Dusanj brothers buy Cains from administrators
As widely expected Cains Beer Company has been bought out of administration by brothers Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj, the group's former chief executive and chief operating officer.
The amount paid by a company connected to the pair for the business was not disclosed by the group's administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The Liverpool brewer and pub operator collapsed in July with debts of more than £30m as tough trading and a lack of bank support over an unpaid tax bill of £13m took their toll.
David Chubb, Ian Green and Craig Livesey of PwC said the company's brewery business, certain of its trading assets and its leasehold interest in nine pubs had been sold in the transaction. Around 90 brewery and head office staff jobs have been saved.
The pubs acquired as part of last year's Honeycombe Leisure reverse takeover were not part of the deal. However ThePublican.com understands the Dusanjs are in talks with a third party to acquire 26 freehold pubs from the Honeycombe estate to add to the nine leased sites over which they have regained control.
The firm's Craig Livesey said: "After a difficult period of trading for the company in administration, we are pleased that a sale of the business as a going concern has been possible.
"We believe that this sale gives the best chance for continued employment for the majority of the Company's staff and also gives suppliers and customers an opportunity of continued business with the brewery".
He added that the sale does not extend to the larger pub estate owned and managed by other group companies which the administrators hope to sell over the coming months.
The Dusanj brothers were always in the driving seat to secure Cains, given their ownership of the freehold of the brewery site. The terms of the site's lease meant a company not controlled by the pair bidding for the business would have pay £1m in rent, versus a £600,000 rent bill if the business was owned by a company controlled by the brothers.
Hamish Champ, City & Business editor, says: "The reversal of Cains fortunes will come as a relief to the staff across the group's brewery and the nine pubs which formed the original Cains estate, although this will be of scant comfort to those of its pub managers who lost home and livelihood when it went into administration over the summer.
After a tough few months the Dusanj brothers now have the chance to reapply their undoubted enthusiasm for the business. Hopefully they will not waste the opportunity. Whether they can restore the trust of the people of Liverpool for taking their beloved brewery to the brink - not to mention their reputation in the eyes of the industry - remains to be seen."
