PUB LOSSES
The Guardian (11 April) carried an article about pub losses and the subject was also mentioned in the Daily Telegraph. As much as it was reassuring to see the national press covering the issue, it made for grim reading. It highlighted the case of one Greene King tenant who, having seen his energy bills rise from £13,000 to £37,000 per annum, handed back the keys.
The article included some figures on pub closures in England and Wales in the first three months of this year. These were also quoted in the Morning Advertiser. The figures were compiled by industry analysts Altus Group from Government figures and showed a reduction of 153, leaving a total at 31 March of 39,634 (including vacant sites). London and the South-East lost 19 pubs while the situation was worst in the East Midlands with 23 closures.
When considering pub closures, it is important to understand the different types of operation involved. Most pubs operated by the big pub owning businesses (POBs) are managed houses, where the person in charge is a direct employee of the POB. Some POB pubs however are tenancies, where the tenant has a lease from the POB and, subject to the terms of the lease (which normally includes a tie to the POB for beer supply), it is the tenant’s own business. If a tenant finds that he or she cannot continue trading, they surrender their tenancy to the POB and the POB will find someone else or change it to a managed house. They might however consider disposal. The important distinction here is that it is not the pub that has failed, it is the business that was running the pub. Most worrying is the plight of the privately owned and operated pub. They have to deal with the situation on their own.
BUDGET AFTERTHOUGHTS
There is not much to add to what I reported in the last edition except for an anomaly over takeaway beer, which, of course, was so vital to pubs, breweries and customers during the lockdowns. Readers will recall that, as from 1 August, the duty rate for draught beer and cider is being reduced where it is sold in containers with a minimum capacity of 20 litres (35 pints). This is specifically intended to help pubs compete with supermarkets and HMRC are concerned that people may take advantage by decanting the discounted beer into smaller containers. To avoid this they are proposing that any such decanting may only be carried out at specially authorised sites and this currently does not include pubs. Consequently, pubs will not be able to sell beer or cider in the customary two or four pint containers. CAMRA is in contact with HMRC on this issue, seeking a workable solution.
The campaign to reduce VAT for the hospitality trade continues, despite it not being mentioned in the Budget. Some 12,000 people have signed a petition to Parliament asking for the rate to be reduced from 20% to 10%. The reduced rate would apply to hot food and drinks, soft drinks, tickets to events and attractions and accommodation. If the petition had reached more than 10,000 signatures by 7 May, it will have to be debated in Parliament.
On 26 April, the Government made an additional concession under their Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS). ‘Energy intensive’ businesses, which includes breweries, may be able to save up to 20% on their wholesale energy bills, subject, of course, to conditions. The arrangement will begin in June and be backdated to 1 April. It will last until 31 March 2024.
HIGH STREET RENTAL AUCTIONS
Planning reform has been on the cards for some time now. The original plans for regeneration zones, in which existing planning rules would be relaxed, have been abandoned but another new initiative to halt the decline of high streets was announced in April. This is the High Street Rental Auction scheme. This gives local authorities the power to take control of high street premises which have been vacant for over a year and auction leases on them, with the intention that local businesses or community groups will bring them back into use. The local authority will decide what is classed as a ‘high street’ area. This would over-ride existing planning regulations, including the protection for pubs which CAMRA campaigned for and achieved in 2017 when pubs were given their sui generis designation and permitted development rights on them were abolished. Many pubs could be irretrievably lost with the local community having no effective way of objecting. CAMRA have raised their concerns with the Minister for Levelling Up. National Chairman, Nik Antona, commented, “The goal of bringing disused pubs back into use is one shared by CAMRA, but it is vital that High Street Rental Auctions are used to support and rejuvenate urban pubs, not to turn valued community venues over to the highest bidder. We know that pubs can increase and expand footfall on the high street, and give communities a place to come together, but we need Government to understand this too. I’ve asked the Minister to ensure that pubs keep their planning protections under this scheme, so that communities can still have their say.” CAMRA members can help by lobbying their MPs. Go to https://camra.e-activist.com/page/128358.
EVENTS NORTH OF THE BORDER
There is nothing immediate here but I believe that it is worth reporting because, if either of these schemes are adopted in Scotland, there will undoubtedly be pressure for them to be adopted this side of the border.
