Trust and Distrust

I'm always interested in anything that affects the pub trade and its ability to work well within the financial constraints currently facing their businesses. PubCos are often a target of my scorn and in some ways this article is no different. For many tenants, already dealing with high rents and expensive beer, as well as restrictions on choice, there is the added burden of beer dispense measuring equipment, mostly supplied by a firm called Brulines.

The publicans' views are fairly straightforward; the equipment is inaccurate and additionally, fails to take into account liquid used to clean lines, as well as unsaleable cask beer and results in accusations of buying out, with resultant fines and general unpleasantness. Brulines say it is accurate, but have up till now refused to have it officially tested by the state owned National Measurement Office (NMO). Now they will, but under conditions that aren't being released. In a Morning Advertiser article, Simon Clarke who campaigns against the device says "One would think, if a company had confidence in the accuracy of its products, that it would engage the NMO and require a full and public testing of the equipment. Secret testing to be paid for by the very company seeking the endorsement in itself fuels the fire of suspicion that this is nothing more than an attempt to enable manipulation of the testing conclusions into a positive spin."

Now I have no real idea of the rights and wrongs of this, but it is important though, as we are talking, according Clarke, about big bucks. But what we do undoubtedly see is yet another example of how PubCos, either by intent or incompetence, make life difficult for their tenants, rub them up the wrong way and more importantly, clearly illustrate the sheer lack of trust that exists between the two parties. As pubs close and customers revert to home drinking in droves, you can't see how this can have a positive outcome for either side. It's all a bit, you know, undignified.

The trade is littered with such unwholesome and divisive stories and none of them make it look at all good.

The Morning Advertiser has the story in all its gory detail here.

Who's Top Dog in the Pub Game?

According to my friends at the Morning Advertiser it is none other than Tim Martin of JDW. He leads a glittering cast of the great and good, knocking Giles Thorley of Punch off the number one spot. The reason Timbo is up there at the top? "When he talks, people invariably listen and he remains a precious flag-waver and talker-up of pubs and beer."

CAMRA's Mike Benner pops in at 29, up from 42, which seems to give the lie to any thought of a decline in CAMRA's influence and Paul Nunny of Cask Marque is up a couple of places too, reflecting perhaps, the rise in cask beer's prominence.

Nice also to see the Manchester Family Brewers (Lees, Robinson Hydes, Holt ) getting a joint mention at number 43.

The MA story is here.

Pubcos Have Ripped Heart out of Industry

Yes what I think, but no, not what I have said in so many words. The Morning Advertiser, a prominent trade paper says so though the vehicle of a spoof blog, written by the fictitious "Sir Shannon Alberry."

"Sir Shannon" says this "So how have the owners of the major pub companies behaved? Doing a bit of research I have noted that the directors of the main pubcos have sold between them about £50m of shares between 2000 and 2006. The share prices are now a fraction of their former levels — both of the main pubcos shares are more than 90% off their peak. Surely given the protestations as to the robustness of their model — now would be a great time for them to be snapping up the shares. But no — not a single purchase. Indeed in recent times the two leading lights have exercised Long Term Investment Plans and taken even more money out of their companies.*

On the basis that actions speak louder than words — they are telling us that the pub model is indeed dead, that both companies are going bust, and they are getting all they can out before the ships sink."

I guess this must be what the MA believes, despite the vehicle they choose to say so. They may well be right. The PubCo model is creaking at the seams.

*More detail and the original article here

What are they up to then?

The Publican, a licensed trade newspaper is running a rather odd reader's poll on its website. It asks the perplexingly strange question "Do over-50s cause problems in your pub?" I can't find anything on their somewhat confusing site to explain what this is all about. What on earth can these creepy old geezers be up to? Whatever it is, although most publicans seem to have no problems with them, an astonishing 26.9% do. What on earth are they (we) doing?

Speaking as a 50 plus person who drinks with a lot of 50 plus persons, I am perplexed. We drink reasonably quietly, spend plenty, behave ourselves and then go home. Any theories?