Punch leases draw big crowds

More than 150 potential lease applicants have attended a second round of Punch Taverns roadshows hosted by property agent Christie+Co.

The agent marketed an initial batch of 211 former Spirit pubs earlier this year, most of which are now in the hands of solicitors or are completed. Events to market the second batch of 249 former Spirit pubs were held in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Christie+Co director Neil Morgan said: "The pubs are of very high quality - the roadshow attracted a good mix of potential leaseholders."

The outlets come from all corners of the UK, from Scotland to Devon and from Essex to Wales. They have an average turnover of £490,000 net of VAT - substantially higher than the first batch.

Morgan said those attending included experienced operators and people looking to start a new career.

The pubco is offering for-mer Spirit managers the chance to take on the leases. "A number of them are responding to the challenge by taking on their own pub business.

"We have a number of applicants for the pubs and Punch is conducting interviews to identify the most suitable candidates. Some are managers with other pubcos, who want to run their own businesses," added Morgan.

"Lots of people knew which pub they were interested in and had opportunities to ask about strengths and weaknesses of a particular business. We were able to let them know how certain sites could be exploited."

Punch plans to transfer 750 managed pubs to its leased estate in 2006. Morgan expects that the next batch of former Spirit pubs will be marketed later in the year, via another series of roadshows.

Punch customer services director Francis Patton said the second batch were letting faster than the first.