CAMRA admits error in pubco tenant earnings statistics

In a statement issued this morning, CAMRA insisted the error did not alter the results in any "meaningful way" and it had "not knowingly presented misleading information".

The campaign group said the data actually showed that 57% of licensees tied to large pub companies earn less than £10,000 per year, not the original 60% figure quoted.

CAMRA's survey, carried out by CGA Strategy, prompted an angry response from Enterprise Inns chief executive Ted Tuppen, who wrote to all MPs to warn them they were being misled by “flawed, perhaps misrepresented information” from CAMRA and the All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group (APPSPG).

Tuppen wrote: “We strongly contest the damaging allegations made by CAMRA and urge it to clarify the findings of its research. Our data shows the average profit potential for a publican in an Enterprise pub is £34,000 per year before taking account of the benefit of free living accommodation."

The full CAMRA statement reads:​

"Because of the comments made by Enterprise Inns in response to CAMRA's press release dated 5th June 2013, CAMRA has re-checked the analysis provided by CGA Strategy and despite our statement issued yesterday in good faith to the Publican’s Morning Advertiser​ we have identified a classification error in the analysis of the survey commissioned by CAMRA and carried out by CGA Strategy. This error was not previously picked up by CAMRA and, while it does not alter the results in any meaningful way, we wished to make this public in the interests of transparency.

"In the analysis for large pub companies, the results relating to one large pub company were not included. CGA has now reallocated responses for this company in the analysis and, as a result, the survey indicates that 57% of licensees tied to large pub companies earn less than £10,000 per year and 80% earn less than £15,000 per year. This compares with the 60% and 84% respectively announced by CAMRA last week. Having corrected this classification error, CGA has assured CAMRA of the robustness of the analysis.

"CAMRA has not knowingly presented misleading information. A classification error was made by CGA Strategy for which it has apologised to CAMRA and we are therefore setting the record straight on the matter."

Mulholland writes to MPs​

All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group (APPSPG) chair Greg Mulholland MP has written to all MPs in response to Tuppen's letter.

In it, he accuses the Enterprise boss of attempting to mislead MPs by providing inaccurate figures. He states: "I hope this letter helps to clarify the reality of the campaign and I am grateful for Mr Tuppen’s intervention, so that some of the misleading information being passed on as fact can be exposed for what it is."