believe unsubstantiated, allegation of systematic and widespread abuse by pub companies of their licensees.

"Enterprise Inns' business is based upon a long-term relationship with our tenants. We share a strong common interest in their success. We go to considerable lengths to assist and support our licensees, particularly in this difficult economic environment.

"When we look at the work that takes place on a day to day basis with those who run our pubs we just do not recognise the committee's allegations which we believe are unsupportable.

Tuppen said his company did not accept that there are any grounds on which the matter should be referred to the Competition Commission for a market investigation, although "in the event that such an investigation was to take place we would have the opportunity to present our evidence to an independent and non-political body".

Tuppen said he was confident that any investigation "will conclude that the principle of the tie continues to confer significant advantages for tied tenants".