FOI - Star Pubs & Bars Pubs Code oversight
Updated 6 February 2026
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pubs-code-adjudicator-foi-responses-2025/foi-star-pubs-bars-pubs-code-oversight
FOI/606068 Thank you for your email, received on 19 September 2025, in which you requested information from the office of the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA 2000) entitles you to:
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know whether the information you have requested is held by the PCA; and
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be provided with that information, subject to any exemptions in FOIA 2000 which may apply.
Your email of 19 September 2025 requested the following information:
- Copies of any investigations, findings, enforcement actions or undertakings involving Star Pubs & Bars (Heineken UK) from 2020–present.
- Any guidance, correspondence or briefing notes between the PCA and Star/Heineken regarding rent assessments, supply tie, and Market Rent Only (MRO) options over the same period.
- Any statistics on tenant complaints about Star (volume, issues raised, outcomes).
The PCA has carefully considered your request and concluded that the cost of meeting the request would exceed the appropriate limit. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the current appropriate cost limit for the PCA is £450, or 18 staff hours.
If you are able to refine the scope of your request, for example by refining the type of information requested or the period over which the information is required, it may be possible to comply with your request within the appropriate limit.
However, please note that some of the information you have requested is already available in Pubs Code Adjudicator Annual Reports, and the links are here: The Pubs Code Adjudicator - Annual Report and Accounts 2021 – 2022, pages 29 – 31, The Pubs Code Adjudicator - Annual Report and Accounts 2022 – 2023, pages 35 and 36.
[PCA_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2023](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a0deb6cae64da4967b3fe3/PCA_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2023-2024.pdf)-2024.pdf page 31