A CORNISH brewery has said it will stand by its self-employed publicans in the South West.
The St Austell Brewery has 147 establishments which have tenants or lessees.
The company says it lost 90 percent of its income overnight when pubs were ordered to close on March 20.
Kevin Georgel, St Austell Brewery’s chief executive said: ’Our tenants continue to be our absolute focus and priority at this time. We have been building on these trusted and supportive relationships for over 169 years and have no intention of stepping away now, no matter how difficult the circumstances get.
’We initially deferred all tenant rent payments due in April and have subsequently cancelled rent from March 21 until the end of April.
’We’re responding to each tenant’s individual circumstances and looking into the levels of Government support available for them on a case-by-case basis.
’We applaud the Government’s Job Retention Scheme – which allowed our tenants to furlough their staff – as well as the £25,000 grants that have been made available for pubs with a rateable value under £51,000. Where we, and the wider industry, desperately need further Government support is for those businesses above that £51,000 rateable value. We believe they’ve been unfairly excluded from the grant scheme.’
Georgel continues: ’I’ve been inspired to see how our tenants have adapted to the crisis, many of whom are running innovative and successful takeaway services for their locals. Several have also signed up to mypubshop.com, of which we’re a proud supporter. It’s a click and collect platform that enables pubs to sell essential items, such as eggs, bread and milk, to their local communities.’
With around nine in ten of its own employees now on furlough, the family-owned brewery says its board and senior team have taken salary reductions of up to 20 percent.