Pubs Code & Our Code

Pubs Code - England & Wales

As a landlord of more than 500 tied pubs, Star Pubs are covered by the regulations laid out in the Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016 which came into force for England and Wales on the 21st July 2016. The code is designed to protect the rights of tied tenants in England and Wales and is overseen by the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA).

The Pubs Code is based on the core principles of fair and lawful dealing between the Pub Company and licensee and that a tied tenant should be no worse off than a free of tie tenant. The PCA’s role is to oversee the operation of the Pubs Code, arbitrate disputes and investigate alleged breaches.

A copy of the regulations can be found here.

Under the Pubs Code, a tied tenant is entitled to request a Market Rent Only (MRO) rent assessment in certain circumstances (known as 'MRO trigger events'). This allows the tenant to assess whether having a free of tie agreement is right for them. A Q&A on Star Pubs’ approach to MRO is available here.

Further information on the role and responsibilities of the Pubs Code Adjudicator can be found on the PCA’s website here.

The Pubs Code Adjudicator office can be contacted in the following ways:

Complete an online enquiry form
Email: office@pubscodeadjudicator.gov.uk
Call 0800 528 8080 to request a call back
Send post to: Office of the Pubs Code Adjudicator, 4th Floor, 23 Stephenson Street, Birmingham, B2 4BJ, United Kingdom
To keep up to date with PCA news: Sign up to website email alerts or follow the PCA on X, Facebook and LinkedIn @pubscodepca

Compliance Report

Our Compliance Officer oversees our compliance with the Pubs Code and prepares an Annual Compliance Report which provides a detailed and accurate account of Star Pubs’ compliance with the code. Our report which covers the year ending 31st March 2024 can be found here.

Pubs Code - Scotland

The Scottish Pubs Code regulations govern the relationship between Scottish pub-owning businesses and their tied pub tenants. It provides tied tenants with certain rights and sets out procedures that must be followed.

A copy of the Scottish Pubs Code can be found here.

Further information on the role and responsibilities of the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator can be found on their website here.

We have a FAQ on the Scottish Pubs Code which can be found here.

The Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator office can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: pubscodeadjudicator@gov.scot
Call 0300 244 1225
Send post to: Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD
To keep up to date with the Scottish Pubs Code by visiting the government website here.

Working with Star

We pride ourselves on developing strong and lasting partnerships with our licensees, built on trust and respect. Even before the introduction of the Pubs Code, we strived to work to the self-regulatory Industry Framework Code which was underpinned by the values and processes of our own code of practice.

We currently have codes of practice for both Scotland and England & Wales. These are based on the respective Pubs Codes and set out our own internal processes which we consider to be best practice. These guides outline how we work together with you at key points during your application and lease. It aims to give everyone a jargon-free understanding of how we work with our lessees and tenants and sets out our best practice standards.

The guides can be found here:

England & Wales - Working with Star
Scotland - Working with Star Scotland

We would always encourage our licensees and tenants to take independent, professional and qualified advice from accredited trade bodies in relation to their individual rights under this legislation. Guidance is also available on the BII website here.

The Star Pubs Code Compliance Officer is Lynne Winter. More information on Lynne can be found here. Alternatively if you have any Pubs Code questions you can contact us at pubscode@starpubs.co.uk.

Complaints and Grievances

At Star Pubs we are committed to meeting the obligations set out in Working with Star and the Industry Framework Code. We take any complaints seriously and have a structured and robust grievance procedure in place should any of our lessees or tenants feel that we have failed to meet our responsibilities under these Codes. Find out more about how to raise a grievance with Star Pubs.

Cask Beer - Sediment Allowances and Saleable Volume

Please be aware the yield (volume of beer purchased compared to the volume sold) for cask (handpull) beers can be affected by sediment that is the by-product of conditioning beer in the container. This sediment remains in the container after the beer is conditioned and is not therefore saleable to customers.

The sediment remaining in the container will vary by different cask brands, and has been recognised for many years by brewers and HMRC as a feature of the cask ale beer market. Therefore, each brewer negotiates by brand an allowance (a proportion of the volume in a cask container), on which beer duty is not paid to reflect the unsaleable nature of the sediment. When it comes to selling cask beer to your customers the same principal applies that some of the beer in the container is unsaleable.

To assist you in calculating projected beer sales, margins and yields, our price list contains details of the volume on which duty has been paid by the brewers making the cask beer. These are the most up to date details that have been provided to us but please note that these sediment allowances can change from time to time. A copy of the current Star price list can be found here.

When calculating rent, profit & loss Star Pubs factor cask sediment allowances in to the profitability of the pub by measuring the impact on expected sales and profitability through a wastage allowance. When presented with a rent calculation this should be read in conjunction with the waste calculation document.

Should you require further information please ask your Business Development Manager.