Punch tenant hits out at eviction

An award-winning pubco licensee has voiced his anger at being forced to quit his pub, claiming he has transformed the business.

Brian Forgie, of the Globe, in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, is due to leave his pub tomorrow (December 3), after being given two weeks notice to get out by owners Punch Taverns.

A protest is expected to take place outside the pub by members of the GMB Pub Revolution group.

Forgie has been running the pub, with his wife Allison, on a tenancy-at-will for the past 10 months and says he has significantly increased barrelage.

"This pub has been flat on its arse for seven years and now it's heading in the right direction," said Forgie, who won a local CAMRA award in September for most improved pub of the year.

However, Punch said the couple have breached their contract "on a number of occasions" - including buying out the tie.

Forgie claims he only bought out of the tie once and it was "just a few barrels to keep the pub going".

But Punch said the couple had not bought any beer for the past eight weeks and around 700 gallons have been poured in that time.

The couple have also been given an 87 per cent rent reduction, to £40 per week, and a cut in beer prices of 26 per cent, according to Punch.

They also owe more than £9,000 in outstanding debt, the company claims.

A statement from Punch said: "We would like to stress that this is not a case of Punch treating its partner unfairly.

"We have taken every reasonable step possible to support our partner… it is regrettable that we have not been able to resolve this situation, but we do feel that we have done everything possible to work with the partner to come up with a solution."

A new licensee is expected to take over the pub next week.