Pub Companies

Punch deal rumours remain unconfirmed

30-Nov-2021 By Ed Bedington

Speculation over a potential deal for the purchase of Punch Pubs & Co continues to swirl with both parties refusing to comment.

Publican Awards

Deadline extension for Publican Awards

19-Nov-2021 By Ed Bedington

There’s still time to get your entries into the Publican Awards with a deadline extension to 3 December.

MA Leaders Club

Campaign to boost diversity launched

27-Sep-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

A new campaign to level the playing field for professional women across the sector has been unveiled.

Pub companies must share the pain

28-Apr-2020 By Martin Roper

Multiple operator Martin Roper has found himself caught between four different landlords in the debate on pub rents.

Largest 50 pub companies achieve £11.7bn turnover in total

13-Nov-2017 By Stuart Stone

The total turnover of the 50 best performing pub and bar companies hit £11.7bn in 2016-17 marking a 4% increase on the previous year.

2017 predictions

2017 predictions: Leading pub property agents forecast continued high demand

05-Jan-2017 By Liam Coleman

Despite business rates and Brexit uncertainty, the pub property market is buoyant with - if anything - too much demand for sites. Four leading licensed property experts give their insight into the market.

Pubs code

British Beer and Pub Association hits out at 'unworkable' pubs code

15-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Brigid Simmonds has said key parts of the final version of the pubs code are ‘unworkable’ and that she will be seeking an urgent meeting with Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) ministers.

FLVA president: good relationship with BDM is vital

31-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Licensees must strive to forge closer relationships with their business development managers (BDMs) and pub companies, according to Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA) president Michelle Dwan.

MCA Tenant Tracker

Exclusive research: Tenants' satisfaction with pubcos improves again

17-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

Ratings for pub companies have improved despite a turbulent year in the tenanted sector, according to exclusive research.

Punch

Punch tenant calls for more pubco support

14-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Punch Taverns tenant has urged pub companies to provide more support after falling behind with rent payments and being asked to leave her pub after seven years.

Pub property predictions for 2015

14-Jan-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

How will the pub property market perform in 2015? The Publican’s Morning Advertiser speaks to the agents in the know.

Tory peer: Muslim population increase to blame for pub closures

04-Dec-2014 By Rob Willock

Pub closures are being caused in part by an increase in the Muslim population, rather than because of pubco behaviour, according to a Conservative peer.

Family brewers ‘not ruled out’ of pub statutory code

06-Nov-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

The Government has not ruled out reinserting family brewers back into the scope of the pub statutory code but insisted that smaller pubcos have “nothing to fear” from its proposals.

Family brewers moved outside scope of pub statutory code

30-Oct-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Pub companies with fewer than 500 tied pubs will be exempt from the statutory code, Andrew Griffiths MP has told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser.

More pubs going free of tie to attract tenants

03-Sep-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

An increasing number of landlords are being forced to sell pubs free of tie in order to secure a tenant, according to a property agent.

BBPA fears cost of new energy audits

23-Jul-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has expressed its concerns over new Government regulations that will force large managed pub companies to pay thousands of pounds to conduct energy audits.

MPs attack 'grave flaws' in pubs code proposals as Small Business Bill is debated

16-Jul-2014 By James Wallin

Pubs dominated heated discussions within the House of Commons this evening as the bill containing a proposed statutory code for the sector got its second reading.

David Cameron pledges to 'look very carefully' at pubcos

02-Apr-2014 By James Wallin

David Cameron insisted the Government would ‘look very carefully at the activities of some pub companies’ but stopped short of saying when legislation would be brought in.

Growing potential for managed route as market recovers, says property agent

03-Mar-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

The pub market is finally starting to recover and there are increasing opportunities for emerging pub companies to run managed estates, according to Kevin Marsh, director of trading and leisure at Savills.

Campaigners attack London Economics report on statutory code

24-Feb-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Anti-pubco campaigners have launched a fresh attack at a Government report, which suggested the introduction of a statutory code could close up to 1,600 pubs.

Statutory Code: Andrew Griffiths MP urges Gov't not to introduce regulation

21-Jan-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Andrew Griffiths MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, has urged the Government not to introduce a statutory code governing the relationship between pub companies and their tenants, claiming that regulation would have “unintended consequences”...

Statutory Code: Regulation is 'necessary' and decision will be announced soon, says Vince Cable

21-Jan-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Business secretary Vince Cable has said statutory regulation governing the relationship between pub companies and their tenants is “necessary” and the trade will “soon hear how [the Government] will take that forward”.

Statutory Code: OFT warns Govt on pubco intervention

06-Jan-2014 By John Harrington

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned the Government that plans to intervene in the tenanted pub model could lead to higher rents for tenants and higher prices for customers.

Statutory Code: Resounding support for action over pubcos in BIS survey

17-Dec-2013 By Lewis Brown

A resounding 96.2% of people who took part in the survey about the relationship between pub companies and tenants agreed that the Government should regulate the relationship between pub companies and tenants.

Pubcos must stop this beer-price escalator

23-Oct-2013 By Rob Willock

The tenanted pub companies have been putting their houses in order (literally and figuratively) in recent years. None but the most one-eyed of pubco critics can deny that — though I will doubtless, as ever, receive plenty of abusive trolling on social...

