Frederic Robinson, the Stockport-based brewer and pub operator, is to exit the managed house model because of rising costs and a lack of scale.
The business, which has around 400 pubs, will transfer its remaining eight managed pubs into its tenanted arm.
William Robinson, tied-trade director, said: “You really need at least 40 or 50 pubs to justify the operations system you need to run a managed house estate. Having eight just doesn’t make sense. It’s very costly and getting costlier.”
Robinson’s follows a string of other regional brewers, such as Charles Wells and Everards, in withdrawing from the managed-pub model.
Negotiations are currently underway for the eight managers affected over tenancy agreements.
