276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Beer Tie

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Community Pubs, aka the traditional boozer, (as distinct from metropolitan or "country" gastropubs) are vital meeting places for the forgotten agricultural villages, market towns and down-at-heel districts of our cities. Yes, they may be entropic hubs of indolence and indulgence. But where's the harm in that? Aren't we hard-pressed enough? What's gone so dreadfully wrong? The business model of a pub company combines wholesale with estate management. It uses its purchasing power to buy beer at low prices but then sells it at a high mark-up to the publican who also pays it rent. “The whole business model is wrong. A typical wholesaler might make 10-15%, these guys are making double or treble that,” says Marsden. While there have been some challenges with parts of the implementation of the code for all involved, the BBPA and the companies covered by the code continue to work closely with the adjudicator and other stakeholders to resolve these,” the chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, said. T he Competition and Markets Authority exists to promot e competition for the benefit of consumers – therefore it i s disappointing that they are seemingly disinterested in investigating something that will have potentially anti-competitive effects on the UK beer and pub market. Is the end of the beer tie good or bad? The pub industry is complex and there’s no doubt that unscrupulous pub operators may have abused the system. However, there are many operators who invest significantly in their pubs and who recognise that supporting successful tenants equates to successful pub companies.

Brewers been forced to sell-off some of their pubs as a condition of being allowed to merge, hence enabling new firms to enter the market. For example, in 2000 the UK’s Competition Commission forced Interbrew to dispose of some 75% of its pubs. The new rules have kept the same threshold of market share - 30% - under which the exemptions will apply. Pubs in less affluent areas of Britain are in danger of becoming extinct. They have been priced out of the market by rapacious landlords and the supermarkets. If we don't look sharp we are in danger of losing them forever. The pub companies have borrowed heavily to expand their portfolios and since the credit crunch they’ve been forced by the banks into massive sell-offs. Some of these pubs have become free houses, but many others have been converted into other uses such as supermarkets.Mark Robson is founder of Red Mist Leisure, which runs five pubs in the South East of England. He moved into the pub business in 2004 initially operating tied leases via Punch Taverns, but managed to acquire them and now runs them as free houses. He gave the new amendment a cautious welcome. “I am very, very anti-beer tie so if it goes then that’s a good thing. However, usually when the government gets involved in the pub industry they make things worse rather than better. I am little bit sceptical that it will go through as the beer tie has been around for 400 years.” They say the tied option does not make financial sense for them and the pub would be more profitable – as well as offering cheaper and better beer – if they were free of the tie. Fair Pint were encouraged by our meetings with MEPs and Commission officials and there is a real concern about the impact of the pubco model on British consumers and individual tied publicans. Leading c onsumer group CAMRA has called on the Competition and Markets Authority to take the lead and investigate a proposed merger which could reduce the choice of beers available to pubgoers. The new appeal to Chief Executive, Dr Andrea Coscelli , follows a string of correspondence about the proposed joint venture between Carlsberg and Marston’s that CAMRA believes could have significant anti-competitive effects on the UK beer and pub market.

The tie system also allows people to become pub tenants with smaller personal investments. This helps to make the sector more accessible widening the pool of potential applicants.According to dozens of pub landlords around the country, already wrestling with the rapid decline in the number of Britain’s pubs, the reality has been very different. The small business minister Kelly Tolhurst recently announced the first statutory review of the pubs code and the way it is arbitrated, via the pubs code adjudicator. The new system would let tenants have their ties reviewed and where appropriate, move to a market rent with the freedom to buy their beer from other suppliers. Tenants can adjust their prices to better meet the needs of their customers and compete more effectively. However, in the UK around 50% of pubs are still tied to major brewers for their supply and, according to research by CAMRA, the ‘beer ties’ adds around 6-7% to pub prices. I certainly don’t have any sympathy for them,” says Marsden. “I hope that many publicans are able to buy their premises, I’d certainly like to buy the Prince.” It is vital that the CMA steps up the plate, thoroughly investigates the proposed joint venture between Marston’s and Carlsberg, and help s to ensure there is fair competition , access to market for brewers, and decent consumer choice when it comes to beer and pubs up and down the country.”

Like most landlords who seek an MRO option, Pybus never got his. Instead, the former British debating championships runner-up thrashed out a deal face to face with his landlord, the pubco Punch Taverns. Rupert Croft, partner at law firm Maitland Walker, said: "The most notable change is that the definition of market share of 30% will now include buyers as well as suppliers, but this is unlikely to affect pub companies. The Campaign is now asking the CMA to prove its credentials in standing up for consumers and commit to triggering what is known as the ‘Article 9’ referral procedure – meaning that the UK competition body could lead an investigation instead of the EU Commission, because the joint venture will mainly impact the UK beer and pub market.Their view is that the tie forces tenants to pay unnecessarily high prices for their beer which according to CAMRA can be 60 – 70% more than non-tied pubs. This impacts on their profitability and ultimately results in too many pub closures. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: "This is a positive decision by the European Commission, which follows an exacting examination by them of all the evidence from a wide range of parties. Challenges arising from supermarket pricing, pub regulation and punitive leases all have a cost. And that cost is a dire selection of the cheapest brands of beer, "ready" meals, poorly trained staff and management, delayed refurbishment, increasingly desperate price promotions and so on. In other words, a disheartening experience for the customer creating a spiral of decline, leading sooner or later to yet another closure statistic. What is it we stand to lose? The ‘tie’ system refers to the structure of businesses where pub companies buy a pub and then lease it to a tenant landlord who pays rent to the pub company. The agreement also ties the tenant into buying their beer from the same parent company. Proponents of the bill argue it ends an archaic system and will make pubs more profitable. Opponents including the government argue that it will result in pub closures and job losses. The vote to end the tie is supported by bodies such as CAMRA and the Federation of Small Businesses. They argue that removing the tie will save many pubs from closure and bring greater competition to the market.

Clarke says he helped draft the pubs code regulations but has still been unable to make them work. He and Law still do not know whether they will get their MRO or end up signing a new tied tenancy with “onerous” conditions. Even if they get their wish, they will have wasted three years of time and money.It accused pub companies of seeking to scupper MRO applications by any means necessary, including spooking them with eviction notices. The group also cast doubt on the independence of assessments used to set rents. CAMRA’s calculations show that the UK beer and pub market is becoming less and less competitive with every new merger or acq uisition of a smaller brewer by a global brand . Global brewers currently have a 25.25% share of UK pub companies, which by CAMRA’s calculations will rise to nearly 32% if the proposed joint venture is allowed to proceed without intervention.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment