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Enterprise Inns' chief executive Ted Tuppen said today that “there are too many pubs in this country”.
He took his stance as Britain's biggest landlord was posting its first-half results for the year to the end of September.
So far this year Enterprise has sold 368 “non-core” boozers in areas where the drinkers have moved on. But there are signs that the troubles in the industry have hit rock bottom — income per pub is down only 3% in London and 5% across the South.
Enterprise has paid down £200 million of debt, leaving it with £3.56 billion still to manage, but Tuppen points out that not all debt is bad. “Two large chunks of it would be regarded as assets by most people,” he notes.
There's no interim dividend as profits slumped from £209 million to just £11 million. Tuppen is still celebrating the verdict by the Office of Fair Trading that the “tied” pub trade is not anti-competitive.
Reader views (6)
Tuppen does not deserve one single penny until publicans can make a decent living. Simon You say that Enterprise Inns pubs are best avoided. obviously you arent a publican... I am and I can tell you, we have very little say in the prices we can charge, we charge what we can afford, not what we can make a lot of profit on... Tuppen has a lot to answer for.
- Steve, Kidderminster, 02/04/2010 21:21
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There are too many pubs in this country being raped by the likes of enterprise inns. No wonder a pub fails if it is paying extortionate rent and twice the going rate for stock. Maybe if Teddy boy and his parasite chums realised they were part of the problem we could maybe move on to finding the solution.
- Yra, Oxford England, 18/11/2009 16:03
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This man never ceases to amaze. He has pilaged the Great British Pub. If I had any other business and I needed to rent a property, the rent would be calculated on square footage, location and condition. Price then calculated. If 1 year later I need to renew lease, I would not be questioned on how well my business was doing and what improvements I have made with my own money, then calculated up and the excuse being that the rent reflects the business you are doing. What happend to incentives. No wonder Tenants are fighting back. Tied products upto £100 more than wholesale. Ted Tuppen is facing a revolution never known in this Industry before. The City should give EI a wide birth as his Empire is built with walls of sand.
- Bev Birmingham, West Mids, 18/11/2009 15:43
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Yes, I'd agree with that sentiment. Britain does not have too many pubs, it has too many Enterprise Inns' pubs.
- Mike Wilson, Winchester, UK, 17/11/2009 15:01
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Cant disagree with simon from London at all, the law needs to be changed to stop the likes of Ted Tuppens company selling on the supposedly unviable pubs with restrictive covenants preventing their use as pubs then we may see real competion in the market place.
- Mike, Bath, 17/11/2009 13:38
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Britain has too many dreary pubs that are poorly maintained and charge too much. Many of them are owned by Enterprise Inns and for that reason both their pubs and the shares are best avoided.
- Simon, London, 17/11/2009 10:01
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