Wetherspoon breaks ties with Heineken after supplier dispute
BRITISH pub chain JD Wetherspoon announced yesterday that it would no longer sell Heineken products at any of its 926 pubs across the UK and Ireland, following a dispute between the companies.
The Watford-based pub operator said the Dutch brewer had refused to supply its own-brand lager and Murphy’s Stout to Wetherspoon’s new pub in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, and had demanded personal guarantees from Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson in order to supply any other products for the new Irish pub.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: “We have been trading with Heineken for 35 years and they have never requested personal guarantees before.”
Wetherspoon has been selling Heineken and Murphy’s at under €3 (£2.40) a pint in its first pub in Ireland, The Three Tun Tavern at Blackrock, as compared to an average price in Irish pubs of about €5.