SA Brain agrees £20m finance deal with Lloyds Bank

SA Brain, the Welsh brewer, is looking to buy more pubs after agreeing a £20m funding deal with Lloyds Bank, it has been reported.

The Western Mail​ said that Lloyds would provide the brewer with a new revolving credit facility, and Brains' finance chief, Martin Reed, told the paper the conditions to buy more sites were improving.

"While the hospitality industry has experienced some tough times in recent years, we believe the pub market is starting to regain its footing and now is an opportune moment to look at acquiring some new quality outlets that offer us long-term sustainable growth," he said.

Lloyds - which is still majority owned by the taxpayer after last year's multi-billion pound bailout - had been able to put a deal together that meant the brewer could "move quickly when we find appropriate sites", Reed added.

In April Brains reported sales for 2009 down nine per cent at £103m and operating profits down by more than a third, after it sold its third party drinks distribution business to Heineken UK.

Scott Waddington, Brains' chief executive, said at the time of the results announcement that while it had hit turnover, the sale of the free-trade business "enabled us to fully focus on and invest in our brewing and pubs business whilst making our beer brands more widely available through Heineken UK's comprehensive distribution network".