Is 'Time Up' for Northern Irish pubs?

COUNTY DOWN pub owners are paying 40 per cent more to breweries for their kegs of beer than their UK counterparts, Down News can exclusively reveal.

As the pub trade experience one of their hardest pre-Christmas trading in decades many are now being forced to lay-off staff or cut trading hours as their situation worsens, writes Anne O'Hare.

Gerard Breen, proprietor of The Central Bar on Church Street, voices anger over price disparity.

Furthermore, Pubs of Ulster, who represent the pub trade, say a quarter are now facing closure due to lower cost alcohol sold from larger supermarkets. Down News investigated the price deficit on a keg of UK brewed beer.

According to invoices received from one family-owned hotel in Eastbourne, a price of an 11 gallon keg of popular brand beer costs upwards of £82 plus VAT. However, most County Down pub owners claim, for the same beer brewed in Northern Ireland they are charged £135 plus vat. A price difference of £53 more expensive for each keg of beer purchased in Ulster and equates to a price hike of almost 40 per cent.

Gerard Breen, owner of The Central Bar on Church Street, explains he can now buy beer cheaper in the larger supermarket stores then he can at wholesale. Voicing his anger at the growing problem, he said: “I have been here 26 years and this is the worst trading situation I have seen.

“When I talk to other people in the trade they tell me the same story. We're all struggling to keep the doors open. I have been forced to take Sky Television out because my drop in profit will not cover all my overheads. I realise, I will not attract the same crowd during major sporting events but I have no option but to take a further hit. “I'm not knocking the small off-sales, it's Asda and Lidl that are doing the damage. I am aware Publicans can buy beer over from England cheaper but our brewery won't come to clean the beer lines for us. So we're stuck.”

As two thirds of pubs across Northern Ireland also see business fall in the last year, Pubs of Ulster, say a publican can now expect to make just under eight pence in every £3 pint sold. Mr Breen added: “I would appeal to our MLA's to lobby on our behalf and fight to regulate prices. It is unjust and it makes publicans feel like second class citizens.”

Colin Neill, chief executive of Pubs of Ulster said: “We are very aware of the difficulties being experienced right across the industry. “In this particular situation, we support the right of independent publicans to purchase from any and all legitimate sources whilst also recognising the legal rights of suppliers in respect of contractual obligations where they own the dispensing equipment. “We will continue to provide all possible assistance to our members and represent their concerns in our meetings with suppliers.”