240 pub tenants sign letter to Toby Perkins MP calling for better representation

In a letter seen by the Publican’s Post, 240 pub tenants have signed a letter written by Dave Mountford, prominent pub campaigner, to Toby Perkins MP, chairman of the All Party, Parliamentary Save the Pub Group. 

The letter laments the ‘failure’ of the Pubs Code Legislation, which was introduced to great fanfare in 2016, with the intention to regulate the relationship between pub tenants and the biggest six pub-owning businesses in England & Wales. The overriding principles of the legislation were to ensure “fair and lawful” dealing and that tied pub tenants should be “no worse off” than their free of tie counterparts. 

The Publican’s Post has already reported on the persistent abuses of the legislation by Heineken owned Star Pubs & Bars (for which they are under investigation) – but the letter goes much further, in suggesting that the ‘failure’ of the legislation is now being seen ‘in the devastation within the pub industry’.

The letter suggests that tied pub tenants have ‘nil confidence’ in the Pubs Code Adjudicator, and lack proper representation within government. 

‘We find it incredibly frustrating that the Government is talking to organisations that represent Micro Breweries, Pub Owning Businesses, Consumers and yet are not talking to publicans’

In a tweet seen by the Publicans’ Post, which appears to have been deleted, the chief executive of SIBA advised they were having regular strategic meetings with government representatives, alongside BBPA, UKHospitality and BII.

Arguably the BII represent many tenants amongst their membership alongside Pub Owning Businesses (such as Greene King who are now ‘sponsoring’ tenant membership) – but there is no clear overriding tenant representation. The BBPA are well known as the industry spokesperson for the Pub Owning Businesses. 

Since the pubs were closed, campaigns such as the #NoPubNoRent have been gaining traction throughout the national media. We have previously reported on the campaign, whilst acknowledging the complexities of the rental issue. We have been quick to call out those brewers that have acted quickly to cancel rents for their pub tenants. We also revealed within our survey the precarious position many pubs find themselves in, and the existential need for urgent rental support.

Rightly the letter calls ‘urgently’ for a ‘pub champion’ to act as a link between pub tenants and MPs, and calls on Toby Perkins to step up given his ‘huge support in the past’. 

Dave Mountford writes ‘In the 12 years I have been campaigning on this subject I have never seen such a fantastic joining of tenants in one group, as that created by the #NoPubNoRent Campaign and never before has such a collective voice been so clearly ignored at a time when the requirement to be heard is vital to the industry’s survival.’

You can read the full letter here.