Punch Taverns sells six pubs to Fuller's for £21.1m

Punch Taverns has sold six of its London-based managed pubs to Fuller, Smith & Turner for £21.1m.

The deal will be settled in cash and will see a book loss to Punch of £4.6m.

The pubs are the Ye Old Mitre Tavern in Hatton garden; the Scarsdale in Kensington; the Red Lion in Parliament Street; the Queen's Head on Brook Green; the Hereford in South Kensington and the swan on Bayswater Road.

According to Punch the pubs generated earnings before tax, interest and tax of £2.5m.

The proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce debt and reinvest in the existing estate, the pubco added in a statement.

Michael Turner, chairman of Fuller's, said: "I am delighted that Fuller's is able to acquire these six wonderful pubs, right in our heartland of central London.

"These are exceptional quality assets that fit well into our existing portfolio and we will move sympathetically to fold each pub's unique character and heritage into Fuller's."

The deal brings the number of Fuller's managed pubs to 162.

Punch's chief executive Giles Thorley said the sale was "in line with our stated strategy of increasing free cash flow and reducing the overall level of our debt, whilst seeking to maintain investment in our high-quality pub estate".

Meanwhile a spokesman for Punch said the pubco was "very encouraged" by the level of activity in its programme to sell leased pubs to incumbent lessees, although he would not elaborate, saying the group would give an update on sales at the end of April.