E-Malt.com News article: 2659

UK: Britain's biggest pubs group Enterprise Inns has posted a first-half profit at the top end of forecasts. Its strong performance has continued into the second half, it says. The group, which owns about 9,000 pubs following its purchase of the Unique pub estate in March, said pre-tax profits rose 16% to £93.7m in the six months to end-March. Chief executive Ted Tuppen said he was comfortable with forecasts for £220m for full-year profit.

Enterprise also repeated that it was surprised a parliamentary committee had launched an investigation into the relationship between pub companies and their tenants. "Enterprise ...is surprised that widely practised commercial arrangements upheld in both UK and European Courts should again be the subject of an inquiry," the company said.

The Trade and Industry Select Committee has launched an inquiry after complaints that pub tenants were getting a raw deal from their landlords.

About half of Britain's 60,000 pubs are leased or tenanted - after Enterprise Inns, Punch Taverns is the next biggest landlord with over 7,000 pubs. "The priority for the group over the next 12 months is the successful integration of the Unique business", chairman Hubert Reid said. "Performance to date in the second half of the year has continued strongly."


19 May, 2004