Scottish Pubs Code: guidance for pub owning businesses

Levy arrangements 2025-2026

A total levy of £487,224 has been approved for pub-owning businesses in 2025 to 2026. The levy has been set by the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator, with consent from Scottish Ministers. This statement explains how we will share that levy fairly across the sector. Read the statement on the levy setting arrangements for 2025 to 2026 (July 2025).

The levy calculation:

• is apportioned among the 22 pub-owning businesses in Scotland, that operate across 600 tied pub locations
• is based on both overhead and direct costs, with each business contributing proportionally according to its size

We worked out the 2025 to 2026 levy as follows: 

• overhead costs (82%) - these reflect the costs of operating the SPCA office and have been apportioned based on the number of tied pubs each business reported up to 30 June 2025
• direct costs (18%) - these reflect the estimated number of arbitration cases expected to involve each pub-owning business for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026

The total levy amount applied to the 22 pub-owning businesses ranged from 1% to 32% of the total amount. The minimum amount levied is £812.04 and the maximum is £159,159.84.

The SPCA remains firmly committed to ensuring value for money in the delivery of its statutory functions. We recognise the importance of careful management of industry contributions and are fully accountable for the prudent stewardship of levy income. Going forward, we will continue to review our operational processes and cost controls to ensure that resources are used efficiently, transparently, and in a way that reflects our responsibility to the sector.

Pub-owning businesses who received a levy notice:

• Admiral
• Brookgreen Limited
• Bruce Group
• Caledonian Heritable
• Flodrive Enterprises Limited
• Flodrive Estates Limited
• Greene King
• Iona Pub Partnership
• JF Kegs
• Kingdom Taverns
• NMDJ Investments Limited
• Oxford Hotels and Inns
• Punch Pubs
• Rosemount
• Scotsman Group
• Star Pubs
• Stirling Inns
• Stirrup Stane (Livingston) Limited
• Strandpark Properties Limited
• Tannochbeg
• The Dolphin (Dundee) Limited
• Trust Inns

Publication history

First published: 18 August 2025
Last updated: 19 August 2025 Information about pub-owning businesses who received a levy notice added.