Clear pubco estate acquires freeholds

Clear Pub Company has radically reorganised its estate after taking on 25 Punch leaseholds less than 18 months ago.

Clear Pub Company (CPC) now has only 40% (10) of the Punch sites and has moved strongly in the freehold market with the acquisition of eight units.

CPC, which is backed by Close Ventures, was set up in July 2007 via the acquisition of the leaseholds of the former Spirit managed houses.

CPC managing director Duncan Ward remarked: "The change to freehouses has come faster than we expected. We also decided to minimise our exposure in the big boozer, town-centre sector. "

He said the Punch units were taken on with the understanding that any that didn't gel with Clear's business model would be handed back.

Under the original deal, Ward says the intention was to build the Cookhouse brand, larger suburban outlets specialising in food, together with unbranded, wet-led, town and city taverns.

Now, the estate has been organised into three branded operations — Great Locals, Welland Inns, and Red Lyon.

The 12 Great Locals are community pubs with a wet:dry split of around 70:30. There are five Welland Inns, which are destination food outlets where wet sales only account for around 40% of turnover. The third concept is based around the Red Lyon in Henley-upon-Thames, an ex-Mitchells & Butlers' outlet that was bought for £1m

by an independent investor in CPC.

Ward remarked: "We will move solely towards freeholds offering food in high demographic areas. We are aiming specifically at outlets within a 30-mile radius of the Red Lyon.

"There will be good opportunities to buy freeholds in early 2009 as prices bottom out."