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Marston's boss Ralph Findlay today defended the "tied" pub business model that is under attack from MPs, and which may become the subject of a Competition Commission investigation.
As he unveiled a 3% fall in revenue for the last six months, Findlay said leasing pubs to landlords who are charged rent and must buy beer from the brewery "has very clear benefits".
"It is a low cost of entry compared to buying a pub in the market. And the relationships [between the tenants and the landlords] has been improving for many years," he claimed.
However, some publicans want the tie to be ditched, claiming that it is near-impossible to turn a profit once the pub company has taken its slice.
Marston's has 1700 tenanted pubs and another 500 it manages in-house.
Profit for the 26 weeks to 4 April fell 21% to £28 million, and the interim dividend is held at 4.8p.
Marston's has debt of £1.3 billion supported by equity of just £434 million.
Findlay is hopeful that "difficult" trading conditions are improving.
