Realpubs buys five Punch freeholds

Realpubs, the company led by Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap, has acquired five freehold London pubs from Punch Taverns in a deal estimated to be worth under £10m.

The company has bought the freehold of two Punch pubs it currently leases, including the Duke of Sussex, and three additional Punch freeholds.

The acquisition means that Realpubs has transformed its property base in a single year. It now has eight freeholds and five leasehold pubs — it had seven leaseholds a year ago.

The Punch freeholds it doesn't own are the Mitre, the Crabtree and the Hand & Flower.

The other three freeholds were acquired from Mitchells & Butlers in a deal estimated

to be worth in the region of £7m last September.

The acquisitions follow the launch of a joint venture with Brockton Capital, the real estate private equity fund, two years ago called Realpubs II with the aim of building a £50m freehold estate in London.

Ex-Whitbread employees Malcolm Heap and Nick Pring, who founded Realpubs in 2002, oversee the operational side of the venture with Brockton providing real estate expertise.

"We are excited about the potential that these will contribute to our business and they will further add to a successful year," said Heap.

"The business is currently trading well and we intend to make sure customers enjoy the service and atmosphere at these venues in the near future."

David Zimmermann, Partner of Brockton Capital, said "These strategic acquisitions of central London freeholds will help to deliver further operating efficiencies for Realpubs and enable the business to grow. We are delighted that we were able to acquire these pubs from Punch Taverns and add to the business and the team".

Realpubs was founded in 2002 by Pring and Heap who are ex-Bass and Whitbread staffers.