Enterprise Inns sells 29 pubs for £42m
Enterprise Inns has sold the freeholds of 29 London pubs to Max Property Group for £42.56m.
It has leased back the pubs on new 35 FRI leases linked to RPI at initial rent of £2.975m annually.
David Batchelor, senior director at CB Richard Ellis and Head of Leisure and Alternative Investments, which handled the sale, said: "The demand from institutional investors for well located real estate is well known.
"This transaction shows that good pubs are an excellent and intelligent alternative to more traditional asset classes and that there is a keen interest among mainstream investors.
"We anticipate that 2011 will see significant portfolio volume in both the Leisure and Healthcare markets where we specialise."
The 29 pubs are all freehold, within central London boroughs and include the Crown in Chelsea, The Famous Cock Tavern in Islington, Frog & Forget-Me-Not in Clapham and Thornbury Castle in Marylebone.
The sale is the first 'package' sale and leaseback deal undertaken by Enterprise. Previously it has tended to sell such freehold interests - around 80 so far - individually through auctioneers.
