Ei Group
Ei Group plc, formerly known as Enterprise Inns plc, is the largest pub company in the UK, with around 5,000 properties, predominantly run as leased and tenanted pubs. Ei Group plc is headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Stonegate Pub Company in March 2020. History The company was founded by Ted Tuppen, initially with 300 pubs from Bass, as Enterprise Inns in 1991. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. The group made a series of acquisitions including 1,864 former Laurel Pub Company pubs from Whitbread in 2002 and 4,054 pubs with the acquisition of the Unique Pub Company in 2004. Enterprise Inns had over 9,000 pubs on completion of the acquisition of the Unique Pub Company and it formed part of the FTSE100 Index at that time. However, the decline in the UK pub trade led to its removal from the FTSE100 in 2008. Due to its high level of debt the company stopped paying dividends to shareholders in 2009. Ted Tuppen stood down as Chief executive in February 2014 and Enterprise Inns rebranded to Ei Group in February 2017. In July 2019 Stonegate Pub Company announced its intention to acquire Ei Group for £1.27 billion. That same month and year, Stonegate pursued the acquisition of Ei Group in a £3 billion deal which will "add almost 4,000 new pubs to Stonegate Pub Company’s 765 existing locations". Operations The pubs are operated by tenants, which means that the company collects rent from individuals who operate and often live in the pubs. They also operate (in most, but not all cases) what is known as a beer tie. This means that tenants renting public houses from them are under contract to buy beer, ciders, alcopops and other alcoholic drinks from Enterprise Inns only. Under some leases tenants are required to also purchase other products, such as soft drinks, wines and spirits from Enterprise, although this is not as widespread as the beer tie. Reflections on business practice On 12 May 2009, The Guardian newspaper reported how "Enterprise Inns counts cost of bad pub landlords": the recession had forced the company to take action against more than 100 "poor quality and underperforming licensees" since last autumn. It is spending £1.4m a month on financial assistance to help those in distress, on top of the £700,000 a month cost of freezing the price of five lager and ale brands. Chief executive Ted Tuppen told The Guardian: "If people are genuinely struggling and will work with us, we are providing an awful lot of help". The cost of these programmes was however contributing to a slump in profits. On 13 May 2009, the House of Commons published a report regarding a monopolies inquiry into pub groups. The report "raises a series of questions about the pub company (pubco) tied pub business model and calls on the Government to act urgently, in particular, to refer the matter to the