Punch offers tie-free options for licensees

Britain’s biggest pubs group, which has about 700 pubs in Yorkshire and 6,770 pubs across the UK, believes its new Buying Club lease agreement “sets a new benchmark in transparency for the leased pub sector”.

The deal gives Punch licensees the option of buying tied beer at full discounts in return for higher rent, or lower rent in return for taking a lower discount for a target number of tied barrels.

Punch Partnerships’ managing director Roger Whiteside said: “This isn’t just another new agreement but represents a fundamental change of approach.

“It offers free of tie as never before and responds to previously perceived limitations of the leased model.

“We are aiming to dispel any remaining ambiguity about how the tied pub model works.

“Only a tied pub lease can offer to share risk in this way and provide an incentive for licensees to grow their businesses.”

Licensees will also be given the option of buying cask ale on a ‘buy one, get one free of tie’ basis.

Licensees will not be tied on minerals, wines or spirits.