The concept of recycling is now well established and some sort of deposit scheme to encourage the return of single use bottles and cans is a logical progression. The Scottish Government are attempting to introduce such a scheme under which customers pay a deposit of 20p when they buy a drink in a single use container and get the deposit back when they return the empty bottle or can. Producers would have to pay a fee to join the scheme and could be liable for fines if their cans and bottles were sold by third parties outside of the scheme. Many small breweries, although agreeing with it in principle, have objected to the scheme as originally proposed because, on top of the other problems that they currently face, it is seen as being very complicated and costly to operate. Consequently, its introduction has been put back from this August until March next year. The delay will give small brewers and other producers affected time to prepare. Independent breweries in the north of England who trade across the border were also concerned. There were reports that some had already had bottle labels amended to say ’not for sale in Scotland’. Embarrassingly, some bottles so labelled were prematurely released into the market.
The Scottish Government has also been considering some sort of ban on the advertising of alcohol. These plans have however, according to Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, gone ‘back to the drawing board’. The proposals were not welcomed by brewers or the Scotch Whisky Association. We will report further on this in due course. It is worth remembering that, some years back, an argument was being made that some restriction of ‘mass media’ advertising by the major breweries (as it was then) could help locally brewed beers by not putting major brand names into pub-goers’ minds.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST PLASTIC GLASSES
Keeping to the environmental theme, as summer approaches, those drinking in outside areas of pubs and clubs are likely to have their beer served in plastic glasses. This is usually required under the terms of the pub’s licence. CAMRA’s Plastic Pints are Rubbish campaign seeks to persuade licensing authorities to give pubs discretion to use substitute glasses made of materials other than plastic or polycarbonate. Research by campaign partners NGO A Plastic Planet shows that some 70% of plastic pint glasses end up in landfill or as litter. There are a number of alternatives available, such as paper, aluminium or compostable corn starch.
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP FUND UPDATE
The third round of the Government’s Community Ownership Fund opened recently. This funding is intended to provide a way of saving local assets, which can include pubs, for community use. CAMRA’s chairman, Nik Antona, commented, “It is really encouraging to see Levelling Up Ministers announcing today that another round of funding is being made available through the Government’s Community Ownership Fund. This funding is a lifeline for local people who have come together to save their local pub and keep it at the heart of community life.” CAMRA provides detailed information as to the process involved on its website. Go to www.camra.org.uk/saveyourlocal/.
NATIONAL HOP COLLECTION
The National Hop Collection, originally founded at Wye College in Kent, performs the vital tasks of preserving historic varieties of hop and assisting with the creation of new varieties. In 2007, with financial assistance from the Shepherd Neame brewery, it moved to Queen Court Farm in Ospringe, near Faversham. It has now outgrown this site and, once again with help from Sheps, in April it moved to an improved home at Homestall Farm, also near Faversham. The site is owned by local hop grower Antony Redsell, a renowned grower of East Kent Goldings. The project was managed by Dr Peter Darby, formerly the NHC’s Director of Research. Dr Darby commented, “I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved with the collection, so when the opportunity arose to move it to a bigger site where it could be enlarged and improved, I wanted to get involved as it felt like a fitting way to finish my work with Wye Hops. We were grateful to receive such generous support from Shepherd Neame, which pledged not only to fund the move but to continue providing a significant annual contribution to its establishment and maintenance for at least the next five years.” The collection has expanded from 250 historic varieties to 360, mainly British. NHC keeps four samples of each variety and these are planted in pairs in separate parts of the garden in case one pair suffers some sort of damage. The NHC hopes to offer guided tours to the public from 2025. For more information go to https://www.britishhops.org.uk.
GETTING SHIRTY
This is a curious story. Until recently, Marks & Spencer were selling T-shirts with the slogan ‘Craft Beer Co’ on them. They appear to have been blissfully unaware that there was actually a pub chain that went by that name. Understandably, CBC asked M&S why they were using their name without permission and could they expect royalties on the sales. In reply, according to the BBC business news website, M&S said that they took ‘intellectual property very seriously’, that the design was introduced ‘in good faith’ and that they were removing the T-shirts from sale ‘so we can investigate further’. Martin Hayes, CBC’s founder, said that they were not planning to take any legal action, “We’re a relatively small business so I don’t think we’ll be taking on a PLC.” Mr Hayes was also unhappy with the wording on the T-shirts, which included ‘Proper good beer… for proper good blokes’. Ironically, CBC’s newest pub, the Bear, is situated close to M&S’s head offices in Paddington and a party from there was booked in for the evening that the row blew up. Mr Hayes commented, “I’m not sure if they’ll come now, but if they do come, they can rest assured they’ll be treated as well as always.”