Robinsons Brewery have announced further support for their tenanted pub estate commending in January.
The brewery have been front-runners in financial support for their family of licensees foregoing £6.75m of rent, thus far as well as refunding all the costs of spoilt beer.
In a letter to their tenanted pubs, Managing Director (Pub Division), William Robinson, (pictured left with Oliver Robinson) wrote: 'We are realistic that arrival of the new variant will make this winter a more challenging time that any of us had ex pected a month ago, with that in mind, we have made two quick decisions which will support your businesses.
'Firstly we are delaying our annual price increase by a month, to March despite incurring extraordinary production and raw material price hikes. Secondly we will be reducing your rent in January by 10%.”
'Alongside this, the brewery intend to join others in pushing for more permanent government support. The company has written today to a number of MP’s to ask them to write to the Chancellor requesting both short-term and longer-term pub specific support.
'The requests include: To immediately introduce a targeted furlough scheme for hospitality; extend the VAT reduction to the end of 2022 and cancel business rates until April 2022 and removal the £110k cap. In addition to the above, in the longer term add further support by increasing the % reduction in draught beer duty which is due to commence in Feb 2023.
'We have supported our great pub estate thus far and will continue to support those who work with us. The financial stability of our extended family of tenanted licensees is crucial to plans for us to invest our way out of this pandemic, so we will continue to do what we can, but recognise that the government is going to have to step in too.'