The OFT report: Business as usual?

The long-awaited Office of Fair Trading (OFT) response to CAMRA's 'super complaint' will have been greeted with sighs of relief in pub company offices across the country.

It decided to take no further action on the tie because it found no evidence that deals between landlords and licensees have any impact on the experience of pub customers.

This is despite CAMRA's claim that high rent and beer prices are contributing to the destruction of Britain's pubs.

As far as the OFT is concerned this is the end of the matter but it is still possible, if unlikely, the Competition Commission could be called in to examine the industry.

Hard-hitting report

CAMRA's super complaint followed the MP-led Business and Enterprise (BEC) report into the pubco model. It was hard-hitting, to say the least, describing the system as "biased against licensees" and stating that "abuse does occur".

At the time of the report's publication in May, the committee demanded a Competition Commission probe into the industry. And chairman Peter Luff MP has not ruled this out as an option.

"I just want to wait and see - that is the big question," he told The Publican. "I certainly don't think that possibility should be taken off the table but I just want to assess what progress is actually being made."

The progress he refers to is the attempt made by the industry to get its own house in order since the BEC report was published in May.

Mediation talks between major players have resulted in the formation of a new trade umbrella group - the Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) and the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and pubco members have vowed to address issues raised in the BEC.

Luff continued: "The fact is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is making big changes to its rent valuation process and the BBPA is making big changes to its codes of conduct.

"These are very welcome developments for tenants but the question is how far do they go? There have certainly been improvements but at the moment I am not quite sure if it is enough. We will be talking to the government and encouraging them to respond."

He is keen to hear from the IPC, BBPA and RICS when he reconvenes the committee before the end of the year.

Government confirmation

The government has confirmed that it will not make a move on the matter until is has heard from Luff.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), said: "We were asked to delay our response until after the OFT report and we are awaiting a further call from Peter Luff. But I anticipate it will not be too long."

So for the time being pub companies such as Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns are able to relax in the knowledge that the reforms they have committed to have been noted by the powers that be.

An Enterprise Inns spokesman said the company was "delighted" with the outcome of the OFT report but confirmed its commitment to addressing the issues raised by the BEC.

"The vast majority of our hard-working licensees support the tie and continue to trade well and recognise that we are actively helping them to protect and grow their businesses in these challenging times," he said.

"However, this does not mean that we, at Enterprise Inns, are complacent about the model so we have proposed and are in the process of implementing a large number of measures aimed at addressing some of the legitimate issues raised by the BEC report," he said.

A Punch Taverns spokeswoman echoed those sentiments. "We welcome the OFT decision and sincerely hope that all industry bodies can work together to protect the future of the British pub which is in all of our interests," she said.

As for CAMRA, it could potentially appeal the OFT's decision with the Competition Appeals Tribunal, but that would be an expensive and therefore unlikely route to take. So far all CAMRA has said is that it is trying to persuade the government to overrule the OFT decision and refer the matter to the Competition Commission.

So with the OFT and, at least indicatively the BEC, satisfied pub companies are addressing issues has the super complaint proved to be a waste of time?

Perhaps unsurprisingly it hasn't, according to the OFT itself. Simon Williams, a senior director at the OFT, said some people would take the view that his investigation, carried out by a team of five OFT researchers, was a waste of time and resources, "depending on their point of view".

But he added: "The evidence gathered by the OFT doesn't justify a full Competition Commission inquiry. Our conclusion is the beer tie isn't a competition issue. The tie may create other problems, but that wasn't for us to judge throughout this process."

And whether anybody else picks up that mantle for now, at least, remains to be seen.