Laurel shows keen interest in Wizard
Laurel chief executive Ian Payne has insisted that a sale of the company is not a foregone conclusion with expansion opportunities such as the acquisition of Wizard Inns, placed on the market last week being explored. Midocean Partners, which manages the Laurel investment on behalf of Deutsche Bank, is looking into the possibility of a £500m sale that could see the company split into two packages high street and community for ease of disposal. However, Payne said: "We're still looking at all opportunities and we're very interested in Wizard we got the information through yesterday." Yates Group has ruled itself out of making a move on Wizard on the market for about £100m. Chief executive Mark Jones said: "I think £100m is a bit toppy' for an estate of predominantly leasehold sites. We might be interested if its 15 high street sites were available separately. We will stick to what we know well high street businesses." Industry observers believe the 64-strong Wizard estate, with weekly takings per pub around £14,000, is the best quality managed estate to come on the market since the sale of S&N Retail. Wizard managing director Chris Hutt has grown the estate by buying sites from Voyager and Regent Inns, but also opening sites in under-pubbed towns such as Huntingdon and St Neots, both in Cambridgeshire. Wizard Inns is owned by Nomura but managed by Guy Hands' Terra Firma Capital Partners. A number of approaches have already been made to buy Wizard and a deal is expected to be completed quickly.
