PUNCH PUBS COMPANY CHANGES HANDS
Punch Pubs in its current guise came into being when, in 2017, the former Punch Taverns was taken over jointly by Heineken and Patron Capital Partners, with the pubs being split between them. Patron set up a company called Vine Acquisitions to own the pubs and they took the Punch name. Last year, Punch purchased Young’s tenanted estate, the Ram Pub Company, bringing the Punch estate to around 1,300. Vine Acquisitions has now been taken over. Patron’s original investment was £305 million and they are reported to have received £1 billion. It’s nice to know that someone is making money out of our pubs.
The new owners are the Fortress Investment Group, a USA based investment management company. They funded the purchase from existing funds and will be keeping the existing Punch management under chief executive Clive Chesser. Fortress’s managing director Cyril Courbage was quoted in the Morning Advertiser as follows, “We are excited to team with Clive and the Punch management, which has done an exceptional job of navigating the challenges of the Covid crisis while positioning the business for long-term growth and value creation. The UK is an extremely attractive investment environment and we will continue to explore other opportunities in this sector and across the UK, Ireland and Europe.” Fortress also purchased the Laine Pubs chain from Vine Acquisitions at the same time and they already owned the Majestic Wines chain.
Some concern has been registered in trade circles at the amount of money coming into the UK pub industry from the USA. Another example of this is the RedCat Pub Company.
CAMRA’s National Chairman, Nik Antona, commented, “CAMRA is very wary about an investment company taking over a business running so many pubs up and down the country. While Punch was already owned by a global business, we continue to be concerned of the dominance of global companies and brewers in the UK beer and pub market. One company controlling a large share of the market rarely brings benefits for licensees or consumers, but nevertheless we hope that the new owners will commit to retaining the pub portfolio. Publicans and local communities will want rapid assurances from this new owner that they are committed to the future of these pubs rather than asset stripping, and that these venues will be given a fair chance to thrive under new ownership. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, it is more important than ever that we protect the mental health and wellbeing benefits that local pubs provide to their customers and communities.”
URBAN PUBS & BARS EXPAND
In November the company acquired thirteen sites from Barworks. The pubs, all in London, are listed in the adjacent panel. In addition to the acquisitions, Urban also opened two new sites in St Paul’s and Bishopsgate. This brings Urban’s estate to 34 pubs, bars and restaurants. Not all of their outlets sell cask beer. They have arranged funding with a view to progressing to 60 or 70 sites. Nick Pring, one of Urbans co-founders, said, “We’ve known the guys at Barworks for many years. They have some wonderful sites in prime locations. We are delighted to be able to acquire so many iconic pubs that complement our existing estate perfectly.” Marc Francis-Baum, Barworks managing director and co-founder, commented, “We received a fair offer from Urban and we took it. We felt it was a good idea to ‘cash in some chips’, consolidate and move forward.” Barworks have retained six sites.
STONEGATE SWALLOW HIPPO
Hippo Inns was the first of Enterprise Inns’ ‘managed expert’ companies, set up in 2015. Their partner was Rupert Clevely, previously of the Geronimo Inns company (which he sold to Young’s). Mr Clevely held a 25% stake in Hippo Inns, which has 12 outlets, all in London. The 75% stake passed to the Stonegate Group when they acquired Enterprise Inns in 2019 and Stonegate have now bought out Mr Clevely’s stake, by now held with business partner Ian Edward, by mutual consent. In the year ended 30 September 2019, Hippo’s turnover was just over £13 million. Stonegate are reportedly planning to integrate the Hippo pubs into their managed house estate. I assume that this indicates a preference for corporate control over an element of individual style. Mr Clevely will become a consultant for Stonegate for two years. Stonegate’s chief executive, Simon Longbottom, said, “We look forward to leveraging the expertise and entrepreneurial flair which our new colleagues will bring to the benefit of the enlarged group.” What this holds for the other former Enterprise ‘managed expert’ operations such as Frontier Pubs and the Three Cheers Pub Company is not known.
FULLER’S (PUBS) NEWS
Fuller’s results for the half-year ended 25 September 2021 showed a profit before tax of £4.6 million on revenue of £116.3 million. There was mention of a dividend but the last few weeks may have put paid to that. Fuller’s closed around 20 of their City and West End pubs over Christmas and New Year.
Fuller’s were however able to celebrate Christmas in 16 of their suburban pubs by presenting a four-handed adaption of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by the Open Bar Theatre Company.
