Admiral ramps up pub acquisitions with Heineken purchase

02-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 02-Nov-2017 at 11:02 GMT

Leader of the pack: Admiral's CEO outlines plans to acquire more quality pubs

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Admiral Taverns will head the pack of pubcos looking to buy up good quality sites, chief executive Kevin Georgel has said after agreeing a deal to acquire 17 pubs from Heineken.

Georgel told The Morning Advertiser’s sister title MCA that the deal was a “signal intent” that the group would seek to be at the head of the pack for good-quality acquisition opportunities.

Yesterday the c845-strong group confirmed it had reached agreement in partnership with G1 Group to acquire 29 of the 30 pubs Heineken was forced to sell as a result of the Competition & Markets Authority investigation into the Punch takeover.

The deal will see Admiral immediately take on management of the 17 pubs in England & Wales before acquiring them on completion of Proprium and C&C Group’s investment in its own business. This is expected to complete by the end of November.

Georgel said: “We are very confident in our ability to add value to the businesses we take on and will work with licensees to maximise the potential in their pubs. Our new investors could not be more supportive of that.

‘Plenty of opportunities

“We feel that there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming 18 months to two years and this is a signal of intent that we can act when we see a good deal.

“We are not going to sit back and we will be actively reviewing opportunities across the sector.”

Georgel said that group trading had been strong throughout the estate in October with good Halloween sales and big sporting events boosting sales. He said that, in line with the wider sector, August and September had been challenging.

He said Christmas bookings were shaping up well and that the company had been working with licensees on their food offer and menu marketing in the lead-up.

Meanwhile, G1 Group confirmed that the 12 Scottish pubs in the portfolio would come under the control of its Iona Pub partnership tenanted arm.

Several new sites

A spokeswoman said: “”We are delighted to confirm today that Iona Pub Partnership, sister company of the G1 Group, have acquired several new sites across the country.

“The transaction structure saw G1 work in partnership with Admiral Taverns who acquired the non-Scottish units being disposed of by Heineken.

“Having been in operation for 12 years, we hope that this recent purchase will solidify our position in regards to our continued focus on investment and growth across Scotland.”

She continued: “As to the new sites and their respective tenants, we hope that they will join in our excitement for this new chapter, and take great confidence in our growing reputation as one of the country’s most diverse and well-supported pub leasing companies.

“Iona offers a robust network of support at all levels from business and food development to marketing, and we look forward to welcoming the additional publicans into the fold and extending that level of support to them.”