McMullen's plans £40m loan for share buy-back
by The PMA Team Hertford brewer McMullen's has negotiated a new £40m loan that will enable it to pay off family members looking to sell their shares in the company. Money raised through the new bank loan which will buy back the shares owned by two family trusts will be repaid through the sale of unlicensed properties and from future profits. Shareholders will be given the chance to vote on the plan at an extraordinary general meeting on 11 December. McMullen's chairman Charles Brims said: "This proposal represents the result of a thorough review of the options available to the company, having consulted with each of the major shareholder groups. "I am confident that its implementation will be well-received by shareholders and will place the company in a position to continue its proud history in Hertford." The deal maintains brewing in Hertford and means none of the pubs in the company's 130-strong tied estate will need to be sold. It is understood the sell-off will focus on shops and offices that have been attached to pubs that McMullen's has bought through the years. Spokesman Barry Bremner added: "It means the whole thing should be sorted out by January or February next year. The company has always been cash rich and intends to repay the loan through the sale proceeds." The fund-raising exercise at McMullen's comes as the culmination of a thorough review of company strategy. The company has ended contract brewing for Scottish Courage to help volume output fall below the 18,300-barrels-a-year ceiling this will save £120,000 per year. McMullen's is looking for new pubs, especially for its style-bar concept Baroosh.
