John Sands appointed chairman at London Town
Pub industry veteran John Sands has been appointed non-executive chairman of London Town after the AIM-listed pubco acquired independent operator GRS Inns for £4.31m.
London Town adds GRS Inns' 60 leasehold pubs to its portfolio, which now numbers 282 sites.
The deal has resulted in the departure of London Town's chief executive Mark Crowther, the former Carlsberg UK director who had been at the helm of the group since March last year.
He has been replaced by GRS Inns' managing director and founder Richard Gundry. Gundry owned GRS from 1995 until 2000, when it was sold to Sands' Pubmaster group, which was in turn sold to Punch Taverns in 2004. Sands and Gundry, together with Howard Thornton, bought GRS Inns back from Punch last summer.
Former London Town chairman Andrew Wilson is to remain as a non-executive director of the enlarged group.
Crowther declined to comment on the reasons for his departure when contacted by thepublican.com.
A spokesman for London Town said there had been "a few problems at the group during the past year" and the business "welcomed the experience brought to it by the appointment of Sands and Gundry".
GRS Inns shareholders now own approximately 13.5 per cent of the enlarged group.
In a statement Sands said: "'I am delighted to have joined the board of London Town following the acquisition of GRS Inns.
"The combination creates a dynamic estate of managed and tenanted pubs and injects a new managed house skill base to the London Town business. The new board is excited by the prospects ahead."
