The latest edition of Private Eye (1248) has a good article on pub ties and the sheer greed of the pubcos.
"An Eye series earlier this year spelled out how the operation of the "tie" by pubcos such as Punch and Enterprise Inns, which force pub tenants to buy their beer at high prices at the same time as forcing up rents to the point that it is almost impossible for tenants to make a living - had done so much damage to pubs."
"Hughes [judge adjudicating on the Brooker case] rounded on Enterprise in his judgement and criticised it for suggesting that "the unemployed with their redundancy cheques might step in to fill the void (as tenants) created by the credit crunch."
That para just shows how cynical the pubcos are: "oh, never mind the tenants going bust, there'll be loads of suckers along with their fat redundo cheques to take their place" (my quote)
Seems the tide may be turning. The pubcos are in massive debt and about to go bang. Question is though, what will replace them? Yet more greedy asset-strippers?
Answers on a postcard.