Requirement to offer a guest beer agreement
66.Paragraph 4 states that the Scottish Pubs Code must require pub-owning businesses to offer their tenants the opportunity to sell at least one guest beer of the tenant’s choosing. A tenant can change the guest beer as often as they choose. If a tenant accepted this offer, they would be able to source, stock and sell a guest beer, i.e. a beer other than those they are contractually obliged to buy from their pub-owning business. If accepted, the guest beer arrangement would therefore form part of the contractual arrangement between the tenant and the pub-owning business. Further details about the guest beer right are to be set out in the code.
67.The guest beer arrangement is unrelated to the market rent only provisions in the Act (see below) and any tied tenants that take up the guest beer arrangement opportunity will remain tied premises as per their contract with their pub-owning business.