Suffolk-based brewer Greene King is to leave the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) next September.

The company said the move was based on its "analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of membership", adding that it planned instead to "adopt an issues-based approach to lobbying, working with policy makers and key influencers to make the case for the pub and pub-goer, the brewer and beer drinker as well as for our own company." It continued: "This does not signal a desire on our part to reduce our collaboration with other members of the industry where appropriate, far from it".

For its part, the BBPA confirmed that Greene King had given the required 12-months notice to end its membership and said that it hoped to persuade the brewer to reconsider its decision. It also added that the decision did not relate to the new code of conduct between the BBPA, the BII and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations in the wake of the BEC report on pub companies.