alcohol wholesale?

[missacs1984]

when you own a licensed premises (e.g a club or pub, rather than a off licence) do you have to buy your alcohol from a brewery or alcohol wholesaler, or can you just get it from booker cash and carry for example? (obviously i mean bottles etc not draught)
Thanks for your help.

[Mailmutt]

Well, I know nothing of legalities, but (a) if it'syours, surely you'dbe free to buy from who you like and (b) the guvnor at my local, who IS supposed to buy from chain, often gets stuff from the cash and carry.

[missacs1984]

its just a pub near me (not one that i want to) was caught buying his stock from sainsburys when the cheap deals were on!! He got a big fine for that. he also got closed down a bit later for letting under age folk in, but it was a bit of a dodgy spot. but i'm just wondering if there are laws dictating where you buy from, obviously like you say, if you have a contract with a brewery, then you are probabily supposed to buy off them.

[ChuckFickens]

you say own.....

if you own it then get whatever your want from wherever you want.

if you are just a tenant in a licensed property (such as a brewery owned pub that you are the landlord off) then you are restricted by your agreement with the real owner as to where you can buy any stock.

if you're looking at running a licensed premises or already do you really shouldn't be asking this sort of question BTW.

[missacs1984]

i do not own a licenced premises of any kind. i was just asking for some information. and if asking for some information means that a shouldn't even think of owning my own licenced premises then so be it. but how would i ever know the answer if i didn't ask? no crystal ball syndrome here.

[Skyline D]

You can buy the alcohol from wherever you like and I've no idea why your local publican would have been fined for buying at Sainsbury's. I have several public houses as clients and have seen them buy alcohol from supermarkets from time to time when it was being sold more cheaply than the brewery would sell it.

[ChuckFickens]

sorry, it came across as a "first person" question.

OK you don't own it :)

the fine would have probably been from the brewery, getting closed down would have been a separate incident, but probably not helped by the fact that I doubt the brewery would back the landlord just after imposing a fine for buying unauthorised stock

[tamborine]

You get stock where you want for your own premises. 3L bottle of vodka @ �9 rrp �300 - that's profit!

[madmaggot]

If a pub is a 'free house' it means that it is not tied to a particular brewery and can sell any beer that the landlord chooses.