Landlord hits out at huge brewers (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Landlord hits out at huge brewers

2:43pm Tuesday 30th September 2008

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A COTSWOLD landlord has hit out at huge brewery chains for ruining the traditional British pub industry.

David Bates, landlord of the Mousetrap Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water, said pubs are closing because "unscrupulous" brewers are overcharging their tenants high rates which they can't afford.

The latest CAMRA figures show six pubs are closing every week.

Mr Bates, whose pub is a free house owned by MGI Taverns, said: "The British pub is an institution and Britain is famous for its pubs around the world but if they continue to close that will no longer be the case.

"Two pubs have closed within the last month four miles from our doorstep. It used to worry me but not now we are owned by a company which stands for traditional values."

In the last few weeks the Standard has reported the closure of the Wheatsheaf pub in Northleach and the Queens Head in Cirencester.

The Coach and Horses in Bourton has also been shut down.

Mr Bates said: "We have worked for big brewers in the past and it seems the companies are run by accountants, not by people who care about beer and food. Their bottom line is making a profit."

He argued a village pub should be the focal point of a village if it is allowed to exist properly.

"In rural areas the pub is central to the ambiance and success of a village. It can be used not just by people wanting a drink but by parish councils and kids play groups," he said.

"A village without a pub is no longer a place to live, it is a place to dwell."

Chairman of Bourton’s chamber of commerce Norman Jones said: "There are still plenty of businesses in Bourton but we are finding the bad economic climate which we hear about in the news is now finding its way to small villages like ours.

"But we are lucky to have so many visitors in Bourton which make businesses viable."

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling for a fairer rent review process and has warned that tying pubs to certain products is damaging their livelihoods.

An overwhelming majority of pub trade members of the FSB, 94 percent, said that exclusive purchasing obligations between pub companies and landlords should be scrapped while 99 percent said little has improved since the situation was last reviewed in 2004.

Clive Davenport, FSB Trade and Industry Chairman, said: "Pubs are not just a part of the local community, in many places they are the local community. They generate employment, local income and an opportunity for people to meet. Pub landlords pay up to double the price for beer and cider than they would if they were buying in a free market. If the ties were eradicated this would create a level playing field to enable pub landlords to compete with those who are not tied."

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