Pub company on lookout to offload
Punch Taverns is understood to have put Old Orleans, the bar and restaurant chain, up for sale with an estimated value of between £25m and £35m.
The sale of the business, which was once part of S&N Retail and acquired by Punch through its acquisition of Spirit Group in December, comes in addition to the 290-strong package currently on the market.
The Old Orleans chain, which was inspired by the US city's famous French Quarter, comprises 32 outlets and produces ebitda of between £5m and £6m.
S&N Retail marketed the business for sale in May 2001 but withdrew it after offers failed to meet price expectations. Some sites - both from the top and the tail - were subsequently sold to leave the current estate, which is 100% leasehold.
Before it was sold to Punch, Spirit had planned to include it in its City Day & Night disposal package to Alchemy Partners before making a last-minute decision to retain the business.
The chain, which was brought to the UK market by Grand Metropolitan in the 1980s as an answer to TGI Friday's, is thought to have average net sales of about £22,000 per site per week.
Each outlet has between 200 and 250 covers.
Steve Rogers, previously operations director of Spirit's Two For One, currently runs the business.
It is not clear whether the sale also includes three City Limits bowling alley businesses, which were previously part of the same operation.
Added to the pubs it is trying to sell, this will leave Punch with 700 former Spirit managed houses, which are branded as Chef & Brewer or Jon Barras, and are food-led.
