Strategic review at Churchill
Churchill Taverns, the Midlands-based pub group, has launched a strategic review and appointed ad-
visers after receiving a number of approaches for the business.
The group, which was founded in 1998 by Fred Ward, is understood to have asked PC Hansen, the corporate finance house that specialises in advising companies in the leisure industry, to help it assess its options.
The Churchill estate comprises traditional community pubs with strong food offerings. Sources close to the company were keen to stress that the review process would not automatically lead to an auction of the business.
If the group does decide to press ahead with a sale, it is not clear if a transaction would incorporate the business in its entirety.
It currently operates 23 managed houses, of which 12 are freehold, five are free-of-tie leases and six are tied leases. In 2005, the group entered a partnership with Close Ventures, the venture-capital arm of Close Brothers, the investment bank. Since its involvement Close has helped to bankroll the purchase of six houses
for £5.5m.
Ward said: "All I'll say is that quality assets always attract interest - and we as a company are continually being courted."
If Churchill is put up for sale it is likely to attract interest from the big pub groups, such as Enterprise Inns, Greene King, Marston's and Punch Taverns, as well as regional brewers such as Charles Wells and Everards.
