Brunning & Price on acquisition trail
In June The Restaurant Group (TRG) revealed to MCA, the sister title to The Morning Advertiser, that it planned to near double the number of Brunning & Price pubs following its £175m recapitalisation.
Brunning & Price, which was founded in 1989, has grown from a small collection of pubs in the northwest of England to a 55-strong pub estate spanning the country. It has been part of The TRG, one of the UK’s largest chain restaurant and public house operators, since 2007.
Expansion plans
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has been retained by Brunning & Price to acquire suitable new sites for its expanding destination pub-restaurant portfolio in the UK.
Over the past nine years, the brand has acquired a number of new sites but according to Christie & Co these expansion plans were put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christie & Co is seeking large and period or characterful leasehold or freehold sites in affluent rural, town and city centre locations across England and Wales. It said that suitable properties could include either trading or closed licensed premises, or commercial buildings that may be suitable for conversion. The agent said that small to medium-sized hotels could also be considered.
External trading space
A minimum plot size of 1.5 acres is required for rural destination sites and 0.75 acres for urban/suburban town locations. Additionally, 5,000 square foot of floor space and external trading space for 50-100 covers is required for both.
The acquisition project is being led by Simon Chaplin and Noel Moffit, senior directors of Corporate Pubs & Restaurants in Christie & Co’s Hospitality team.
“We are delighted to pick up where we left off in the search for further Brunning & Price sites. The net has now widened as TRG seek to expand outside their traditional heartland, and we are now able to review suitable properties throughout England and Wales, opening up many more opportunities for B&P and those wishing to sell,” the directors revealed.
