Licensees to march on Pub Co HQs
Frustrated licensees are planning a protest march to highlight the plight of tenants outside the headquarters of Britain’s two biggest pubcos — Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns.
Both pubcos are fueling the crisis in British pubs but surely they have to change their ways now. In good economic times they decided to forget about selling beer and become property companies.
Can they keep squeezing their tenants out of the industry and still survive while pubcos like Wetherspoons are cornering the market?
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We are told we live in a capitalist country where the free market rules, but PubCos are allowed to get away with restrictive practices that border on the corrupt. In most other industries there would be government intervention to “free up” the industry to genuine competition, but never in the drinks industry. With the anti-drink stance of “New” Labour, perhaps they welcome such restrictive practices if they lead to pub closures. However, you’d think that, with the recession, the last thing they’d want is licensees and pub workers on the dole. Oh silly me! That would involve “joined up governemnt”, something “New” Labour is exceptionally poor at, even though they invented that rather patronising phrase.
Good luck to the demonstrators ~ let’s hope it will be an example of the mouse that roared.
Rednev - January 10, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Yes yes yes rednev!!! What is so sad is that we used to turn to labour, now who is there to represent the sensible majority????
Ne - January 10, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I absolutely agree with both of the above comments
southportdrinker - January 10, 2009 at 11:46 pm