Pub operators urged to keep policies on e-cigarettes under review

17-Oct-2013 By Phil Mellows

Anti-smoking campaigners are urging pub operators to keep their policies on electronic cigarettes under review as controversy grows around the devices – which deliver nicotine without burning tobacco and produce vapour rather than smoke.

Statutory code: majority of licensees tied to major pubcos want guest beer option

14-Jun-2013 By Michelle Perrett

Licensees tied to the major pubcos should be able to stock a guest beer, a new survey of licensees by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said.

Majority of publicans tied to big pubcos earn less than the minimum wage

05-Jun-2013 By Rob Willock

A majority of publicans tied to the big pub companies earn less than the minimum wage, and are significantly worse off than free-of-tie licensees, new research has revealed.

Government publishes consultation on statutory code into pubco-tenant relationship

22-Apr-2013 By John Harrington

Plans for a statutory adjudicator for the pubco/tenant relationship would save tenants £100m per year, and ensure tied pubs are "no worse off than free-of-tie pubs", the Government has said today as it publishes its consultation into the move.

Vince Cable: "In too many cases tenants are being exploited and squeezed"

22-Apr-2013 By Vince Cable, Business Secretary

Pubs are a significant part of our national heritage, and the Government is keen to support pubs and the pubs sector. One key industry issue over the last decade has been concerns about the fairness of the relationship between large pub companies and...

Statutory code consultation: Make your voice heard

22-Apr-2013 By Rob Willock

And so the consultation on the statutory regulation of the pub industry begins — as these things usually do — with a couple of lengthy documents. They’re worth reading. The Government has produced a pretty comprehensive assessment of the state of the...

New PICA-Service cases resolved before hearings

21-Feb-2013 By Michelle Perrett

A cross section of pub companies and brewers, with a range of estate sizes, were due to have their cases heard by PICA-Service.

Pubcos see improvement in tenant satisfaction levels over the past year

14-Feb-2013 By Rob Willock

Pub companies have achieved a general improvement in tenant satisfaction levels in the past year, according to new research.

Statutory code: Property agent claims pub code will not have big impact on trade

23-Jan-2013 By John Harrington

The Government’s introduction of a statutory code will not have a big impact on the industry — that’s the view of property agent Neil Morgan, director and head of pubs at Christie+Co.

Statutory code: 'tied' and 'tenanted' agreements to be targeted

16-Jan-2013 By Adam Pescod

The Government has confirmed that all tied pub agreements will be covered by the proposed statutory code and adjudicator for pub companies and tenants.

Pub property predictions for 2013

11-Jan-2013

How will the pub property market perform in 2013? To get the answers, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser speaks to agents in the know

Exclusive: Government to introduce statutory code for pub industry

08-Jan-2013 By Adam Pescod

The Government is to consult on proposals to set up a statutory code and independent adjudicator to regulate the relationship between pub companies and their tenants, it has been announced.

Statutory code: the pub trade responds

08-Jan-2013

The Government announced today that it is to introduce a statutory code and an adjudicator to regulate the pubco-tenant relationship. Here's the response from the industry and MPs.

Statutory code: Large pubcos could shift back to old-fashioned tenancies to avoid regulation

08-Jan-2013 By Michelle Perrett

Large pubcos could shift back to the old-fashioned tenanted model if the Government fails to implement its statutory code correctly, BII chairman Bernard Brindley has warned.

BISC: MPs support more scrutiny of pubcos

12-Jan-2012 By PMA Team

MPs have approved a plan that compels the Government to set up an independent body to monitor the progress of ‘toughened’ self regulation in the pubco/tenant relationship.

Head: are you giving too much?

14-Dec-2011 By Mark Daniels

Last week, somebody decided that pubs are giving their customers too much head, which prompted somebody in a union to write to the government and complain that this is the sole fault of the pub companies.

BIS: ALMR "deeply disappointed"

24-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has expressed “deep disappointment” at the news that the Government has decided not to regulate the behaviour of the major pub companies.

Barclays: banks still willing to invest in pubs

10-Oct-2011 By Adam Pescod

Banks are still willing to invest in pub companies if there are “sensible structures” in place, according to Mike Delay, relationship director at Barclays’ corporate banking arm.

BISC report: conclusions outlined

20-Sep-2011 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Here are the conclusions and recommendations from today’s damning report on pubcos from the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC):

BISC confirms pubco-tenant inquiry

08-Jun-2011 By Ewan Turney

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BISC) has confirmed it is to reconvene to look at whether a statutory code of practice is required.

MPs to re-open pubco inquiry

13-May-2011 By The PMA Team

The BISC investigating pubco power is set to meet again on 28 June and 5 July, the PMA has learnt.

Travelodge in £100m pub group link up

18-Apr-2011 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

Travelodge is to link up with several pub groups, including Greene King and Mitchells & Butlers, as part of a £100m expansion programme.

Q&A: Christie+Co on pub property market

26-Jan-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Christie+Co's director of restaurants, Simon Chaplin, talks to the Morning Advertiser about the pub property market.

Enterprise: don't ignore local brewers

24-Nov-2010 By Ewan Turney

Enterprise Inns has been unfairly tarred with the same brush as other pub companies when it comes to promoting routes to market for micro brewers —...

Pubco-probe MP queries tie reform

28-Oct-2010 By John Harrington

The MP heading the on-going investigation into pubcos says he doesn't feel problems in the industry are being sufficiently addressed. Adrian Bailey,...