Highland publican criticises Scottish Government plans for law enabling pub tenants to change terms of lease part way through
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A PUBLICAN has called ‘time’ on plans for a new law which he argues might have a negative impact on his businesses.
Craig McLaughlin, who runs Dows in Inverness, says he is opposed to the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Bill currently passing through the Scottish Parliament.
He describes the legislation as like “taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut” by introducing additional regulation to commercial partnerships between a pub tenant, like himself, and the pub company who owns the building.
Asked why he didn’t want to see the legislation come into effect, he said: “It would give a huge level of uncertainty, which is my worst fear. The industry is reeling at the moment from uncertainty – nobody knows when we can reopen or what the landscape is going to be like in six months to a year’s time.”
The legislation proposes that a pub tenant could change the terms of the lease part way through and move to a Market Rent Only agreement, which the industry has argued may disincentivise pub companies from investing in the property because of concerns that the rent wouldn’t cover the investment.
Mr McLaughlin believes it could lead to pub companies switching to running the pubs themselves or having to change the use of the building.
He said: “Pub companies are going to have to look at themselves and say ‘OK, we’re now going to have to rethink our model because do we start bringing properties back in house’, and that reduces the entrepreneurial opportunities for someone like me, taking on premises. That’s my primary concern if we go down that road, that I could see swathes of my business chopped away from underneath my feet.”
He added that he prefers running a 'tied' pub in partnership with a pub company.
“I couldn’t have got where I am now without it. At the end of the day, the tied model is a partnership. Like any partnership it has to be fair.”
He acknowledged that not everyone is in favour but added: “What people are trying to do through this bill is to roll it back to halcyon days of when they could do what they want, but the halcyon days are gone and I think it would be a retrograde step to go back to that model for everyone, because it doesn’t suit everyone. There may be some sites that should be a market rent only option but that’s a negotiation they should have between two parties, I don’t think it should be legislated for.”
Publicans representing 194 pubs, nearly a quarter of tenanted pubs in Scotland, have written to the First Minister to ask her to reconsider the Bill. The Tied Pub (Scotland) Bill is due to be voted on by MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on March 23.
