Giles Thorley, chairman of Punch Taverns, said the company could have done a better job at helping struggling licensees.
The company has been hit by claims that many of its licensees pay too much for beer and rent, and Thorley said the Office of Fair Trading had recently asked it to supply details of complaints by Punch publicans, after the Federation of Small Businesses called for an inquiry into the leased and tenanted pub sector.
Thorley said the OFT had asked Punch in recent weeks for a breakdown of complaints by licensees over the past year. He said there were about 60 written complaints.
The evidence of discontent was "a little bit mixed", he said: "There is evidence of a lot of retailers who have done very well. We can never get it right with all people."
He admitted the company could have done a better job at helping struggling licensees. "We have not been very good at helping out those who have been suffering. We have been working much more closely to try to solve these problems."
Thorley said he thought it unlikely that the OFT would seek to alter the beer tie. "There's no complacency on our part at all," he said, but "the industry has been investigated at various stages, an inordinate number of times."
Punch is still a big borrower, with net debt of £1.4bn at August 17. However, it said yesterday it has started a programme of rolling revaluations of its properties, with 804 pubs were revalued during the period, producing a surplus of 13% on their previous book value.
Punch is encouraging its publicans to sign a new lease that will increase their rent, but will also increase the discount on their beer. It said 799 had signed up for the new deal, which also gave Punch a share of slot machine income.
Thorley distanced himself yesterday the occasional blunt speaking of Hugh Osmond, his predecessor as chairman of Punch chairman. He said he though the sparring between Osmond and Tim Martin, the chief executive of JD Wetherspoon, over licensing reform and the leased pub sector "detracted from the actual underlying business. I just thought it was unnecessary."
Osmond played down his run-ins with Martin yesterday, saying there was no personal animosity.
Punch said yesterday that its chief executive, Stephen Lambert, was retiring from the company with immediate effect in what it described as a "natural progression", with Thorley due to become chief executive and Phil Cox, currently deputy chairman, becoming non-executive chairman. However, Thorley said the boardroom changes were also designed to make the business more attractive to institutional investors. He said: "Some companies won't buy shares unless you have a conventional board structure. There are one or two who are taking a strong stance on corporate governance."
Lambert signed an agreement with Punch in April that entitled him to a salary of £30,000 and a bonus that was calculated to total between £150,000 and £300,000. He also gained, from the flotation, about 800,000 share options exercisable at 192p and 205p.
Punch shares closed yesterday at 228p, down 2p.
The company has been hit by claims that many of its licensees pay too much for beer and rent, and Thorley said the Office of Fair Trading had recently asked it to supply details of complaints by Punch publicans, after the Federation of Small Businesses called for an inquiry into the leased and tenanted pub sector.
Thorley said the OFT had asked Punch in recent weeks for a breakdown of complaints by licensees over the past year. He said there were about 60 written complaints.
The evidence of discontent was "a little bit mixed", he said: "There is evidence of a lot of retailers who have done very well. We can never get it right with all people."
He admitted the company could have done a better job at helping struggling licensees. "We have not been very good at helping out those who have been suffering. We have been working much more closely to try to solve these problems."
Thorley said he thought it unlikely that the OFT would seek to alter the beer tie. "There's no complacency on our part at all," he said, but "the industry has been investigated at various stages, an inordinate number of times."
Punch is still a big borrower, with net debt of £1.4bn at August 17. However, it said yesterday it has started a programme of rolling revaluations of its properties, with 804 pubs were revalued during the period, producing a surplus of 13% on their previous book value.
Punch is encouraging its publicans to sign a new lease that will increase their rent, but will also increase the discount on their beer. It said 799 had signed up for the new deal, which also gave Punch a share of slot machine income.
Thorley distanced himself yesterday the occasional blunt speaking of Hugh Osmond, his predecessor as chairman of Punch chairman. He said he though the sparring between Osmond and Tim Martin, the chief executive of JD Wetherspoon, over licensing reform and the leased pub sector "detracted from the actual underlying business. I just thought it was unnecessary."
Osmond played down his run-ins with Martin yesterday, saying there was no personal animosity.
Punch said yesterday that its chief executive, Stephen Lambert, was retiring from the company with immediate effect in what it described as a "natural progression", with Thorley due to become chief executive and Phil Cox, currently deputy chairman, becoming non-executive chairman. However, Thorley said the boardroom changes were also designed to make the business more attractive to institutional investors. He said: "Some companies won't buy shares unless you have a conventional board structure. There are one or two who are taking a strong stance on corporate governance."
Lambert signed an agreement with Punch in April that entitled him to a salary of £30,000 and a bonus that was calculated to total between £150,000 and £300,000. He also gained, from the flotation, about 800,000 share options exercisable at 192p and 205p.
Punch shares closed yesterday at 228p, down 2p.
