MAKING THIS A SMOOTH PROCESS FOR EVERYONE

Transcription

1 GUIDE TO LEAVING YOUR PUB MAKING THIS A SMOOTH PROCESS FOR EVERYONE VERSION 1.0 OCTOBER 2012

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 1 LEAVING YOUR PUB Introduction When can you leave? Surrendering your Agreement Your formal Surrender Letter getting it right 3 2 BEFORE YOU LEAVE Schedule of Dilapidations Energy Efficiency Survey Making arrangements to leave Viewings 4 3 LEADING UP TO CHANGE DAY What you prepare and provide prior to Change Day 5 4 THE CHANGE DAY What you must provide on Change Day 6 5 WHAT BELHAVEN PROVIDES THROUGH 7 THE CHANGE PROCESS 5.1 Prior to leaving On Change Day After you have left 7 PLEASE NOTE In all circumstances you should use this as a guide only and always seek independent professional advice. Your Agreement and our Code of Practice provide more information. The terms of your Agreement take precedence over any advice provided in this Guide. USING THIS DOCUMENT Throughout these pages we have highlighted the difference between a Tenancy and Lease where relevant. We use the word Licensee to refer to both a Tenant and a Lessee. All costs are shown excluding VAT. VAT will be charged at the appropriate rate where applicable. Costs may change before a reprint of this document, we will ensure you are made aware of changes in writing. TENANCY Information for Tenancy Agreements. LEASE Information for Lease Agreements. 2 BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub

3 1: LEAVING YOUR PUB 1.1: INTRODUCTION This Guide outlines what happens when you leave your pub and your Agreement then ceases. Whether you are leaving your pub at the end of your Agreement or before the term has ended, it can be a complex process. It is vital that you are fully-prepared and make sure that you understand what s expected of you. This will help to keep your costs to a minimum and also make it easier for the next Licensee to take on your pub after you ve gone. 1.2: WHEN CAN YOU LEAVE? Your Agreement will detail when you are able to leave your pub. The Belhaven Pubs Code of Practice provides full details of this process in Section 9.1. You do not have the right to surrender your Agreement early. In very extenuating circumstances and at our discretion, we may allow you to surrender your Agreement early. There will be a charge for this which could be as much as one year s rent and will not be less than six months rent. The charge for Operator s Agreements will be the rent for the remaining term. For ill health the costs may be less. You will be notified by your Business Development Manager of the charges and these will be deducted from your Final Statement. 1.3: SURRENDERING YOUR AGREEMENT STAGE 1: You surrender your Agreement in writing. STAGE 2: We write to you confirming receipt of your Surrender Letter. STAGE 3: Your Business Development Manager will visit you within 28 days to complete a Licensee Exit Visit. This will confirm all exit costs to you and the exit deal. STAGE 4: We will send you a formal letter confirming the visit and what was agreed. 1.4: YOUR FORMAL SURRENDER LETTER GETTING IT RIGHT To start the leaving process outlined above, you must prepare a Surrender Letter to confirm that you are intending to leave your pub. This needs to be signed by all parties on your Agreement before it can be accepted. Your Letter should be sent by Registered Post or Recorded Delivery to your Business Development Manager at Belhaven Leased Pubs, I Logie Road, Causewayhead, Stirling, Stirlingshire FK9 5JU, or you may present the letter in person to your Business Development Manager. BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub 3

