Editor’s Viewpoint: Finally, Some Good News Worth Celebrating

By Peter Adams, Editor, CLH News.

We lead today with the headline “Significant Win for Hospitality” – and how I savoured those words. The sector, since the October budget and April’s tax hikes, has endured a torrid time of rising costs, staff lay-offs and closures.

As a solicitor once said to me many years ago when we were involved in a copyright infringement case: “we take our good news where we find it.”

So, it is rather refreshing to report on a positive change to the sector – the news that upward-only rent reviews in commercial leases are to be banned.

We here at CLH News have experience of that unfair clause. We had been at the same office premises for 23 years, 2000-2023, in Bournemouth town centre. The building was at only half empty with some units vacant for over 10 years, yet despite that our landlord wanted us to sign a new lease with a rent increase. Suffice to say we moved!

We are all operating and trading in a different world now. What was once acceptable before has little or no place in a modern world, and I feel that applies to commercial leases.

UKHospitality has long advocated for change. CEO Kate Nicolls said that “Unjust upward-only rent review clauses have been hitting hospitality businesses for years, making rents unnecessarily expensive. They have been punishing the high street and constraining investment, and it’s the right move for the Government to ban them completely.” She is absolutely right – change is long overdue.

When I was in operations back in the mid-1980s to mid-90s, I had to contend with another unfair law in commercial leases: the “Original Tenant Liability.” In 1991, my lease was expiring in my cellar bar/bistro, and I was negotiating a new 18-year lease.

I found out that under this term/clause I would be liable for all lease covenants (rent payments, repairs, etc.) for the entire duration of the lease term, even if I sold the business and assigned the lease to a new tenant.

This meant I remained responsible for any breaches of the lease by subsequent tenants, including defaults on rent or other obligations. A nonsense – 18 years with that hanging over my head!

And here’s the rub: I did sell the business and the new tenants did default 16 months later. (due to sadly a severe illness)

How did I get out of it? I refused to sign it.

I was prepared to walk away and cut my losses, so the landlord took out the “original tenant liability” and inserted a six-month non-refundable deposit in case of default.

Thankfully the original tenant liability clause was changed, and The Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 generally releases the original tenant from liability for future breaches of the lease upon assignment.

I would also draw your attention to another bit of good news, as seen on page 10: On Premise visits and spending moved upwards in May. CGA by NIQ’s latest On Premise Consumer Pulse Report reveals the research shows 92% of respondents had visited pubs, bars and restaurants in the month to late May – up by 3 percentage points month-on-month, and the Pulse’s highest point since November 2024. Again, a testament to the sector’s resilience!

I was delighted to have been invited to a Heineken launch at Pitcher & Piano Cornhill, London – a great event and an opportunity to discuss trends.

A pub our sales manager Dave often visits has a new landlord (who has several pubs) and he was speaking to him prior to the Heineken visit and asked about any notable trends he had seen.

The rise of low and no-alcohol came up, with what he said was a phenomenal increase this past year, plus he added great cider sales thanks to the glorious weather – long may it continue.

After months of reporting on challenges, closures and cost pressures, it’s genuinely uplifting to lead with positive developments. The hospitality sector has shown remarkable resilience through unprecedented challenges, and these green shoots of recovery – from legislative changes that level the playing field to consumer behaviour that shows renewed confidence – give us reason for cautious optimism.

The sector deserves this good news. More importantly, it deserves the chance to build on it.

I would encourage all our readers to follow us on X/Twitter @CLHNews and visit our website at www.catererlicensee.com to sign up for our twice weekly e-newsletter for all the latest news delivered directly to your inbox. I can always be contacted at edit@catererlicensee.com