Pub Companies - Business and Enterprise Committee Contents


Memorandum submitted by JAT Leisure

  In response to the article in the Coin Slot dated 17 July 2008. I have been in the gaming industry since 1996 and a certificated operator of gaming equipment since 1974 and have experienced everything that the tied public house trade can throw at an independent operator. I have been forced out of over 250 public houses over the 34 years and I can assure you that not one of our customers were better off under either the brewery's or later the parasite pub co's control.

  When in 1985 the EEC directive banning Brewery's from holding their tenants to ransom by controlling not only suppliers of products but the amount they would pay that supplier we the independent operator thought thank God for that it had been long overdue, however most breweries turned a blind eye to the ruling and they did not take any notice of the directive until 1990 when leases due to European Courts ruling against them, that leases began to be given out free of ties.

  We the independents had a short but very productive period up until Mrs Thatcher allowed (Dick Turpin of the brewing trade) Lord Young to come up with the brilliant idea that no brewery should be allowed to own more than 2,000 public houses (Youngers brewery had just 2,000 houses). He had already spotted the loophole in the wording of the EEC directive that only mentioned a brewery not an estate agent or other body hence the birth of the parasites companies such as Punch Taverns whose shareholders were the same as the breweries and they were back in the robbing business ripping the heart out of the retail public house trade.

  The tied tenant is now in a far worse position than they were under the old brewery tied system at least the breweries wanted the houses to continue to sell their products. The pubco's tenants are forced to have everything from a nominated supplier with the parasite pub co getting a cut or back hander from the supplier called a royalty in the trade, this is in addition to taking over half of all the takings from any type of amusement machine with the tenant paying the rents and licenses out of their share.

29 September 2008





 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2009
Prepared 13 May 2009