Pubs Code Adjudicator roundtables with tied pub tenants and Campaign for Pubs: roundtable notes

Roundtable between the Pubs Code Adjudicator, Tied Pub Tenants and representatives of the Campaign for Pubs. 

Notes of meetings in Manchester and Birmingham September 2024 

Objective of the roundtable 

Organised by the Campaign for Pubs, the two roundtables were designed to enable a discussion with current tied pub tenants (TPTs) over their experiences working with regulated pub owning businesses (POBs) in relation to the Pubs Code. 

Attendees 

Across the 2 events, attendees were 2 current TPTs and 3 who had ceased being tied between 4-7 years ago (including 1 joining online), as well as Nigel Jones, Ian Cass, Greg Mulholland and Paul Crossman (tied tenant until 2017) from the Campaign for Pubs and Fiona Dickie (the Pubs Code Adjudicator) and staff from the PCA office. 

1. Issues raised by tenants and former tenants 

Issues raised by current and former tied tenants of the POBs attending included:

i) Repairs and dilapidations: unreasonable dilapidations charges, discussions included the Schedule of Condition, repairs not done or delayed (including in case of short agreement), dispute resolution, costs and obligations of both POBs and TPTs in relation to these areas. Concerns of POB negotiating aggressively at statutory renewal to secure vacant possession. 

ii) Market Rent Only (MRO) and Section 25: Some raised concerns that the POB seeking to take back at renewal (ground (g)) has been the result of exercising the MRO right. Shorter agreements and fewer with LTA 1954 renewal rights means fewer tenants with MRO rights.

iii) Agreement types: whether in addition to franchises, management agreements and other profit share agreements are regulated under the Code, and have been developed to get around the Code, the relative features, risks and benefits of these agreements compared to tenancies/leases. Shorter agreements are a response to the Code. 

iiii) Financial issues: financial strain tenants may face during their tenancy such as disputes over stock levels, discrepancies and the unfairness of accuracy problems with flow monitoring systems. A link between severe financial pressures, overwork and poor mental health. 

iv) Information provisions: while attendees agreed that the pre-tenancy information new tenants are entitled to under the Pubs Code is important, the amount of documentation may feel overwhelming to some TPTs, which may mean it isn’t read properly. 

v) BDM practices: concerns around unfair behaviour by BDMs and gaps in Code knowledge, cases of inadequate Business Development Manager’s (BDM) notes; there wasn’t widespread knowledge that tenants had a right to ask for the notes to be revised if information was missing. 

vi) Insurance: discussion about POBs’ working practices in relation to insurance and price matching. 

viii) Arbitration: TPTs’ negative experiences of the arbitration process including cost and transparency. 

ix) Advice and support: lack of awareness of the role of the CCO and concern that TPTs may fear retribution if they raise concerns with CCOs. Importance of role of independent professional trade advisers (including the BII, Licensed Trade Charity and other referral agencies) throughout the tied tenant journey. The use of tenant tenant factsheets to support knowledge of Code rights.

2. PCA observations 

The PCA appreciated the contributions of those who attended the meetings and offered to meet with the 2 current TPTs to discuss the issues they raised. It is important to distinguish the experiences of those recently or currently tied to the regulated companies.

 A number of the issues raised in this meeting have been previously discussed by the Campaign for Pubs and addressed by the PCA, e.g. the 2023 MRO statutory guidance as consulted on and published to address concerns regarding the barriers to going free of tie – including expectation around recording of decisions and discussions relating to taking back; The PCA publishes quarterly arbitration statistics including durations. 

The PCA referenced the forthcoming statutory review. The PCA has concerns about some relatively new agreement types offered by POBs since the Code came into force. The PCA is continuing its work to understand and regulate those agreements that fall within the statutory regime for tied pubs. This work is ongoing.

3. PCA engagement with tied pub tenants 

The PCA welcomes continued engagement with tied tenants, but attendees noted how difficult this can be when tied tenants are running their businesses with long working hours and when they are geographically dispersed. Alternative ways to tied tenants were discussed, including attending local and regional events and promoting good tenant engagement through case studies on the PCA’s new website which is due to launch in late Spring 2025.