The winners of Fuller’s Griffin Trophy for 2021 were announced on 14 December. The Overall Winner was the Queen’s Head in Horsham Road, Dorking, Surrey RH4 2JS. The Flask, 77 West Hill, Highgate, N6 6BU won the Best City/London Pub category, with the Fence, 67-69 Cowcross Street, Farringdon EC1M 6BP as runner-up. The Lord Nelson, 9 Enfield Road, Brentford TW8 9NY was runner-up in the Best Town/Local Pub category.
WETHERSPOON’S NEWS
JDW have switched drinks suppliers. In what must be one of the industry’s most valuable contracts, after 41 years, Heineken have been replaced as JDW’s principal supplier by the Budweiser Brewing Group. There has been a number of changes to the range, with the likes of Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, Leffe Blonde and Bud Light becoming available. Separate deals had already been agreed with existing suppliers BrewDog, Carlsberg Marstons Brewing Company and Molson Coors. Molson Coors have resurrected keg Worthington bitter to replace John Smith’s bitter.
JDW has also extended its discounted prices scheme, originally due to have ended on 30 November, until the end of February. The discounts available however do vary from branch to branch. There have also been some price reductions on meals.
For the first time in a while, JDW have acquired some new pubs in London, at a cost of around £8 million. The first is the Bridge Tap in Borough High Street (SE1 1XU). JDW have bought the head lease but Stonegate (it is an ex Slug & Lettuce) currently have a sub-lease which does not expire until 2033. There may be a break clause that will enable JDW to take possession before then. Otherwise, they may have to make Stonegate an offer.
The second site is the Soul Store West (once the Red Lion) in Kilburn (NW6 5UA). The site has been closed since 2016 and the sale brochure said, ‘Please note: the property has been unoccupied for some time and requires complete refurbishment throughout’. One of the previous owners had turned the upper part into a hostel and the plans in the brochure show 13 bedrooms spread over the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. JDW have already applied for a premises licence.
SHEPS SELL HOTELS
Faversham based Shepherd Neame have sold two hotels, the Conningbrook Hotel in Ashford and the Royal Wells Hotel in Tunbridge Wells. The RedCat Pub Company (predictably) have reportedly paid £5.75 million for them. A spokesman for Sheps said that the hotels ‘no longer fitted our portfolio’ but that the company was keeping its coastal hotels which had ‘performed well since reopening’.
Sheps are reported to have also temporarily closed some pubs in the centre of London over Christmas and New Year.
FIRST RESTAURANT GROUP
I don’t recall mentioning this small chain before. They operate six outlets in central London, some of which have boutique style hotel rooms. Their next project is the former Rosslyn Arms pub in Hampstead, closed since 2013, which they plan to reopen shortly as the Oak & Poppy.
PROSPECT PUBS & BARS
This company is owned by Dan Shotton and Mark Draper, who created the Redcomb Pub Company which they sold to Young’s in 2019. They currently have five sites and will be shortly adding a sixth, which will be their first in London. This is the Cambria in Camberwell (SE5 9AR) which has been closed since 2019. A £600,000 refurbishment is being undertaken in partnership with the site’s owners, Star Pubs & Bars (Heineken). Mark Draper told the Morning Advertiser, “In spite of the pandemic, we’re on track with our expansion plans. We’re excited to bring the Cambria back to life and back into the heart of its vibrant community. These last couple of years have demonstrated the strength and value of a good local community pub, one that customers can call their own and where they can feel at home.”
ITCHEN VALLEY
Although their beers were not often seen in London, I thought that I should report that, after 24 years, Alresford (Hampshire) based Itchen Valley Brewey closed at the end of December. They reported the event on Facebook on 13 December as follows, “Hey Folks, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but with a heavy heart we must announce that by the end of the month we will be closing Itchen Valley Brewery. The pandemic has affected each and every one of us in lots of different ways. The brewery has been no exception and has not been eligible for the levels of financial support many others had received during the past year-and-a-half and therefore it is no longer viable to keep going. Thank you, Team IVB”. Sad.
WEST BERKSHIRE BREWERY
WBB had come a long way since it was started by Dave and Helen Maggs in 1995 with a five barrel capacity, especially over the last seven years with the renowned David Bruce at the helm. Sadly, following some internal difficulties and cash flow problems, it was felt that the best course of action was to put the company up for sale. Happily, it has been purchased by a local family who also own the brewery’s landlords, Yattendon Estates. There is a certain synergy here because the Estates supply barley to Crisp Maltings, from whom the brewery buys its malt. The new owners see the brewery as an enhancement to their present activities and will keep the existing operation much as it is for the long term, including retaining the name.
West Berkshire Brewery did venture into the pub trade in London, working with the Maverick Pub Company, but this appears to have come to an end. One of their pubs was the Old Suffolk Punch (see Pub News).