Greene King remains tight-lipped over plans for Hardys & Hansons' brewery

Greene King says that until it gains full control of Hardys & Hansons (H&H) it would be "inappropriate" to discuss its plans for the Nottingham-based brewery.

Traditionalists fear that, in line with previous Greene King acquisitions, the brewery will be closed following the £270m agreed offer made last week.

On the question of future roles for H&H's managing director Jonathan Webster and finance director David Smith, Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand said the group was not in advanced talks regarding integration and no decisions had been made regarding senior H&H executives.

"We are in 'light-touch discussions' at the moment," said Mr Anand. "We are pragmatic in situations like this. We don't steam in and change management.

"Jonathan is still running the company and as and when it changes hands then we will sit down and talk about the future," he added.

Commenting on the price Greene King paid for H&H, Mr Anand said it had been " a fair one for a company that had seen £30m-worth of investment in the last 18 months. We looked at every single pub and we were very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the estate and its on-going potential.

"We adopt a 'sniper approach' [when sizing up acquisitions] and if that means tabling an offer the vendor respects, then so be it. But our own shareholders need to know that we can make the deal work, which our track record suggests is the case," he added.

The deal's completion, expected at the end of August, will add H&H's 268 managed and tenanted pubs to Greene King's estate, which will then number 2,680 outlets.