What powers does the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) have to act against pubcos?
The OFT can order the Competition Commission (CC) to investigate companies or market sectors that it believes act in an uncompetitive way. The CC investigates and can order firms to make changes. Has the OFT been asked to investigate pub ownership in the past? Yes, most recently in 2002 the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) asked for a probe into the beer tie. The FSB believed tenants paid too much for beer and rent and received inadequate support from pubcos. It asked whether pubco/tenant agreements were anti-competitive and if companies abused their dominant position. The OFT said no — as they had in evidence to the Trade & In-dustry Select Committee Inquiry (TISC) into pubcos in 2004, and most recently in a letter to Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron. Who wants action against pubcos now and why? Leading the charge is the Fair Pint campaign group, which is believed to be backed by a wealthy benafactor. It has support from Farron and fellow Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland. Fair Pint’s stee
