Trident EIS aims for £20m pub fund
A new Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is seeking to raise £20m to buy pubs.
The Trident EIS Pub Fund is looking for £20m to buy run-down pubs in smaller urban areas outside city centres to run on a managed basis.
The funds will be divided between Maclay Inns, which runs 26 pubs mainly in Scotland, north of England-based Arizona Group and Midlands company Urban & Country Leisure. They will buy pubs to refurbish, with the planned introduction of a "bistro" food offer.
The EIS provides 20% income-tax relief on initial investments. As investors get capital gains tax deferral, they could take advantage of rates dropping 40% to 18%, and benefit from inheritance tax relief after two years.
The fund is being overseen by Brewin Dolphin, which takes 6.5% of the money raised to cover set-up costs. Pub managers receive a fee of 2% a year of all the funds invested in their establishments, as well as 30% of the pubs' annual pre-tax profits.
When the pubs are sold they will get a bonus of 30% of the amount the pub's value increases above inflation.
Chairman of the fund's advisory board is leisure veteran Tony Carson, who runs another EIS scheme firm, Close Imperial Pub Company.
The Trident scheme - so named as it has three operating companies - is a discretionary investment fund. Rules introduced in last year's budget put a £2m cap on money that can be raised for an EIS scheme. The Trident scheme will invest the maximum £2m in a series of companies set up by the three operators for this purpose.
