Fuller's blamed by licensee for pub's drop in trade
Tony O’Neil, of the Plough in East Sheen, west London, said that before Fuller’s took over the pub he could offer customers a wide variety of beer, including Sharp’s Doom Bar, Fuller’s London Pride and ESB, Sambrook Wandle and St Austell Tribute.
However, O’Neil said Fuller’s asked him to remove all but Fuller’s-supplied products, and he is now being charged more for the Fuller’s beers. He paid Enterprise £100.23 per cask (nine gallons) for London Pride last September, and has now had to pay £106.72 for the same beer from Fuller’s.
O’Neil said he had tried other Fuller’s products such as Chiswick and Discovery, but there was a lack of demand for them. He claimed he was offered a limited selection of guest beers.
He has now put up a notice on the bar explaining the situation and encouraging customers to contact Fuller’s operations director Mike Clist and chairman Michael Turner directly to “make your feelings known”.
O’Neil said: “I am being blackmailed into buying beers my customers do not want. I’m not going to take this lying down. Effectively, Fuller’s is saying ‘tough luck’ — but our sales will drop.”
Industry consultant Phil Dixon explained that there are always downsides when a pubco sells the pub to a family brewer.
He said: “Inevitably, there are two negative issues — choice and price, but I’ve always found family brewers to be accommodating in price. They also have an advantage through the business support they give.”
Dixon advised anyone in a similar situation to have a full and open meeting. “Fuller’s has a good track record of treating people reasonably,” he added.
Clist said: “We are fully committed to working with our tenant, Anthony O’Neil, at the Plough to find a mix of beers from the Fuller’s stable and our guest range which will provide the variety they require, as is the case in the rest of our tenanted estate.
“Our comprehensive beer portfolio, with a variety of styles and flavours, means that, despite the ability to take a guest ale, over 50% of our estate do not, as they believe our portfolio of own beers is sufficient.”
