Tied Pubco's Have Communities Over A Barrel, All Over the UK

Article in Newark Advertiser Thu Aug 14, 2014

Bingham pub the Moot House shuts despite 500-name petition

If this pub were invested in sensibly, stocked with great local and regional products and well managed, doing things that are focused into the local community it would undoubtedly have decades of busy vibrant use ahead of it...

Moot House pic from newsrt.co.uk

Instead it's been asset stripped by freeholders who just can't be bothered with low profit centres and are concentrating on high turnover outlets to invest in.

Moot House opening

All the British Pubco's - such as Greene King, Marston's, Punch, Enterprise, Star (Heineken) et al are at it. They all have chronically underinvested in their properties for decades which has led to serial business failure of community pubs all over the UK. The pubco's response is to flog off pubs, 'suitable for alternative use', that would be financially viable if some of their profits had put back into the property instead of being taken by the pubco's as they ripped off successive tenants - and the communities they served.

It's a national disgrace, a white collar cultural crime that is damaging communities everywhere and destroying British cultural tradition, national heritage and the unique sense of place Britain has that comes out of our pubs - the only places were people can meet others from all walks of life and background. The social fabric of communities everywhere is being torn into tatters and thrown away for ever by big companies for short term profit.

Further reading from UK News Nottingham Post. B&W photo: North East Midland Photographic Record

Battle is on to save 200-year-old pub

Greene King at it again at The Hare in West Hendred where local people discovered, once they'd shut it, that Greene King is selling the pub ...

A Greene King spokesman said: “We are committed to running friendly, high quality pubs which are enjoyed by everyone in the community.

“We sometimes have to make the difficult decision to close pubs which, due to a reduction in the number of customers using them, are no longer viable.“This is the case with The Hare, one of our tenanted pubs, which is now closed and currently on the market.”