Wetherspoon ends drinks deal with Heineken after supply row
Wetherspoon is waving bye-bye to Heineken and will pull the brewer's products from all of its 926 pubs, following a fall-out over pricing in Ireland.
Wetherspoon said on Tuesday that the Dutch brewer had refused to supply Heineken lager and Murphy's stout to its new pub in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
The group also said that Heineken had wanted personal guarantees from chief executive John Hutson before it would supply any other drinks.
But the pub giant had already been treating customers to Heineken lager and Murphy's stout at a discount of around 40 per cent at its first Irish pub in Black rock, Dublin.
Wetherspoon's chairman Tim Martin said:
We have been trading with Heineken for 35 years and they have never requested personal guarantees before.
It’s obstructive to do so now, especially when we made record profits of around £80 million last year.
The refusal to supply Heineken lager and Murphy’s just before the opening of our new pub in Dun Laoghaire, which represents an investment by us of nearly four million euros, is unacceptable and hard to understand.
The group, which last year said it planned to open around 30 pubs in the Republic of Ireland, is also unable to sell Guinness there following a spat with drinks group Diageo.
However Heineken has commented saying that it is taking steps to resolve the bust-up.
A spokesman for Heineken said:
We are aware of the comments made by JD Wetherspoon and its Chairman this morning.
Heineken UK has had a long standing and successful relationship with JDW in the UK market over a 35 year period, and it is unfortunate that commercial issues in Ireland between Heineken Ireland and JD Wetherspoon have led to the current situation.
We are seeking a resolution as soon as possible, and it is not our intention to comment in any further detail at this point