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Britain's biggest pubs boss threw a few verbal punches in the direction of his warring landlords today as he moved to take charge of a bar-room brawl that has been raging for months.
Ted Tuppen of Enterprise Inns hit back at landlords who claim his business model is to blame for scores of pubs closing each month.
As he unveiled a collapse in profits in the six months to the end of March, down from £122 million a year ago to just £9 million, Tuppen said the best landlords are surviving despite the downturn.
“Those with a grievance do tend to have the loudest voices,” he said, a reference to the well-organised Fair Pint Campaign, which has been trying to persuade MPs to break the “tied” arrangement that sees landlords forced to buy expensive beer from pubcos such as Enterprise.
Tuppen says those same landlords also get lower rent than independent publicans and millions a year in other support when they run into difficulties.
“Our landlords are working harder than ever and making less money than they did last year, but so are lots of people,” he said. “Obviously I get the complaining letters. I am now getting letters of support. There are many more people saying, look, you've just got to take personal responsibility.”
Enterprise, which owns around 7500 pubs, is axing its interim dividend to preserve cash and pay down debts.
Tuppen says landlords are getting £20 million a year of aid, an amount Fair Pint dismisses as inadequate. Fair Pint founder and Enterprise lessee Steve Corbett said: “That's £200 a month for each of his pubs.”
The pub trade has had two miserable years, buffeted by the smoking ban, cheap supermarket booze and now a recession.
Around five pubs close a day, at which rate the last pub in Britain would shut in 30 years' time.
The Business and Enterprise Committee is poised to advocate changes to the tied deal, but is likely to stop short of calling for it to be scrapped.
Tuppen says the deal between the pubcos and the landlords is “evolving” but insists the business model is resilient. “We've got great pubs. Unless we get great licensees we won't be successful.”
Enterprise claims its pubs estate is worth £5.6 billion.
Reader views (3)
My pub's income last year was £550,000 gross. Net VAT payments were about £50,000 (unpaid tax collector!). Payments to Enterprise in rent and beer price supplement (the tie) were £102,000. The result was that the business made a loss (which I had to cover) and I had no income. Does that make me a bad landlord Mr Tuppen? I'd love to discuss this with you publicly or privately.
- Waisiq, England, 14/05/2009 21:15
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No sympathy for landlords at all, you never see a skinny one do you. They have had it to good for to long. If they don't like it leave the industry. That said surely theres a monopoly and free trade case to be answered regards the monster that is Enterprise Inns?
- Terence Harrington, Canterbury, UK, 14/05/2009 20:15
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Lets face it , few people can afford to have drinks in the pub these days, last week in camden i bought a modest round of 2 glasses of red wine , half a lager and one vodka red bull , the ammount £18.45!i realise landlords have their staff costs etc but why are drinks like one glass of wine always £5 ? when everyone knows it's £5 a bottle in the supermarkets .The smoking ban is a joke with many establishments employing over zealous door staff who just love to pick on the smokers, i witnessed a door man forcing people out into the pouring rain when they were actually stood outside? the reason? they were huddling under the protection of overhead scaffolding! it's all greed and silliness . its a sign of our times that having friends round to your home is less stressfull and , boy, a hell of a lot cheaper.
- R Calvert, hampstead, london, 14/05/2009 20:15
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