Greene King set to land Loch Fyne

Greene King is set to swallow the 36-strong seafood restaurant chain Loch Fyne, after entering exclusive talks. The deal would cover all 36 sites currently trading and exclusive rights to use of the Loch Fyne name for future restaurant developments - half of Loch Fyne's current sites are located in former pubs.

A Greene King acquisition of Loch Fyne would follow the lead of Laurel Pub Company in buying a pure restaurant operation - Laurel bought the tapas chain La Tasca.

Greene King split its 800-strong managed division into two parts earlier this year, with former Hardys & Hansons boss Jonathan Webster running the foodier pubs. The move was regarded as creating a structure that would allow Greene King to buy more managed pubs; there are only 287 pubs in Webster's division compared to 510 wet-led managed pubs run by Jonathan Lawson.

In its most recent results, Greene King revealed it had introduced late food in 266 pubs in the wake of licensing reform, and introduced a coffee offer at 224 pubs. Its lead brand, Hungry Horse, which has 120 sites, was growing food business through premium upsells; it reported selling 60,000 Ultimate Sizzler dishes at £12.99 each since their introduction, while reducing entry-level main-course prices to drive volume.

Greene King's results also highlighted the place within the pub restaurant market of a centrally-managed offer that avoids overt branding. Its Wayside "no brand" format - appealing to customers who like pubs to look "individual" and "independent" - saw 10% like-for-like food growth in the year.