{"id":6673,"date":"2026-09-29T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=6673"},"modified":"2026-09-29T18:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:00:11","slug":"trade-news-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/trade-news-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade news"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fuller\u2019s buy more pubs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a \u00a335.25 million deal with pubco Stonegate, Fuller\u2019s have acquired a further ten pubs.\u00a0 Nine of them are in London.\u00a0 Four of them are freehold and so changed hands immediately while the others are leaseholds that require their freeholder\u2019s consent.\u00a0 Some of the pubs are well known, such as the Blue Anchor<\/strong><\/a> on the river at Hammersmith and the Shipwrights Arms<\/a><\/strong> in Tooley Street.\u00a0 The others are the Argyle<\/a><\/strong>, Bonds<\/a><\/strong>, the Lillie Langtry<\/a><\/strong>, the Duchess<\/strong><\/a>, the Duke of Sussex<\/a><\/strong>, the Two Brewers<\/a><\/strong> and the Earl Spencer<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0The tenth pub is in Bath, the Lamb & Lion<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 Most of these were part of Stonegate\u2019s up-market Chapter Collection. \u00a0Simon Emeny, Fuller\u2019s executive chairman commented, \u201cWe have always maintained a disciplined policy of only acquiring the right assets at the right price. \u00a0This transaction certainly meets these criteria<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to this, Fuller\u2019s had also exchanged contracts on the Bull & Hide<\/a><\/strong>, which has ten bedrooms, and St Barts<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Asahi have sold their UK wholesale business and their distribution operation to C&C Group.  This will include the distribution of beer to Fuller\u2019s pubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stonegate strengthens Craft Union<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stonegate Group, the UK\u2019s largest pub company, is looking to transfer a further 100 sites to its leased and tenanted division.  This is part of the company\u2019s transformation strategy.  It is understood that these will become Craft Union outlets which are \u2018operator-led\u2019.  This will leave Stonegate with around 200 managed pubs.  The sale of around 1,000 pubs which Stonegate placed on the market earlier this year is still a possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other sales<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Morgan Pub Collective has added to their estate with the acquisition of the Canbury Arms<\/a><\/strong> in Kingston from Young\u2019s.\u00a0 The distinctive Victorian pub dates from 1891.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fire Station<\/strong><\/a> bar and restaurant at Waterloo has been taken over by Urban Pubs & Bars.\u00a0 It is being refurbished and is expected to reopen by the end of September.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Source: @firestation_waterloo <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

More Whitbread disposals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time that you read this, there will be no more Beefeater or Brewers Fayre carveries.  It is, in its way, the end of an era.  What once was seen as a big night out no longer attracts customers as it used to.  Some 4,000 jobs may be lost.  Whitbread are also closing their Bar + Block, Cookhouse and Table Table sites, which are usually associated with Premier Inn hotels.  Some of these will be converted to a new format, the Social.  While some of the former carveries are being absorbed into adjoining hotels, around 100 are being sold.  As mentioned in the previous edition, Wetherspoon\u2019s have bought five of them and Mitchells & Butlers six, presumably to expand their Miller & Carter and Harvester chains.  Most interestingly however, a company called the Queensway Hospitality Group has acquired 53 sites in order to set up a new \u2018value\u2019 pub chain.  Up to now they have only operated hotels and restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wren Pubs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This small chain operates the Surprise<\/a> <\/strong>in Chelsea and the Walmer Castle<\/a><\/strong> in Notting Hill and has recently acquired the former Botanist site in Sloane Square.\u00a0 They have however recently sold the Carpenter\u2019s Arms<\/a><\/strong> in Hammersmith, which Wren acquired in 2024 and substantially refurbished.\u00a0\u00a0 Founder Jack Greenall told the Propel<\/em> newsletter that the company was \u2018exploring further opportunities, ideally with bedrooms in London\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0 Wren Pubs has Rupert Clevely, the founder of Geronimo Inns and Hippo Inns, as its non-executive chairman. \u00a0The company\u2019s turnover for last year reportedly exceeded \u00a310 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new owner of the Carpenter\u2019s Arms, which dates from 1871, is the singer-songwriter James Blunt, who already owns the Fox & Pheasant<\/a><\/strong> in Chelsea.\u00a0 Blunt said, \u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be the custodian of this beautiful and important local landmark.\u00a0 I know how much it means to the residents and I hope we can serve them as well as they have been by Jack and his team<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The pub is currently closed while the kitchen is rebuilt and the and first floor converted to a dining area.\u00a0 It is scheduled to reopen next summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of an era at Harvey\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 40 years as head brewer, the renowned Miles Jenner is \u2018moving upstairs\u2019 to become production director at Harvey\u2019s of Lewes.  He will continue as joint managing director.  In line with the company\u2019s succession plan, Peter Yarlett, who joined the company in 1995, succeeds him as head brewer.  Mr Yarlett holds a master\u2019s degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot Watt University and has previously worked at Meantime and Hogs Back breweries.  Mr Jenner commented, \u201cOur aim was to ensure continuity, while encouraging innovation and it is exciting to see this long-term objective come to fruition.  I could not wish for a more capable or enthusiastic brewing team<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fuller\u2019s buy more pubs In a \u00a335.25 million deal with pubco Stonegate, Fuller\u2019s have acquired a further ten pubs.\u00a0 Nine of them are in London.\u00a0 Four of them are freehold… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6676,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673\/revisions\/6676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}