Celtic spends £10m war chest

Celtic Inns, the Southampton-based tenanted pub operator, has begun spending part of a £10m war chest to fund expansion of its 65-strong estate.

Three extra outlets, including a £1m new-build pub, are expected to join Celtic's estate by the new year.

And a deal to buy the leasehold interest of five pubs operated by Ceaston Inns at Bristol, will be finalised within the next week.

The acquisitions will take Celtic's numbers up to the 73 mark but director Clive Williams revealed funding was in place to facilitate more strikes.

The company, through its venture capital provider Sand Aire, is actively seeking more additions and is ready to pounce as soon as suitable opportunities arise.

The acquisition and lease back of Ceaston's five houses was negotiated by Bristol-based licensed trade agents The Brokers.

Managing director Alan Wignall, who has been involved with other pub deals involving Celtic, said the five free-of-tie houses offered significant barrelage returns.

The houses, all situated around Bristol, are owned by the Wellington Pub Company with Celtic now acquiring Ceaston's leasehold interest.

Celtic's estate is 88% tenanted but Williams said it preferred to retain a small number of managed pubs for training purposes and to keep tabs on 'how the other half lived'.

'We are on course to achieve our business objectives which hopefully should see us make significant additions to our numbers over the next couple of years,' he said.

One of the three other pubs being acquired by Celtic is a £1m new-build outlet at Basingstoke in Hampshire.

The Oak forms part of a major housing estate development in the area.