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Friday, June 17, 2011

Pubcos ‘in free-of-tie peril’

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/ViewArticle?R=90878

Roger Whiteside was taking risks being so candid - never before has any senior employee from a pubco been so open and transparent. It was, to be sure, a breath of fresh air among a whole load of stale guff from the Enterprise edifice. He was taking a calculated step - a statement of such honesty would reassure MPs that Punch, at least, mean business on reform. It's easy to forget that this is all predicated on the collapse of Punch's estate which itself is blatant evidence that the tie has comprehensively failed already.

Killing the tie would accelerate the death of badly run pubcos and would act like emergency CPR to thousands of pubs. It would free up profit in the industry to be left in pubs instead of in Directors' pockets, Shareholders' offshore funds, bonds and debt repayments and would lead to a resurrection of a tradition that's been suffocated almost out of existence.

If a genuine free of tie option with a genuine open market rent review is not legislated in - it's just a get out of jail free card for people who don't deserve the fat pay packets and pensions they've earned out of ruining the substantial part of Britain's special, unique heritage and tradition of pubs.

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