4 2: BEFORE YOU LEAVE 2.1: SCHEDULE OF DILAPIDATIONS Before you leave, a Chartered Surveyor will visit and prepare a Schedule of Dilapidations this confirms what repairs you need to do before you leave. The cost for the Schedule is detailed in our Guide to Charges and is charged to your Trade Account. You will be given sufficient notice of the survey which we will undertake not less than 4 weeks before your Agreement ends. The completed Schedule will be posted to you and your Business Development Manager will also receive a copy. If you do not agree with the Schedule, you must contact your Business Development Manager as soon as possible in writing, detailing what you disagree with, and why. Your Business Development Manager and a Belhaven Property Surveyor will then visit you to discuss the Schedule and if we agree that part of the Schedule of Dilapidations is not attributable to you, we will write to confirm this before you leave your pub. No charge will be made to your Trade Account for any items/repairs/redecoration that we have agreed to remove. Before you leave your pub, a Chartered Surveyor, Business Development Manager or Agent of the Company will undertake a further inspection to sign off the completed works in respect of your Schedule of Dilapidations. Following this inspection, charges to be made to your Trade Account for dilapidations that remain outstanding will be highlighted. If we cannot agree on the level of dilapidations applicable to your pub, our current Tenancy Agreements include a provision for us to serve a Repairs Notice on you, specifying all outstanding defects. You will have 2 months to comply with this Notice, or less if you are leaving your pub sooner. If you fail to comply, we have the right to carry out any outstanding work and recharge any costs to you. Any recharges would then be recoverable as a debt. Failure to pay may result in legal action. In the event of any dispute between us to the extent and nature of the dilapidations, you may refer the matter in writing in the first instance to Pub Partners Rent and Re-charges Team. If you are not satisfied with the explanation/justification you receive, you can refer the matter to us through our Complaints Process (see our Code of Practice, section 11.1). If your pub is part of the Independence region and if you are leaving because we have served you notice because your pub is being sold, we will not produce a Schedule of Dilapidations. LEASE For FRI Leases, new Lease Agreements will describe the extent to which the Lease places obligations on you to maintain and repair the property and the condition in which the pub should be returned to the Company at the end of the Lease. Our Lease Agreements are Put and Keep. STAGE 1: A Surveyor visits your pub They will discuss the Schedule of Dilapidations and agree it with you. A copy is sent to Belhaven, your Business Development Manager and you. STAGE 2: You must make good the repairs listed on the agreed Schedule of Dilapidations STAGE 3: Surveyor or Agent of Belhaven revisits your pub Up to 10 days prior to leaving, a Surveyor or Agent of Belhaven will revisit your pub to inspect agreed repairs. An updated Schedule of Dilapidations will be issued to you to reflect the repairs completed and those outstanding which you will be charged for. STAGE 4: Change Day If all repairs have been completed your Fidelity Bond will be released within 28 days after you have left the pub. If repairs remain outstanding the appropriate costs will be deducted from your Bond. 2.2: ENERGY EFFICIENCY SURVEY An energy efficiency consultant will be in touch to arrange an Energy Performance Certificate. The cost of this survey will be paid for by Belhaven. 2.3: MAKING ARRANGEMENTS TO LEAVE Your Business Development Manager will contact you to discuss the arrangements for leaving the pub in more detail. 2.4: VIEWINGS You will need to provide assistance with viewings by prospective Licensees (if appropriate). 4 BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub

