Punch to convert several Mill House Inns to Chef & Brewer

Punch Taverns is converting 11 sites from its Mill House Inns acquisition to the Chef & Brewer brand.

The company bought the 82-strong Mill House Inns business last September for £164m.

Three hotel sites have been sold back to the Mill House boss Ted Kennedy with another pubs site sold leaving 78 sites split between the four segments operated within the Spirit managed business.

A total of 33 Mill House venues are being operated with the Value Food segment, where average food sales are 54% of £20,000 per week per pub turnover and average spend per head is £7. The next largest number, 24 sites, are being operated within the Locals Division where food sales are 19% of £13,000 per week turnover and average spend per head is £6.

Ten sites have gone into the City division where food sales are 23% of £15,000 per week turnover and average spend per head is £8. Punch's Quality Food division currently sees 59% of £20,000 per week per pub turnover accounted for by food with an average spend of £11 per head.

Chief executive Giles Thorley said the four segments give Spirit "a brilliant pipeline for the future development of the Spirit business."​

More generally, Spirit managing director Andrew Knight told City analysts that prices of drinks in the managed division had been increased in line with the Retail Price Index.

However, food prices had only increased by cost, except in the Chef & Brewer chain where prices had increased slightly in line with improved menu quality.

Knight said he expected all Spirit pubs in England to have a smoke solution in place before the start of the ban of 1 July, although 50 pubs had seen planning delays.

In Scotland, Spirit's 20 pubs had seen a small decline in drinks sales and machine sales. However, progress had been delayed by problems getting planning approval for smoke solution at ten of the sites, a situation remedied in the first half of Punch's current financial year.