The Pub Governing Body has today published its annual audit of companies operating up to 499 leased and tenanted pubs and covers the period 1st August 2019 – 31st July 2020.
Conducted in what has been an unprecedented year due to the Covid 19 pandemic, this is the fourth audit to take place since the new codes of practice came into effect for those companies operating 1-499 tied leased or tenanted pubs, and/or tied pubs in Scotland. A full list of those companies covered by each code can be found in Annex A of the report.
Scotland now has its own Pub Governing Body, Scottish Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration Service (PICA Service) as well as its own panel and surveyors for the Pub Independent Rent Review Scheme (PIRRS). Our report this year has therefore been split into two parts, one for England & Wales and one for Scotland.
The audit found full compliance regarding both business plans and the number of rent reviews settled within the audit period, apart from those which had to be delayed as a result of Covid 19.
Commenting on the fourth annual audit report, Pub Governing Body Chairman Sir Peter Luff said:
“This, the latest report of the annual survey on the compliance of companies governed by our Codes, is again very encouraging.
“The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has caused immense commercial challenges for all pubs, leading the Board to agree a temporary suspension of rent reviews. Apart from the resulting rise in the number of rent reviews still in negotiation and the short-term impact of the epidemic on training of new BDMs, all the other results in this survey show high levels of compliance for the fourth successive year.
“We do not take these excellent results for granted, though, and the training of BDMs is an area we will be watching carefully this year.
“The Pub Governing Body and its associated Codes are together proving that self-regulation is both effective and un-bureaucratic, but we will, of course, continue to monitor and review our Codes to ensure they remain relevant to both companies and tenants.”
About the Pub Governing Body
The Pub Governing Bodies are the organisations responsible for promoting the advancement and improvement of Landlord (Pub Owning Companies) and tied tenant relationships in the licensed retail sector. They cover signatory companies that own between 1 – 499 tied pubs in England and Wales and the majority of tied pubs in Scotland. The PGBs achieve this through the publication of Codes of Practice which set the minimum standard for landlords and enhances their business relationship with tenants and lessees subject to a contractual purchasing obligation.
Visit http://www.thepubgoverningbody.co.uk/ for more information.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Pub Governing Body members are six of the industry’s leading associations representing both tenants and landlords: UK Hospitality, The Licensees Association, The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations (FLVA), and the Guild of Master Victuallers (GMV).