Greene King Pub Partners’ tied tenants throughout Scotland will receive a 90% rent discount for the 16-day closure period as part of a move where any pub in its estate that has to close under a government lockdown will receive the same rent discount while closed, for up to four weeks. If they are still closed after four weeks, this will be reviewed and balanced against any additional financial support that may have been announced by the government.
At the very least tied pub tenants will receive at least a 40% rent discount up until Christmas, bringing Greene King’s estimated financial support for its 975 tied tenants to more than £25m since the Covid-19 pandemic closed UK pubs.
The new support is backdated to 27 September and is tiered as follows:
- From 27 September 2020 to 24 October 2020 tied partners will receive a rent credit of 50%
- From 25 October 2020 to 21 November 2020 tied partners will receive a rent credit of 45%
- From 22 November 2020 to 26 December 2020 tied partners will receive a rent credit of 40%
An existing discount on barrels purchased from Greene King will now also run until 27 March 2021, with tied tenants receiving a trade credit of £35 per barrel.
Once this next wave of support is coming to an end there will be a review of whether additional support is required into 2021.
Greene King Pub Partners managing director Wayne Shurvinton said, “The new measures announced in Scotland, which effectively close down pubs, are devastating for us and our tenants. Those in England now also have the prospect of further shutdowns in the weeks ahead.
“This additional rent support for our tenants shows our commitment to supporting UK pubs as we all try to weather this storm together. We understand that firm and decisive action is needed to tackle the threat of Covid-19, however to impose additional restrictions on an entire industry without adequate financial support from the government puts hundreds of businesses in a precarious position and leaves thousands of livelihoods at risk.”