5 3: LEADING UP TO CHANGE DAY 3.1 WHAT YOU PREPARE AND PROVIDE PRIOR TO THE CHANGE DAY A property in repair and decoration in accordance with your Agreement and defined in the Guide to Maintenance and Service. An Inventory Valuation of your Fixtures and Fittings prepared by a Licensed Property Valuer or Broker. An undertaking that no items appearing on the Inventory are on lease or hire but are owned outright by you. An undertaking that no items appearing on the Inventory will be removed from the premises either before or on the Change Day. Confirmation that all rubbish and non Inventory items will be removed from the premises before or on the Change Day, otherwise a charge for removal will be made by us. The property needs to be clean and clear. No more than one week s supply of wet stock. An undertaking that a licensed property Valuer and Stocktaker will be in attendance on the Change Day. Payment of all debts and charges owed to Belhaven. An undertaking in writing that no objections will be raised to the Licence application made by the in-going Licensee or an agent of their company. Confirmation that all the utility supply companies and the rating authority have been notified and final accounts requested and all outstanding bills have been paid. All Licensing Due Diligence registers with any action plans with Local Authorities. Historic CCTV coverage up to 30 days previous. Private accommodation must be clean, tidy, clear and in full working order. Details of current trading levels. Details of current suppliers. Advance bookings reservations and deposits, plus names, addresses, phone numbers and amounts collected/charged. Website and intellectual property rights the website domain name, addresses and membership of any bookings/reservations websites should be proved as these are likely to be included in the business transfer or sale. Vending and other machines, TVs, games and other equipment lease terms and conditions etc. Local maintenance contracts. Licensing Information including PubWatch details and any local resident issues.. Employees details TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) Regulations These came into force in April 2006 and place responsibility on both the transferor (present employer: you) and the transferee (new employer). At least a fortnight before a transfer of a business takes place, you must pass on certain information in writing to the transferee. It is important that you arrange to meet and consult with all staff before leaving the premises and that you provide the following information to the new Licensee: - name, address and date of birth of all employees - details of when employment commenced - job title and duties - rate of pay - pay intervals (hourly, weekly, monthly etc) - breakdown of hours of work - any outstanding holiday entitlement - details of holiday entitlement and when holiday year commences - any break in employment - all employees' terms and conditions - details of any pension scheme in operation - sickness scheme - details of any staff on long term sick/maternity leave - details of service with previous employers which count - any grievance and disciplinary action that has taken place over the past two years - any court or tribunal cases from the last two years or any possible outstanding case that you consider could be brought. - any collective agreement that will have effect after the transfer (this might be in place when a managed house transfers to Leased). - it is also important to provide details of any staff training achievements. If the required information is not made available two weeks before the change over, the in-going Lessee can take the outgoing one to a tribunal. Beware, the award is a minimum of 500 per employee. A transferor or transferee will be held jointly responsible for the failure to consult with employees representatives, Trade Union officials or, if not available, then all staff. A decision by an appeal tribunal ruled that the maximum award should be thirteen weeks pay for failure to consult with employees in a transfer. BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub 5

6 4: THE CHANGE DAY 4.1: WHAT YOU MUST PROVIDE ON CHANGE DAY Your Business Development Manager, a Property Surveyor or an agent of Belhaven will review the Schedule of Dilapidations with you. Any items still in need of repair, decoration or replacement on Change Day will be charged to your Trade Account. You will also need to have your Health & Safety file to hand as the Business Development Manager will need to see or collect the following: Fire Risk Assessment Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) test certificate Gas safety certificate (equipment) Chimney sweep certificate for any active chimneys from a member of the National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS ) or Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps (GMCS) Extract vent cleaning certificate from a member of the Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association (HVCA) Consent to Discharge certificate for sewage treatment plant, where appropriate Periodic Inspection Reporting (PIR) for electrical installation if your Agreement does not include a Maintenance & Service Plan Gas safety certificate CP12/Boiler service if your Agreement does not include a Maintenance & Service Plan. 6 BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub

7 5: WHAT BELHAVEN PROVIDES THROUGH THE CHANGE PROCESS 5.1: PRIOR TO LEAVING We will give you acknowledgement and confirmation of your Change Date. If you have come to the end of the term of your Agreement and we are unable to recruit a new Licensee, Belhaven will purchase your fixtures and fittings and you will be able to leave on the Change Date. If you are leaving your by early, by agreement, you may have to pay our Broker s Fees. If we have allowed you to surrender your Agreement early and we can t recruit a new Licensee, you will be required to stay in the pub until such time as a new Licensee can be recruited. A Schedule of Dilapidations (as detailed in Section 2 of this document) listing those items of repair and decoration for which you are responsible, will be prepared by a company of Chartered Surveyors, providing you with the opportunity to attend to these items before the Change Day. 5.2: ON CHANGE DAY You will be required to sign a Surrender Deed which will confirm your Exit Fees. We will expect you to provide your forwarding address and contact details, should we need to contact you. 5.3: AFTER YOU HAVE LEFT We will release your Deposit and Repairs Fund (if applicable) within 28 days once all debts owing to us have been covered. BELHAVEN PUBS Guide to leaving your pub 7

8 CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM NUMBERS: Aberdeen: Alloa: Dunbar: WEBSITE: Belhaven Leased Pubs, 1 Logie Road, Causewayhead, Stirling, Stirlingshire FK9 5JU. Telephone: Website: