The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted proposals from Heineken to address concerns that its purchase of 1,900 Punch Taverns would undermine competition in certain areas.
The hot summer weather may be but a distant memory, but for many pubs the arrival of summer is hailed as the perfect opportunity to increase trade and footfall by hosting a beer festival.
Heineken has offered to sell a number of pubs in 33 areas across the UK “to preserve competition and ensure customers in these locations do not lose out” as part of its Punch deal.
The smoking ban became a fact in England on 1 July 2007 with an unprecedented impact for pubs. But how has the trade changed in the past 10 years since it came into force?
Heineken’s proposed acquisition of 1,900 Punch pubs “could reduce competition in 33 areas across Britain”, according to an initial investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Billed as a ‘new dawn’ for tenants last July, take-up for the market-rent-only (MRO) option has proved slow ever since. What has gone wrong with this critical tenet of the pubs code?
The office of Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) Paul Newby has approached industry bodies for evidence following concerns pubcos could be inhibiting tenant access to the market-rent-only (MRO) option.
Only eight licensees have taken up the market-rent-only (MRO) option across five of the six pubcos governed by the pubs code since it came into force in July 2016.
A licensee has complained to the chief executive of Punch pubco, claiming her personal property was “stolen” last month by the representatives of a debt collection firm used by Punch.
Punch will change its delivery service ahead of its proposed takeover by Heineken and Patron Capital, following current distributor Carlsberg’s announcement to withdraw its UK delivery service.
