Alistair Darby proving he is a member of the Flat Earth Society.

All said with conviction BUT. Utter rubbish Alistair. Utter rubbish.

Beer flows up hill. Pubcos pass on the benefit of their buying power to tenants. Pubcos provide support to tenants.

The whole point of a pubco's existence when it comes to tied pubs, Alistair, is NOT to provide support, NOT to pass on discounts, to maximise income from a unit, to encourage investment in the property by entrepreneurial business owners who can operate a pub much more efficiently than the pubco can (see Thwaites' Peter Morris's rationale for this).

Pubcos don't do support they do scorched earth.