JW Lees freezes prices

Manchester brewer JW Lees plans to freeze the wholesale and retail price of its beers during 2010.

The brewer said it would be "cynical" to raise prices because it has benefited from reductions in raw material and energy costs this year. However, any additional rises in beer duty or VAT would mean price rises.

Managing director William Lees-Jones said: "We are putting our customers and licensees first and are pledging that we will not put up the wholesale or retail price of any JW Lees beers in 2010.

"Pubs must not price themselves out of the market. Britain's brewers and publicans have had to deal with a series of bad-news events for pubs over the last few years including the disastrous Licensing Act, the ban on smoking in public places, three non-existent summers, the ridiculous duty-escalator tax and, most recently, the problems caused by the snow.

"It has been a tough decision for us to freeze our prices since we will be bucking the market at a time when our competitors are putting their prices up but we feel that it would by cynical to hit our customers with increases since we have benefitted this year from reductions in the price that we pay for both our raw materials and energy.

"We have also had a pay freeze in our business for 18 months.

"We want to give our customers value-for-money on JW Lees beers and are prepared to put our money where our mouth is by holding our prices on JW Lees beers."

However, Lees said the company would have to raise prices if there are any increases in beer duty or VAT.

The company said: "For every pint of JW Lees Cask Bitter that JW Lees sells at £2.10 there is 31p paid in VAT and 37p in beer duty, with tax representing 33% of the cost of a pint.

"UK beer duty is now the third highest in Europe and we are taxed at nine times the rate of that in Germany. UK pubs are closing at a rate of over 50 a week."