Hospitality glossary · Money and margin
A tied pub is a pub whose tenant must buy some or all of their beer and other drinks from the landlord, usually a pub company or brewery, or from a supplier the landlord names. A pub with no tie is often called a free house.
In practice
Definitions are easy. What matters is how the thing behaves in a real operation, and where it tends to go wrong.
The tie is part of the whole deal with the landlord, along with the rent and any support they give, so it has to be judged as a package. In England and Wales, pub companies with 500 or more tied pubs must follow the Pubs Code, a set of legal rules overseen by the Pubs Code Adjudicator. The law behind it says a tied tenant should be no worse off than if they were not tied. Smaller pub companies are not covered by the Code.
Comparing the rent and forgetting the drinks prices. A low rent can look like a good deal until you work out what the tied beer and cider cost you over a year against buying them freely. Work out your GP on the tied prices before you sign, not after.
Questions
Something here that doesn’t match what you’re seeing in your own business? That is usually worth a conversation rather than another article.
A tied pub is a pub whose tenant must buy some or all of their beer and other drinks from the landlord, usually a pub company or brewery, or from a supplier the landlord names. A pub with no tie is often called a free house. The tie is part of the whole deal with the landlord, along with the rent and any support they give, so it has to be judged as a package. In England and Wales, pub companies with 500 or more tied pubs must follow the Pubs Code, a set of legal rules overseen by the Pubs Code Adjudicator. The law behind it says a tied tenant should be no worse off than if they were not tied. Smaller pub companies are not covered by the Code.
Comparing the rent and forgetting the drinks prices. A low rent can look like a good deal until you work out what the tied beer and cider cost you over a year against buying them freely. Work out your GP on the tied prices before you sign, not after.
WHY Hospitality