A PUB landlord has described 10 years of financial struggle as a tenant with a pubco.

Chris Pobjoy, former land- lord of The Romans pub, in South- wick, said he invested £200,000 of his own money into the Punch Tavern pub – but earned less than the mini- mum wage. He has now taken over at The Bevy, the new community- owned pub soon to open in Hillside, Bevendean.

His comments were made after the government passed an amendment to the Small Business Bill last week which will allow land- lords tied to pub companies to buy beer on the open market and negotiate rent.

Mr Pobjoy said: “I’ve got a really good insight having worked on both sides.

“It’s really interesting being able to buy beer on the open market – I’m aghast at the difference in pricing.

“I’m able to shop around and get it 40% cheaper. “When pubcos complain it
will cause closures and job losses it’s the same as bankers complaining they need to give out bonuses. It’s just wrong.”

Mr Pobjoy said he paid double the market rates for rent and insurance to Punch – which he described as an “unsustainable” situation.

He said he offered to buy The Romans for its market rate of £550,000, but Punch wanted £780,000 – the amount it would be worth if con- verted into a residential property.

Although Punch did invest some money in a refit Mr Pobjoy said he had to accept a rent hike as a result.

He added: “I was investing £12,000 per year on the building, plus £80,000 on a refit. “In real terms that’s £200,000 of my money invested in a building I didn’t own, and I barely broke even.

“I think it’s the right decision to change the law but it doesn’t mean the pubcos won’t try and sell offmore pubs.

“The only way to protect them is to register them as a community asset.”

A spokesman for Punch Taverns said: “Mr Pobjoy was the tenant at The Romans until October 2013.

“During that period he enjoyed substantial support including a refur- bishment of the property funded by Punch Taverns.

“Mr Pobjoy assigned his lease in October 2013 to a successful local licensee who is operating the pub pro- ductively and profitably on the same terms and conditions.”