Breare quashes finance worry rumours
Noble House boss Robert Breare has rubbished industry rumours that his pub and restaurant business was stretching itself to the limit, and perhaps beyond.
Following news that the Old Monk Company faced an uncertain future, attention turned Noble House, amid gossip that Noble's aggressive acquisition policy was putting unsustainable pressure on its finances.
"This is simply not true - complete and utter rubbish," he told The Publican.
"We have just spent £10m on pubs and are hoping to tie up a couple more.
"We are also about to embark on a £15m spending programme throughout our pub estate - hardly the actions of a company in trouble."
Last week Noble House Leisure bought five pubs from Leicester brewer Everards for £10.6m.
The large-scale sites come with a total of 147 bedrooms and are spread across the Midlands - in Broughton Austley, Coalville, Leicester, Nuneaton and Stratford-Upon-Avon.
"We have been trying hard to find managed pubs of such quality to buy and are delighted with this acquisition," said Mr Breare.
Noble plans to buy a further 30 pubs in the UK by Christmas. It has also put 17 houses up for sale. It has 150 pubs and bars in total.
The company currently operates 10 Jim Thompson's and six Yellow River Cafes in the UK. The concepts are to be rolled-out across America and Asia through franchise partner MagiCorp Entertainment.
Everards put the five pubs on the market following its decision to quit managed pubs.
Everards will sell The Red Cow in Leicester to Six Continents and in return acquire four pubs as part of the deal. It is also in discussions over a seventh disposal. All the pubs sold were considered unsuitable for transfer to tenancy.
