Coinslot May 20 - May 26, 2011 INDUSTRY AMUSEMENTS LEISURE B2B COMMENT NEWSWEEK


CATEGORY C The essential guide to Cat C: the latest views, trends and machines. 12


AWP and beer tie to be re-investigated


The Business Innovation and Skills Committee is set to put pubcos to the sword once again after failing to alter their business in line with government recommendations. PUB INQUIRY


he pubcos’ extended period of probation could soon be at an end, with the announcement late last week that MPs will reopen an inquiry into the way that the business is run. As well as having major repercus- sions for the industry’s wider issues like its code of practice and the treatment of publicans, the Business Innovation and Skills Committee (BIS) investigation will also impact the way that machine supply takes place. It’s expected that the situation will be observed with a sharp eye for detail by the operating sector. For many critics of the pubco


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model, this latest inquiry repre- sents a final opportunity for


pubcos to take on board a raft of recommendations arising from three select committee inquiries that were held across a six-year period. Greg Mullholland MP, chair of


the All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group, is one of many who believe that the pubcos seem ‘unable, or maybe unwilling’ to do what has been asked of them in each of those earlier inquiries. “The provation is soon to come to an end,” he wrote in the Publican’s Morning Advertiser this week. “If, at that time, pubcos are not doing what they’ve been told they must - the government must stick to its promise and introduce a legally binding code of practice that


rebalances the tenant-pubco rela- tionship for good.” While the official details of this


new investigation have yet to be firmed up, it’s likely that key fig- ures from the industry will be asked to give oral evidence on June 28 and July 6. Machine supply will be among those topics up for discussion, with BIS aiming to find out if firms have reached a situa- tion whereby AWP suppliers are now being treated more fairly and tenants given a genuinely free-of- tie option. In 2010, the committee wrote


in its findings: “Removal of the AWP income from the divisible balance is a belated step in the right direc- tion. To take 50 per cent of profit


Case and Shipley get on their bikes for charity


HELP FOR HEROES Two well known personalities from the


amusement industry are counting down the days to the start of a five-day marathon bike ride around the battle- fields of France. Richard Case (Case Con- cepts) and Jim Shipley (Shipley Leisure) are joining 300 other cyclists for the ‘Big Battlefield Bike Ride’ hoping to raise over £1m for Help for Heroes (H4H), the char- ity that supports injured members of the armed forces. Setting off on June 5 from Southwick House in Portsmouth, the cyclists will cross the Channel to France and ride a chal- lenging route through some of the most well known and poignant battlefield sites along the coast of France, including the beaches used during the D-Day landings of World War II. Along the way they will be laying wreaths and remembering those who died before reaching Paris where they will cycle down the Champs Elysées and finish under the Eiffel Tower. Case and Shipley have been training


hard, recently completing the Way of the Roses cycle ride from Morecambe to Bridlington, a total of 170 miles in two and a half days, in preparation for the five day ride which will see them cycling between 45 and 75 miles each day. A joint statement from the two opera- tors read: “It is a real privilege to be raising


RICHARD CASE AND JIM SHIPLEY WILL


TAKE PART IN THE BIG BATTLEFIELD BIKE RIDE NEXT MONTH


as part of the machine tie and then 50 per cent of the remaining profit as part of the divisible balance is totally unacceptable.” Additionally, it warned: “The


industry must be aware that this is its last opportunity for self-reg- ulated reform. If it cannot deliver this time, then government inter- vention will be necessary. It has until June 2011. The pub industry has been found wanting now on two occasions by committees of the House of Commons. If it fails to deliver on its promises by June 2011, it should be in no doubt what the reaction will be.” With that deadline now loom-


ing large on the horizon, it appears that the pub sector will be subject


AWP AND BEER TIES ARE TO BE TESTED AGAIN BY THE BIS COMMITTEE


to a shake-up not of its own doing. News of a reopening of the pubco inquiry will be welcomed by many operators, if for no other reason than to place renewed pressure on pubcos to be more transparent about their business and open up greater choice for licensees.


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funds for this noble cause. Any pain we feel will be numbed by the presence of wounded servicemen and the families of those killed or wounded. We are so grate- ful to the many people from across the industry that have already contributed and are open to further sponsorship in sup- port of our efforts.” The Big Battlefield Bike Ride takes place from June 5-11 and readers who would like to support the pair should make their donations by either credit card or debit card so that Gift Aid can be claimed back by the charity at www.bmy- charity.com/richardandjim


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