Tenants of a pub group controlled by two of Britain’s richest men are mulling legal action over rent demands.
Billionaire investors David and Simon Reuben face a rebellion by 250 tenants after their Wellington Pub Company offered to scrap or lower rents for nine months – but only if tenants agree to extend their leases by five years.
Turning the screw: Publicans say they feel under pressure as they cannot afford to pay rent while deprived of income
The publicans say they feel pressured to accept as they cannot afford to pay rent while deprived of income, and are considering a class action against Wellington.
A source said: ‘Wellington is securing for itself an additional five years of inflated rental income. To withhold rent support for Covid-affected tenants unless they agree to such a reversionary lease is extortion.’
Other pub chains, such as Shepherd Neame and Greene King, have waived rents or cut them by 90 per cent if pubs are shut.
The Reuben brothers have an estimated wealth of £16billion. Their portfolio includes aviation firms and Doncaster and Chepstow racecourses.
Tenant Steve Porter, who runs the Shipwright’s Arms in Shaldon, Devon, said he was getting ‘further into debt’, with requests for rent support unanswered. In December, Wellington increased his annual rent by £400.
He said: ‘We are dealing with landlords with no scruples and no morals.’
Wellington declined to comment. It previously said in October last year it had agreed rent concessions with over half its tenants, alongside ‘an extended lease agreement’.
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