Uncertain future for staff as Punch wins race for Spirit
Some 40,000 pub managers and staff face an uncertain future following Punch Tavern's swoop on Spirit Group earlier today.
While Punch expects to convert at least 750 - 40 per cent - of the pubs it acquired from Spirit into tenancies over the next two years, the fate of the rest of the estate and its employees is unclear.
Punch paid £2,679m, including the assumption of around £1,250m-worth of debt, for Spirit's 1,832 managed pubs last week - £1.46m per pub - after one of the most closely fought acquisition battles for years. Punch now becomes the biggest pub operator in the country, ahead of Enterprise Inns.
Spirit's estate comprises 1,316 freehold or long-leasehold properties and 516 short leaseholds.
In a deal signed this morning Punch saw off its major rival for the prize, Robert Tchenguiz's R20 group.
Giles Thorley, Punch's chief executive said: "This is an exceptional deal for Punch. "The proposed acquisition of Spirit will further increase the scale and quality of our estate."
Spirit's chief executive Karen Jones said she was "extremely proud" of her company's achievements during the past six years. Ms Jones stands to make between £30m and £40m from her own stake in Spirit.
Punch plans to sell 82 pubs from Spirit's estate immediately and undertake a "detailed performance review" of the remainder, during which time they would continue to be run by the existing managers. It simultaneously announced the sale of 203 pubs to Admiral Taverns for £40m.
The deal is being financed by £1,250m of new money together with the issue of new shares.
It brings Spirit full circle - Punch hived off its managed arm, to be named Spirit Group - prior to its own stock market float in 2002.
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