New arrival
A new brewery group, Sunrise Alliance Beverages, has emerged. It was formerly the holding company for the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk and its first acquisition was the Curious Brewery (Ashford, Kent) in October last year. It has now added the London based Portobello and Gipsy Hill breweries to its portfolio. Both companies will continue to operate at their existing premises under their current management but the holding company will provide increased investment, brewing capabilities, and marketing support. This does not affect the Portobello Pub Company which is a separate company. Perhaps, given the ever increasing cost pressures on small breweries, this model may be one way forward. So long as the holding company is not owned or financed by a larger entity, I think that the breweries involved can still be regarded as independent.
Only in the Pub
Echoing the SIBA initiative mentioned in this edition’s introduction, readers will hopefully have noticed the advert in the previous edition for Fuller, Smith & Turner’s new campaign called Only in the Pub. The pub company hopes to encourage more people to try cask ale on the basis that it is a drink that is only available in pubs. They see cask ale as being at the heart of their pub operation. As well as old favourites such as Red Fox, there will also be a new Dark Star beer called Starlink IPA plus a collaboration brew with the Siren Brewery. The renowned Vintage Ale will be making the odd appearance on draught as well. The campaign will feature a range of events, details of which can be found on the ‘What’s On’ section of their website. The pub company’s marketing director, Sam Bourke, commented, “Pubs are at the heart of their communities and cask ale is at the heart of a great pub. It cannot be replicated at home and takes love, care and skill. It really is only in the pub and we hope to see lots of loyal and new customers enjoying cask ale.”
Fuller’s financial results for the half-year to 28 September were promising with ‘like for like’ sales up 5.4% to £194.1 million. Food sales increased by 5.5%, drink sales increased by 4.9% and accommodation sales by 4.9%. Christmas bookings are also going well. The company’s view of the future is ‘positive and optimistic’, despite the challenges posed by the budget. It sold 37 ‘non-core’ tenanted pubs to Admiral Taverns for £18.3 million and the Mad Hatter on the South Bank for £20 million. Fuller’s now have 338 pubs and hotels, 185 managed and 153 tenanted and are looking to acquire more.
Morgan Pub Collective
The Morgan Pub Collective, who operate the Express Tavern in Kew and the Magdala in Hampstead among others, have taken over a third pub in Oxford, the Angel & Greyhound. They are leasing it from an unnamed third party that acquired the freehold from Young’s. The pub will be reverting to an earlier name, Oranges & Lemons; it is located on St Clement’s Street so references the nursery rhyme. The MPC now operates 24 pubs in total, nine of them in Greater London.
Wetherspoon’s news
JDW have also seen an increase in ‘like for like’ sales, up by 5.9% in the 14 weeks to 3 November (both drinks and food up by 5.7% and slot machines by 13.5%!). The sale of five pubs has brought in £2.4 million but new openings and refurbishments are planned. The estate currently stands at 797. Interestingly, two outlets, the student unions at Hull and Newcastle universities, are successfully operating as franchises. JDW are predicting that, following the budget, their taxes and business costs will increase by approximately £60 million per annum.
There is contrasting news of two of JDW’s recent disposals. In Romford, what was previously the World’s Inn has reopened as a food-led bar called the Ivy Tree, which does not sell cask ale. The former Hudson Bay in Forest Gate is currently the subject of a planning application that would see it converted into a community centre. The decision has been delayed while consultations take place because the site is in the Forest Gate Town Centre Conservation Area. The Plough & Harrow in Hammersmith is reported to be closing by the end of the year while the Wrong Un in Bexleyheath has been taken off the sales list. Further east, work has now started on the replacement building which will house the new Barking Dog. It is scheduled to open in early 2026.
JDW are reinforcing their presence at London mainline termini. After expansion of their site on Victoria Station and the opening of the Lion & Unicorn at Waterloo, the Hamilton Hall at Liverpool Street, once the ballroom of the Great Eastern Hotel, is currently being substantially repaired and refurbished. It is due to reopen on 3 December. The next arrival planned is at London Bridge where JDW have leased the former London Dungeon site at 50 Tooley Street from Network Rail. It has been empty since 2013 and so may require some refurbishment. An application for a premises licence was submitted in September. If approved, the new pub will be called the Sun Wharf.
Readers will recall that the JDW pub close to Euston station is named after Captain Matthew Flinders, the navigator and cartographer who is reputed to have given Australia its name. The captain’s remains were discovered during works nearby for HS2, hence the pub being named after him, and these have now been reburied in his home village of Donington in Lincolnshire.
Coming and going
Stonegate, the UK’s largest pub company, continue to ‘churn’ their estate. They are selling a tranche of 20 freehold pubs, spread throughout England, for a total asking price of close to £19 million. All of these pubs are let on long leases and include the Angerstein Hotel in Greenwich and the Nollywood in Camberwell. They are available either separately or in packages.
The TGI Friday chain, which went into administration at the end of September, has been acquired by a consortium that includes Breal Capital, the owners of the Keystone Brewing Group.
Punch Pubs & Co have acquired 14 pubs from the real estate investment company Aprirose. The pubs, spread around the country, are currently operated by Blackrose Pubs. Punch acquired 24 pubs from the same source earlier in the year. Aprirose are disposing of pubs to build up capital for ‘new opportunities’. The pubs include the Anchor in Bexley and the Vine on Hillingdon Hill.
