Greene King takes control of Old English Inns
Greene King took control of the Old English Inns pub estate this week following its purchase earlier in the month.
Neil Gillis, managing director of Greene King's Pub Co division, and David Elliot, managing director of the Pub Partners division, will now co-ordinate a review of the 136 outlets before beginning their integration into the 1,550-strong Greene King estate.
The pair are understood to be in discussions with staff at Old English's head offices in Barnet, Hertfordshire.
It is likely that staff from there will be moved to the Greene King head offices in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, although a spokeswoman for Greene King said it had not ruled out some job losses.
She added: "We are talking to Old English employees about the best way to integrate the estate. We see it as an opportunity."
Old English's chief executive Colin Mayes (pictured) officially left the company this week but has said he hopes to return to the pub trade within a year.
The Greene King offer, which valued the Old English estate at £102.6m, was agreed by the board on September 7.
Jonathan Paveley, strategy director at Greene King, said the Old English estate represented a good strategic fit with existing Greene King outlets.
"Old English's 136 upmarket traditional inns are located across southern England and will complement our estate of high quality pubs," said Mr Paveley.
"We are delighted with the opportunities presented by the integration of the two companies and are looking forward to developing the business with our new colleagues.
"Over the coming weeks we'll be spending time meeting them and looking at the operations of each inn."
Related stories:
Greene King makes offer for Old English Inns (7 September 2001)
