A pub can be described by who owns it, who runs it and where it must buy its drinks. Those details are related, but they are not interchangeable. Calling a business a free house does not tell you who owns the building; calling its owner a pubco does not settle the scope of its purchasing obligations.
For a London operator reading a property listing or discussing supply, separating those questions helps prevent an everyday description from doing more work than it should.
Three terms, three different starting points
| Term | Broad meaning | What it does not establish alone |
|---|---|---|
| Free house | A pub broadly free from a brewery tie | Building ownership or the absence of every commercial obligation |
| Tied pub | A pub subject to specified purchasing obligations | That every product must come from one source |
| Pubco | A business owning or operating pubs | Whether a particular pub is tied, managed or free of tie |
These are starting definitions. The details of an individual business come from its actual ownership, operating and contractual arrangements.
What is a free house?
“Free house” broadly signals freedom from a brewery tie. In conversation, it helps distinguish a pub’s buying position from one where a brewery or other supplier controls specified purchasing through an agreement.
It is easy to hear “free” and assume the publican owns the freehold. That does not follow. A pub’s tenure—whether the premises are owned or occupied under a lease or tenancy—is a separate matter from its purchasing arrangements.
The description also does not establish that every finance, stocking or purchasing obligation is absent. For example, a hypothetical pub described as a free house might occupy leased premises. Its description would not, by itself, reveal the terms of that lease or any separate commercial agreement. The example illustrates the distinction rather than interpreting a particular contract.
What is a tied pub?
A tied arrangement can require some or all drinks to be bought through a specified supplier or landlord. The agreement determines the scope of that obligation.
That qualification matters. A reader should not assume either that a tie covers everything the pub buys or that products outside one obvious category are automatically unrestricted. A short description in a listing cannot establish those details.
For supply discussions, the practical point is straightforward: the venue’s actual agreement determines where external purchasing is permitted. A general glossary cannot decide that for an individual operator.
What is a pubco?
A pubco is a pub-owning or pub-operating business. The term identifies a kind of business rather than a particular drinks-supply obligation.
It is not simply another word for brewery. Nor is “pubco pub” a complete explanation of how a venue operates. A managed pub, where the operating business runs the venue through management, differs from a tenancy relationship. Whether a pub has a tie is another question again.
Keeping the layers separate helps make sense of apparently overlapping descriptions. A business can have a landlord, a particular tenure and a specified purchasing arrangement without any one label explaining all three.
The Pubs Code: England and Wales only
The statutory Pubs Code governs qualifying relationships between tied tenants and pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales. It does not cover every pub, and managed houses and free-of-tie tenant relationships are outside that scope.
The Code includes Market Rent Only rights in specified circumstances. MRO is not an unconditional right available to every pub merely because it has a purchasing tie. The government’s Pubs Code explanation also makes clear that an MRO-compliant arrangement can include a stocking requirement. “Free of tie” should therefore not be treated as proof that every product obligation disappears.
Separate industry codes exist for participating smaller pub businesses. Those voluntary arrangements are distinct from the statutory Code. This legal context concerns England and Wales; operators elsewhere should use the official sources applicable to their jurisdiction.
What the descriptions mean for drinks supply
A pub’s agreement determines where it can buy externally. Where external purchasing is permitted, a drinks wholesaler such as Champers is one kind of business a venue may approach. That is not a conclusion about any particular pub’s contractual freedom or account eligibility.
For supplier roles, read What Is a Drinks Wholesaler? Suppliers, Distributors and the Hospitality Supply Chain Explained. For the wider terminology, return to Drinks Trade and Hospitality Terms Explained: A Guide for UK Venues.
Frequently asked questions
No. Free house broadly concerns freedom from a brewery tie. Property ownership and occupation terms are separate questions.
The scope depends on the agreement. The term alone does not establish which products or purchases are covered.
No. Pubco describes a pub-owning or operating business. It is not synonymous with brewery.
No. It covers qualifying tied relationships involving pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, rather than every pub or operating arrangement.
No. An MRO-compliant arrangement can include a stocking requirement. The applicable terms and statutory context matter.
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