PCA and Star Pubs court case ends in reduced fine from £2m to £1.25m

The Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) and Star Pubs & Bars have reached a settlement ending the litigation between them in the High Court.

As a result, Star’s fine for breaching the Pubs Code has been reduced from £2m to £1.25m, and the group will pay a contribution to the PCA’s legal costs.

Star, Heineken’s pubs arm, challenged the £2m financial penalty imposed by the PCA after the latter issued an investigation report on 14 October 2020 which found that Star had breached the Pubs Code. Star has accepted that it breached the Code in the manner set out in the report.

The PCA made eight recommendations aimed at improving processes and governance, and overall compliance with the Code, which Star has implemented.

Star will also pay a contribution to the PCA’s costs of conducting the investigation.

The Pubs Code was introduced in 2016 to give tenants in England and Wales running pubs owned by companies with 500 or more sites the chance to move away from rent-only contracts and tied leases that require them to buy a set amount of beer from their landlord. This was the first time the regulator had penalised one of the major brewers.

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