Selling the crown jewels. Or not
Just how far short Young's fell from the asking price of the pubs it was seeking to acquire recently and from whom the South London-based operator was trying to buy them are points open to that hoary old chestnut, 'conjecture'.
I've little doubt Young's was trying to buy them from our old friends Punch Taverns. It makes sense. Punch has flung open the doors on its pubs effectively saying, a la Leslie Crowther, if you want one and if the price is right then it's yours. It seems everyone and his dog has cast their eye over the Punch portfolio in recent weeks.
But Punch clearly isn't just taking any offer, as the Young's case would suggest. Doubtless the UK's largest pub landlord plays hardball when potential buyers come a-knockin'. While keen to raise cash to nibble away at that convertible it doesn't have to sell its 'crown jewels'. But when it does, as was the case with Fuller's recently, it seems it drives a hard bargain. Perhaps for Young's it was just too dang hard.
And while it says it's open to offers not everyone gets a look-in. I spoke recently with one party who'd expressed interest in spending a not-insignificant sum on some of Punch's pubs and he hadn't even had his calls returned. 'Charming', as they say.
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The report on alcohol pricing by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which we feature elsewhere on this here website (see link opposite), makes for sobering reading.
Cost to the consumer of hiking the minimum price of a unit of alcohol to 50p? £1.8bn. Benefit to the NHS, et al? £200m.
Open and shut case then. Erm, maybe.
Given the research was commissioned by SABMiller, one of the world's biggest brewers, perhaps the CEBR's findings are not so surprising. Cynical? Moi?
