Beer Tie

Product Information

Clarke says he helped draft the pubs code regulations but has still been unable to make them work. He and Law still do not know whether they will get their MRO or end up signing a new tied tenancy with “onerous” conditions. Even if they get their wish, they will have wasted three years of time and money. The Campaign is now asking the CMA to prove its credentials in standing up for consumers and commit to triggering what is known as the ‘Article 9’ referral procedure – meaning that the UK competition body could lead an investigation instead of the EU Commission, because the joint venture will mainly impact the UK beer and pub market. The vote to end the tie is supported by bodies such as CAMRA and the Federation of Small Businesses. They argue that removing the tie will save many pubs from closure and bring greater competition to the market.

It is vital that the CMA steps up the plate, thoroughly investigates the proposed joint venture between Marston’s and Carlsberg, and help s to ensure there is fair competition , access to market for brewers, and decent consumer choice when it comes to beer and pubs up and down the country.”The new appeal to Chief Executive, Dr Andrea Coscelli , follows a string of correspondence about the proposed joint venture between Carlsberg and Marston’s that CAMRA believes could have significant anti-competitive effects on the UK beer and pub market. Being tied also gives tenants access to wider business support: from maintenance to financial and marketing support. Many pub companies highlight this and argue that this support is vital to many of their tenants especially those who’ve come into the industry from other professions. While there have been some challenges with parts of the implementation of the code for all involved, the BBPA and the companies covered by the code continue to work closely with the adjudicator and other stakeholders to resolve these,” the chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, said.

Challenges arising from supermarket pricing, pub regulation and punitive leases all have a cost. And that cost is a dire selection of the cheapest brands of beer, "ready" meals, poorly trained staff and management, delayed refurbishment, increasingly desperate price promotions and so on. In other words, a disheartening experience for the customer creating a spiral of decline, leading sooner or later to yet another closure statistic. What is it we stand to lose?Like most landlords who seek an MRO option, Pybus never got his. Instead, the former British debating championships runner-up thrashed out a deal face to face with his landlord, the pubco Punch Taverns.

Fair Pint were encouraged by our meetings with MEPs and Commission officials and there is a real concern about the impact of the pubco model on British consumers and individual tied publicans.

Merger activity has accelerated hand-in-hand with globalisation, driven by the search for increased economies of scale and larger markets. While demand for beer in the UK and Europe has remained fairly static, demand in China and the rest of Asia has accelerated. For example, during 2011, sales of beer by volume by AB-InBev grew by just 0.4% in Western Europe compared with an 11% growth in beer volumes in China. In contrast, sales by volume to Easter Europe actually fell by around 5%. The preferred marketing strategy is to focus on non-price competition and developing premium brands which command a higher price. Globally, this means targeting the growing middle classes in China and India who prepared to spend a little bit more on premium brands. In 2009, CAMRA submitted a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (‘OFT’) regarding the UK ‘beer ties’ issue. The OFT rejected the complaint, arguing that it had not found evidence of any competition problems having a significant impact on consumers. In contrast, it argued that at a national, regional and local level, there was evidence of a large number of competing pub outlets owned by different operators, who were competitive and offered sufficient choice, arguing that large pub companies source from a number of suppliers. Critics argue that, despite the reduction in the power of large brewers, the competition authorities have failed to recognise the continuing significance of the ‘beer tie’ to pricing, competition and choice. But she will already be in little doubt as to how many publicans view it. Pub tenants and MPs have been “duped and betrayed”, according to the British Pub Confederation, which said the MRO was little more than a myth.