Pubco bosses lash out over BEC report
Pubco bosses have lashed out at MPs over the damning report on pubco power by the Business and Enterprise Committee published last week.
The report called for an urgent review of the pubco model by the Competition Commission but pubco chiefs have voiced their anger in several national newspapers at the weekend.
Punch boss Giles Thorley told the Sunday Telegraph the BEC oral hearing last December was little more than a "kangaroo court" with MPs coming and going.
He said there had been failings in the pubco model but much had been done to rectify them and his company was now preparing a detailed response to the report.
"There will be some where we have been too quick or too slow to react to changing circumstances, but in some cases the individual running the pub is just not good enough or the economic circumstances are the driving force," he said. "In the worst recession in 60 years, there are other factors at play."
Last week, beer flow monitoring company Brulines said it was considering legal action over claims made in the report questioning the accuracy of its equipment. However, MPs are covered by Parliamentary privilege. Chief executive James Dickson told the Mail on Sunday: "At best, it's irresponsible. At worst it's scandalous.
"They are very lucky to have that after writing this trash. But I take heart from the fact that very little credibility will be given to them, given the current furore over their expenses."
Enterprise boss Ted Tuppen added: "Without parliamentary privilege, we would be considering action."
Fuller's and British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Michael Turner also told the Telegraph: "The Beer Orders destroyed British brewing and the current system was set up in the wake of the last interference. Since 1966 there have been 19 formal inquiries into the tie, of which 14 have come since 1997. In addition there have been four conducted by the EU. All have concluded that the tie is fit for purpose."
JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin also told the paper: "Punch and Enterprise were addicted to financial engineering and have not paid enough attention to their tenants. The problem is not the tie but the behaviour of those two companies."
Meanwhile, the Telegraph also reports that the Financial Services Authority is looking into claims of insider dealing ahead of the publication of the Business and Enterprise report last week.
The report was released to media and those who gave evidence under embargo before its official publication on Tuesday. Punch's share price fell 13.2% and Enterprise 7.5% the day before publication.
