Lessees are charging 78p more for a pint of standard lager on average compared to managed houses and free-of-tie licensees, according to research by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).
The revelation was included in the ALMR’s submission to government ahead of the Pre-Budget report on December 9.
However, the 78p figure contrasts the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) report on the industry, which claimed drinkers were only paying an extra 8p in tied pubs and most commentators put the figure at somewhere between 30 and 40p.
Kate Nicholls, the ALMR’s head of communications, said: “What this does show is there a significant lack of rigour in analysis by the OFT. This research was in response to the OFT analysis because no one could believe the 8p figure.”
Nicholls said that managed houses were charging £1.90 for a pint, while many lessees were charging an average of £2.80.
However the ALMR did not give a sample of those involved for its research.
Mark Hastings, director of communications at the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “It is widely recognised that CGA’s quarterly survey of pricing in 4,000 pubs and the Office of National Statistics regular pricing surveys among many thousands of businesses provide far more robust, comprehensive and authoritative data both on beer prices in pubs.”
